USS Eisenhower ordered back to US from Red Sea amid YAF attacks
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The Eisenhower will be replaced by an aircraft carrier that would operate in the Pacific.
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Crew members work during take-off operations on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP)
US officials have greenlit the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was dispatched to the Red Sea to counter the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations in support of Gaza, to return home.
The Eisenhower will be returning to Norfolk in the state of Virginia, the US Naval Institute’s news service mentioned, citing an anonymous official.
The reports added that the warship would be replaced by an aircraft carrier that would operate in the Pacific, with the closest known to be operating in Asia being the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
In early June, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF), Brigadier General Yahya Saree, confirmed that USS Eisenhower was subject to two attacks by the YAF within 24 hours.
Commenting on the announcement, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Sanaa government, Hussein al-Ezzi, considered the withdrawal of the Eisenhower from the Red Sea a positive sign, whether it was for maintenance or a permanent move.
On his account on X, al-Ezzi also vowed that the Roosevelt would not fare better than the Eisenhower, which has been significantly damaged, calling on the US, UK, and their allies to immediately end the militarization of the Red Sea and to change the aggressive behavior toward Arab and Muslim countries, especially Yemen.
سحب آيزنهاور من البحر الأحمر مؤشرجيدسواءاً كان ذلك للصيانةأوبقرار نهائي
— حسين العزي (@hussinalezzi5) June 21, 2024
في كل الأحوال نحث واشنطن ولندن-وشركاءهما-على إنهاء عسكرةالبحر فورا وتعديل سلوكهماالعدائي تجاه بلادنا(اليمن وفلسطين)
(الإستقواء بفارق الإمكانات ممارسة جبانة برزت عبر التاريخ كعلامةفارقة بين القتلةوالمقاتلين) pic.twitter.com/2jgb14EAPj
This follows a report on Wednesday by ABC News that fatigue has begun to set in aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.
As the carrier and its 7,000-strong crew near their ninth consecutive month at sea—the most prolonged naval engagement since World War II—questions arise about sustaining such an intense combat operation.
Read more: How Ansar Allah are schooling the West on the battlefield: Bloomberg
The carrier's deployment has already been extended twice, leading to growing fatigue among its crew.
At the Pentagon, leaders were grappling with whether to heed Navy calls to bring the carrier home or US Central Command's plea for an extended stay - hinging on the carrier's role in supporting "Israel."
A recent report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency revealed that the YAF have conducted no fewer than 175 operations on US naval vessels, coalition ships, and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November 19.
In early June, the leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, warned that the YAF would launch an even larger and more potent attack on the USS Eisenhower whenever possible.
It is crucial to note that the YAF has repeatedly stated that it does not intend to disrupt maritime routes for all, but instead is specifically targeting ships and vessels affiliated with the Israeli occupation or facilitating its genocide of the Palestinian people by shipping goods and equipment to the Israeli occupation.
