“We do not want to go down a path of major escalation,” said General CQ Brown.
January 26, 2024, 7:50 p.m. ET
• 6 min reading
The U.S.-led retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea are aimed at preventing future conflicts, and the U.S. does not want to “go down the path of major escalation,” Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News, in an exclusive interview.
Brown spoke to Raddatz as the Houthis stepped up attacks off the coast of Yemen on Friday, firing anti-ship ballistic missiles in two separate attacks. A missile hit a British-operated oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, setting it on fire.
The other missile was fired from the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney without causing damage.
Watch more of Martha Raddatz's exclusive interview with Joint Chiefs Chairman CQ Brown on ABC's “This Week” on Sunday.
ABC News' Martha Raddatz interviews Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.ABC News
Raddatz's exclusive interview with Brown will air Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Raddatz asked Brown about suggestions from critics that the Biden administration is not being tough enough on these militants — or on Iran, which the U.S. accuses of funding the attacks.
Brown, who as chairman is President Joe Biden's top military adviser, responded: “I would also ask: What do they want? A major conflict? Do you want us to fight an all-out war?”
Brown said the goal is deterrence while protecting U.S. forces.
Houthi fighters and tribesmen hold a rally against U.S. and British attacks on Houthi-administered military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 14, 2024.AP
“We need to think about our approach in these areas and we cannot predict exactly how any of these groups will respond,” he said. “So we need to make sure we keep an eye on the protection of key partner forces, but also the possibility of depriving them of their capabilities.”
“And we don’t want to go down a path of major escalation that leads to a much broader conflict within the region,” he said.
The Houthis insist that the more than 30 attacks in the Red Sea since last fall are in retaliation for US and British support in Israel's war against Hamas.
In the case of the British-operated oil tanker, the ship was damaged and the crew had to abandon ship. U.S. officials said the crew made it aboard a lifeboat while the USS Carney and a French warship were en route to provide assistance.
Some lawmakers, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson, welcomed the U.S.-led attacks, calling them necessary but overdue.
“The United States and our allies must leave no doubt that the days of unanswered terrorist aggression are over,” McConnell said.
But other lawmakers have insisted that Congress be consulted first. In a letter to Biden on Friday, a bipartisan group of 22 House Democrats called the attacks “unauthorized.” A group of bipartisan senators, including Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., wrote a similar letter earlier this week.
The Pentagon described the attacks as self-defense that did not require prior authorization from Congress.
“We urge your administration to seek congressional approval before engaging the U.S. in another conflict in the Middle East, potentially provoking Iran-backed militias that could threaten U.S. military personnel already in the region and escalating.” could risk a larger regional war,” the House lawmakers wrote.