FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 6, 2025
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen. Rosemary Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities, issued the following statement in response:
“President Trump’s surprise announcement that the U.S. will stop airstrikes against the Houthis is the right decision, regardless of whether the group stops targeting U.S. vessels. The Houthi threat was always more hype than substance. The group’s attacks on shipping have neither damaged the U.S. economy nor contributed to inflation, which actually went down during the militant group’s assaults throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In fact, the Houthis’ biggest achievement was tricking the U.S. into wasting some $7 billion of its own resources by bombing them. Better yet, ending the airstrikes could build momentum for the peaceful resolution of the U.S.-Iran nuclear dispute, a far more important development. President Trump’s bold choice shows there are offramps from endless escalation in the Middle East—the U.S. simply has to take them.”
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