Watch Webinar – Houthis in the Crosshairs: The U.S. Counteroffensive
At the direction of President Donald Trump, the U.S. military began a wide-ranging aerial campaign on March 15 against the Iran-backed Houthis, targeting dozens of military sites and key leaders. Since late 2023, the terrorist group has launched hundreds of projectile attacks from Yemen against commercial vessels and U.S. warships in nearby waters, forcing global shipping firms to incur massive losses and costing the U.S. Navy over $1 billion in defensive munitions. Undeterred by prior, limited U.S. strikes against them, the Houthis expanded their aggression to include attacks targeting Israel and U.S. military aircraft.
Now, the United States has elected to use “overwhelming lethal force” against the Houthis, according to President Trump, who also pledged that “every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran.” The Houthis have vowed an escalatory campaign of their own, threatening to renew recently paused attacks against Israel and, in recent days, launching multiple strikes targeting American warships.
To discuss the U.S. campaign against the Houthis and its potential future trajectory, JINSA hosted a webinar featuring former Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command Lt Gen Thomas Bergeson, USAF (ret.), former U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, USAF (ret.), and Former Commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet VADM Kevin Donegan, USN (ret.).
The discussion was moderated by JINSA Associate Director of Foreign Policy Ari Cicurel.
Lt Gen Thomas Bergeson, USAF (ret.) Lt Gen Thomas W. Bergeson was the Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command where he oversaw military security cooperation and combat operations within the Arabian Peninsula, Northern Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, and Central and Southern Asian States. Lt Gen Bergeson was a participant with JINSA’s 2023 General and Admirals program. |
Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, USAF (ret.) Lt Gen Joseph T. Guastella Jr. was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. In support of the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force, he led the development and implementation of policy directly supporting global operations, force management, weather, training and readiness across air, space and cyber fields. He served as the Air Force Operations Deputy to the Air Force Chief of Staff. Lt Gen Guastella was a participant with JINSA’s 2023 General and Admirals program. |
VADM Kevin Donegan, USN (ret.) ice Admiral Kevin Donegan, USN (ret.) served as Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet and Commander of the 32 Nation Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. VADM Donegan commanded Battle Force 7th Fleet and USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group in Japan. VADM Donegan was a participant with JINSA’s 2022 General and Admirals Program. |
Ari Cicurel Ari Cicurel has been Associate Director of Foreign Policy at JINSA since January 2025. His prior roles at JINSA include as Assistant Director of Foreign Policy from 2023-2025, Senior Policy Analyst from 2020-2023, and Policy Analyst from September 2018-January 2020. Ari is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he dual majored in Political Science and Judaic Studies. |