By involving itself in another war in the Middle East, the US has bitten more than it could chew, an Indian military veteran has said.
The comments of Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) J.S. Sodhi came in the wake of a wave of air attacks on Houthi targets on January 11.
The overnight strikes conducted by the British and American forces were supported by the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, and Bahrain.
"This multinational action targeted radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles," the US Central Command's statement read.
Following the US and UK's military action, Yemen's military organization pledged a "crushing response" to Washington and London.
Some reports even claimed that the Houthis shot down an F-22 warplane in retaliation to the attacks.
Western Action in Yemen Opens Door For a Larger Regional War
Against this backdrop, Sodhi stressed that by launching overnight strikes on Houthi targets on January 11, the US and the UK have done exactly what the "Axis of Resistance" wanted them to do: open the door for a larger regional war in the Middle East which was being subdued after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7.
The former Indian Army officer noted that Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and Arab nations are economically and militarily stronger than they were decades back.
"By launching an attack on the Houthis, the Axis of Resistance has got the green signal for a wider conflict and hence the chances of a wider regional conflict are brighter than ever before," Sodhi told Sputnik India on Friday.
He pointed out that rather than going for a two-nation resolution of the Israel-Palestine issue which has been repeatedly advocated by the United Nations and major global powers like Russia and India, grave damage has been caused to the region by the West.
The defense pundit underlined that with the US aircraft carrier group USS Gerald Ford scheduled to pull out of the Mediterranean Sea anytime soon, the US Navy was already far-stretched in its deployments as apart from the Middle East being volatile, Ukraine was losing its war with Russia and the Indo-Pacific Region was getting on the boil.
"Thus, by embroiling itself in the Middle East, the US Navy has bitten more than it can chew," Sodhi summed up.
War in Gaza and the Houthi Support For Palestinians
It is worth noting that the American and British airstrikes against the Houthis came after Yemen's military group began attacking naval vessels in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The Houthis stated that they were targeting Israel-bound/origin ships in what they termed as the massacre of innocent civilians by the Jewish state's forces in the Gaza Strip.
Following a surprise raid by the Palestinian militant movement Hamas on 7 October, Tel Aviv launched a military campaign in the densely-populated coastal enclave.
Israel's bloody onslaught in Gaza has so far left nearly 23,500 dead, with a majority of them being young children and women.