NYT on why Trump pulled the plug. After 30 days of US bombing:
“the results were not there. The US had not even established air superiority over the Houthis. Instead, what was emerging…was another expensive but inconclusive American military engagement in the region.
“The Houthis shot down several American MQ-9 Reaper drones & continued to fire at naval ships in the Red Sea, inc. a US aircraft carrier. & the US strikes burned through weapons & munitions at a rate of about $1 billion in the first month alone.
gift link
(via @LemonSlayerUS
Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi MilitiaThe militant group in Yemen was still firing at ships and shooting down drones, while U.S. forces were burning through munitions.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/trump-houthis-bombing.html?smid=url-share
The Omanis proposed an off-ramp: the US “would halt the bombing campaign & the militia would no longer target American ships in the Red Sea, but without any agreement to stop disrupting shipping that the group deemed helpful to Israel.
U.S. Central Command officials received a sudden order from the White House on May 5 to ‘pause’ offensive operations.
“The sudden declaration of victory over the Houthis demonstrates how some members of the president’s national security team underestimated a group known for its resilience. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the head of Central Command, had pressed for a forceful campaign, which the defense secretary and the national security adviser initially supported,
“Significantly, the men also misjudged their boss’s tolerance for military conflict in the region … Trump has never bought into long-running military entanglements in the Middle East, and spent his first term trying to bring troops home from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
“In those first 30 days, the Houthis shot down 7 American MQ-9 drones (around $30 million each), hampering Central Command’s ability to track and strike the militant group. Several American F-16s and an F-35 fighter jet were nearly struck by Houthi air defenses, making real the possibility of American casualties, multiple U.S. officials said.
That possibility became reality when two pilots and a flight deck crew member were injured in the two episodes involving the F/A-18 Super Hornets, which fell into the Red Sea from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman within 10 days of each other.
“The cost of the operation was staggering. The Pentagon had deployed two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and THAAD air defenses, to the Middle East…By the end of the first 30 days of the campaign, the cost had exceeded $1 billion, the officials said.
“So many precision munitions were being used, especially advanced long-range ones, that some Pentagon contingency planners were growing increasingly concerned about overall stocks and the implications for…warding off an attempted invasion of Taiwan by China.
“And through it all, the Houthis were still shooting at vessels and drones, fortifying their bunkers and moving weapons stockpiles underground.
“The White House began pressing Central Command for metrics of success in the campaign. Centcom responded by providing data showing the number of munitions dropped. The intel community said that there was ‘some degradation’ of Houthi capability, but…it could easily reconstitute
“Trump had become the most important skeptic.
On April 28, the Truman was forced to make a hard turn at sea to avoid incoming Houthi fire…, That same day, dozens of people were killed in a U.S. attack that hit a migrant facility controlled by the Houthis,
“Then on May 4, a Houthi ballistic missile evaded Israel’s aerial defenses and struck near Ben-Gurion Airport
On Tuesday, 2 pilots aboard another Super Hornet, again on the Truman, were forced to eject… sending the plane into the Red Sea.
By then, Trump had decided to declare the operation a success.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said it’ll engage with Rio & South32 over environmental issues after its board of ethics advised selling its shares
Jeepers, 10 hours before you get a cup of tea and smoke…
“Mr Phillip told the court he would go on to have sex with Ms Ventura on several occasions - encounters that lasted as long as 10 hours, sometimes under the influence of drugs - as Mr Combs watched and filmed.”
BBC:
ABC:
Trump has left Israel to go it alone with the Houthis. Reportedly there was no heads up on the US Houthis deal and no undertaking by the Houthis to cease action against shipping linked to Israel.
The sabre rattling on Iran seems to have also gone quiet, with the US excluding Israel from any talks.
Netanyahu claims that Israel had driven the release of the dual US/Israel IDF reserve hostage don’t carry much weight. Sure the IDF held off attacks on Hamas in the relevant part of Gaza to ensure his safe exit passage, but that was about it.
Although Witkoff has been given the credit for this hostage release, Boehler the hostage envoy, probably did the leg work through his Hamas contacts. Boehler has been photographed with his family who live in the US and will travel with them to meet with the hostage when he arrives in Israel,
He sounds like an absolute disgusting evil person
She testified that he would hire male prostitutes to urinate in her mouth while he watched
The former Vice President (Harris) was listed in documents as an attendee to a freak off.
PEE DIDDY
The Department of Health has today published ‘The Prevalence of Autism (including Aspergers Syndrome) in School age Children in Northern Ireland. Annual report 2025’.
These figures have been extracted from the Northern Ireland School Census provided by the Department of Education.
Key Facts and Figures:
The estimated prevalence of autism within the school aged population in Northern Ireland was 5.9% in 2024/25.
There was a marked difference in the prevalence rates of autism between the sexes, with males 2.5 times more likely to be identified with autism than females.
The Northern Ireland urban population has a statistically significant higher prevalence rate of autism than the rural population.
Fox headline: “Brooklyn local prevents boatload of Mexicans from landing in New York”.
Reminded me of the Montague street bridge
Apparently lost power and drifted under the bridge, it wasn’t a blunder from the captain/navigator trying to fit a too-tall ship under a too-small span, more a mechanical failure. Not that this makes the casualties any less dead…
Queensland is having some bridge problems. A truck couldn’t fit its cargo of a wind turbine under the Mount Crosby Bridge.
hopefully no mexican naval vessels hit it
I thought it was weird that it reversed into the bridge.
Finally someone is threatening action. Also…
Meanwhile, peaceful and happy procession in NYC for Israel Day, so soon after Nakba Day; the US imposes sanctions on ICC personnel.
Sanctions tightened on Russia.