CNN: Yemen has thwarted the ambitions of the Trump administration, and the downing of Reaper drones has blinded Washington

In the skies of Yemen, where Washington had bet on a decisive air campaign, the reality was being shaped in a completely different way. While the US administration aspired to impose absolute air supremacy within thirty days, its drones collided with a wall of smart resistance and advanced defenses that forced them to retreat.

Exclusive Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

According to an extensive report published by CNN, the Yemeni armed forces succeeded in downing at least seven American MQ-9 Reaper drones during the first month of Trump’s military operation, which was a devastating blow to the second phase of the American plan, which was aimed at tracking down and killing senior leaders in the Yemeni forces.

The fall of the Strategy… in the Sky:

The first phase of the operation aimed to weaken Yemeni air defenses and destroy deterrence capabilities, paving the way for the transition to an intelligence phase involving precise monitoring and field analysis to identify the locations of prominent military commanders. However, the drones that were relied upon for these missions found themselves targeted one after the other.

American officials confirmed to CNN that the repeated losses of Reaper drones, which are the most advanced and costly, caused great confusion in the US Central Command and directly impeded the Pentagon’s ability to assess the impact of its strikes or limit the decline of the Yemeni military arsenal.

The Strikes Continue… And the Will Does Not Retreat:

Apart from the attrition the armed forces are facing, they are facing failure in achieving any successes, as the Yemeni armed forces, according to CNN, continue to launch a barrage of qualitative attacks, including 77 attack drones, 30 cruise missiles, 24 medium-range ballistic missiles, and 23 surface-to-air missiles, all of which targeted US forces, warships in the Red Sea, or targets related to Israel.

Recent intelligence assessments reviewed by CNN also confirmed that the Yemeni forces’ missile launch capability has not been affected despite weeks of US bombing, and that their command-and-control structure remains cohesive.

Pentagon Silence… And Implicit Admission:

In an attempt to evade acknowledging failure, a US Defense Department official told CNN that “the investigations are still ongoing,” suggesting that “hostile fire” may have been behind the downing of the planes. He added that “the high tempo of operations increases the risks,” in a veiled admission that air control isn’t as assured as planned.

As for the spokesman for the US Central Command, Dave Eastburn, he merely referred to the details of the operation being subject to security restrictions, without denying or confirming the scale of the losses.

The Costs of War… And Concern Over Depletion of Strategic Ammunition:

Despite repeated statements from the Trump administration claiming, “brilliant successes,” CNN revealed that the operation cost the US about $1 billion in the first three weeks alone. This financial hemorrhage appears to be matched by an even more dangerous strategic depletion, as leaders in the US Indo-Pacific Command expressed concern about withdrawing an entire battalion of Patriot missiles from the Asia region to the Middle East. In a congressional hearing, Admiral Sam Paparo said that “those forces are necessary in the event of a major crisis with China.”

A War of Attrition… And Yemeni Steadfastness:

CNN confirms that the Yemeni armed forces have extensive experience in the war of attrition, noting that Yemen has withstood a years-long Saudi military campaign, as well as previous US strikes under the Biden administration, which didn’t achieve any notable results.

Despite the American administration’s promotion of “brilliant successes,” internal intelligence assessments indicate the opposite: the Houthis’ organizational structure remains intact, their ability to strike remains, and the cost of the war is becoming an increasingly heavy burden on Washington day by day, as American officials tell CNN.