Former CIA director optimistic US has ‘good intelligence’ to mitigate Houthi dangers

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Thursday that he is optimistic the U.S. has “good intelligence” that can mitigate dangers from Houthi rebels.

“I do think [the] United States, along with the U.K., and other actors are going to take actions to mitigate the potential danger that the Houthis pose,” Brennan said Thursday on MSNBC. “And I do think that we have good intelligence about where some of these Houthi weapons systems are located.”

From the beginning of the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Houthi rebels have launched many attacks on merchant ships and vessels. The U.S., alongside other allies, warned the Houthi rebels about additional attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea on Wednesday, calling recent ones “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing.”

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the U.S. and the allies said in a joint statement.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” it added.

The statement also said that the attacks in the Red Sea “threaten innocent lives from all over the world and constitute a significant international problem that demands collective action.”