USS Bataan (USN file image)
Dec 30, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
The two
U.S. Navy amphibs that were deployed to the Red Sea to deter Iranian-allied
Houthi rebels have now been withdrawn to the Mediterranean, though attacks by
Houthi forces continue unabated.
On Thursday, USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall - two-thirds of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) - transited north through the Suez Canal. They are headed to meet up with the third vessel in their unit, USS Mesa Verde, and will reassemble as a full ARG.
The
departing amphibs take with them a group of about 100 Marines who had training
to serve as embarked maritime security teams for merchant vessels. Other Marine
Corps members of the ARG are designated special-operations-ready forces for
complex missions, like hostage rescue.
So far, the
Biden administration has chosen not to use these capabilities (or other U.S.
Navy and SOCOM assets) to counter the Houthi threat to merchant shipping. Since
the beginning of the Israeli operation in Gaza, Houthi rebels have seized one
Israeli-linked merchant ship and launched more than 100 drones and missiles at
vessel targets in the Red Sea, including U.S. Navy warships.
Saudi
Arabia has reportedly urged the White House to refrain from striking Houthi
launch sites, for several reasons. The Houthi movement is closely tied to
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and it receives substantial financial
and material support from Iran. Attacking Houthi units on the ground could
scuttle ceasefire talks between Saudi leaders and Houthi forces, and
simultaneously set back Saudi attempts to normalize relations with Iran. The
Houthis also have the capability to retaliate by launching missiles at Saudi
oil infrastructure, and have done so in the past.
USS Bataan and Carter
Hall may have a different mission now in the Mediterranean. The carrier
USS Gerald R. Ford has had her deployment in the Mediterranean
extended twice already in order to maintain deterrence against Iranian-aligned
militants in Syria and Lebanon. The reconstituted Bataan ARG might have enough
firepower to relieve Ford on station off Israel, allowing allow the
carrier to go home at last (as previously planned, noted USNI). The
carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was originally scheduled to
relieve Ford, is needed in the Gulf of Aden to assist in countering the
Houthi drone threat.
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