The United States' second round of attacks on Yemen targets Saturday could mean "a great deal of significant civilian casualties," but the hits may still not be enough to deter Iranian-backed proxies in the Middle East or restore a sense of deterrence, former CIA analyst and American First Policy Institute senior fellow Fred Fleitz said on Newsmax.
"This is at least the 13th since early January that the U.S. has attacked Yemen," Fleitz told Newsmax's "The Count." "But look, I'm skeptical. These attacks by these proxies have gone so far. They have been conducted for so long. I think we have a long way to go before we restore American deterrence in the region."
He further commented that he is hearing that some urban areas in Yemen may have been hit with the second round, and that could mean "a great deal of significant civilian casualties."
Other strikes, however, have not deterred the Yemen-based Houthis from attempting attacks on the United States and its allies in the Middle East, and Fleitz said he's not sure the current strikes, coming after the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan last weekend, will deter the proxies.
"I hope it does, but this is simply the second stage of an effort by the administration to turn up the pressure on the Iranian-backed proxies," he said.
Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille, also appearing on the program Saturday, said that the U.S. strikes that began Friday should have started weeks ago.
"This is too little too late," he said. "While I applaud the Biden administration for finally taking action, this should have been done after the first attack, possibly the 10th attack, not waiting for 170 attacks and three Americans to lose their lives ... It's the equivalent of telegraphing your punches."
Meanwhile, some people, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are questioning why Iran is not being targeted directly, Fleitz said he agrees with Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., that hits on Iran should not happen unless Congress votes to approve those as an act of war.
"This is a very serious line for the United States," Fleitz said. "There's also a provision in the Constitution that requires Congress to approve acts of war. This would be an act of war. There's no legal justification for it, and I don't trust this administration to begin a war with Iran. If it's justifiable, and it may be, let's see the case be presented to Congress."
Sarraille agreed that the U.S. should not be quick to attack Iran, and said he'd "caution" senators like Graham to "watch their rhetoric and slow their roll to go into Iran."
"Iran is in a box already," he said, adding that "70% of the Iranian people do not support this theocracy."
Rather than military action, Sarraille added, the administration should try sanctions against Iran and "let the CIA go to work. We will see the Iranian theocracy fall within the next 10 years is my guess."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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