I think we are making a mistake, wrote Vice PresidentJ.D.
Vancein the now-infamous chat group discussing plans to carry out military strikes inYemen.
That the United States can solve that problem with the liberal system of cruise missiles and bombs is not.
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Why are we doing this?
And yet the U.S. has been bombing the Houthis for more than a year now.
They also began launching long-range drones and missiles against Israel proper.
Since then, of course, Israelwalked awayfrom negotiations to continue the ceasefire in Gaza and resumed the war.
This seems to me indicative of an inchoate foreign policy.
As a result, he sees escalation as inevitable.
They just want to post a win.
We struck exactly what we intended,saidU.S.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, who at the time was the Pentagon press secretary.
Indeed, the U.S. likely destroyed underground weapons storage facilities and command bunkers in those October strikes.
But it didnt stop the Houthis from continuing their attacks.
So that strategy isnt working.
But perhaps the U.S. can deter the Houthis through military force alone?
Vance, like me, is a former enlisted Marine noncommissioned officer with a bit of G.I.
What it does do is kill civilians.
There isnt a lot of verified information about what happened on the other end of the group-chat strikes.
Defense SecretaryPete Hegsethasserts in the thread that an apartment building was flattened.
The Houthisclaim53 people were killed.
Maybe all of this is true.
Maybe none of it is.
For now, the Pentagon refuses to provide specifics.
Central Command, responsible for Yemen, also refuses to comment.
Is that what this administration is asking of the American people?
To commit to total war in Yemen?
Boots on the ground?
If so, then someone ought to have to make the case.
The most recent example was in June 2023, when then-senator J.D.
Congress has also specifically tried to stop the president from going to war in Yemen.
Success is alwaysanotherairstrike away.
The old order changeth, yielding place to new, Alfred Tennyson writes inIdylls of the King.
And God fulfills Himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
America spent decades building an unaccountable imperial executive infrastructure to fight terrorists.
Do you even drone-strike, bro?
The precedent ought to give pause, at a time when keying a Tesla is beingcalledan act of terrorism.
This is not about the Houthis, Hegseth noted in the group chat.
Its the old rule of the hammer.
To the man with a kill list, everything looks like a terrorist.
To the man without a clear strategic goal, everycasus belliis an abstraction.
Identify targets; confirm; execute.
No further thought required.
When the president names an enemy, America goes to war on autopilot.
