Middle East

As the Iran-backed Houthis attack ships in the Middle East and now strike inside Israel, the U.S. military is hitting the terrorist group hard in Yemen.

 According to U.S. Central Command, on Wednesday, American troops “successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi missiles on launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.” Three more missiles were taken out on Tuesday in Yemen, while “four Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels” were blown out of the Red Sea by the U.S. military on Sunday.

“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM said. “These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”

During his speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu correctly asserted that Iran is behind most of the ongoing violence in the Middle East, including the Houthi terrorism that is now directly affecting his country.

“For Iran, Israel is first, America is next,” Netanyahu said. “So, when Israel fights Hamas, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we’re fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America.”

We agree.

A large portion of Americans may not know that U.S. troops are still in Iraq, but our nation’s military appears set to begin drawing down its forces in the coming months.

Reuters reports that U.S. and Iraqi officials are busy hammering out details of a potential drawdown this week in Washington. Sources told Reuters that Iraq wants the U.S. military to begin leaving in September and to be fully withdrawn from Iraq a year later. The article said that despite Iraq’s wishes, “U.S. officials are keen to have some military footprint in Iraq on a bilateral basis.”

About 2,500 American troops are in Iraq to battle ISIS, and serious threats to their safety remain. Just last week, an Iran-backed terrorist group launched an attack on Al Asad Airbase, where hundreds of U.S. forces are stationed. American troops shot down one enemy drone, while the other struck the base. Thankfully, nobody was injured.

Please pray for the safety of U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and throughout the Middle East.

Russia and China

Four Russian and Chinese bombers were intercepted by U.S. and Canadian fighter jets near Alaska on Wednesday.

ABC News reports that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected the bombers and rushed to confront the Russian and Chinese jets, which did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace. While ABC’s report said that “it is not unusual” for Russian military aircraft to operate near Alaska, “this marked the first time that Chinese military aircraft had been intercepted in that area.”

The incident occurred amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s military and nuclear threats to the U.S. and Europe, and China’s nearly constant saber-rattling toward Taiwan. Given the ongoing public debate about the U.S. commander-in-chief’s fitness for office, these threats must be taken even more seriously.

Meanwhile, Russian warships are set to once again visit the communist-controlled island of Cuba, according to a report by Reuters.

For the second time this year, Russia will flex its military muscles during a port visit to Havana and even allow Cuban citizens to tour its ships. The Cuban defense ministry said the joint naval exercise will start Saturday and last until July 30. Havana, of course, is just over 100 miles from Key West, Florida.

Coming Home

A group of U.S. Navy pilots is finally back home after a nine-month combat deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A U.S. Navy pilot embraces his wife at a homecoming event at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on July 13, 2024.

Welcome home, heroes! Thank you for defending our freedom. We hope you enjoy this well-deserved time with your families.

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the newly released I Have Your Back, Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on X @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.