Trump is “really smart” to use U.S. aircraft carrier’s striking power against Houthis, says Dr. Rebecca Grant (From FOX News)

Dr. Rebecca Grant joined anchor Jon Scott of The Fox Report as FOX News Channel led Breaking News coverage of the March 15, 2025 strikes on Houthi terrorist targets in Yemen. Clip here and highlights below.

Jon Scott: Yes, the Houthis are the target, but it’s just as much a message to the ayatollahs in Iran, isn’t it?

Rebecca Grant: Yes, it is. All I can say about these strikes is: Finally! The situation in the Red Sea has dragged on far too long. What I’m hoping is we’ll see a consistent and sustained campaign against the main targets the Houthis are using to attack shipping, and that should include everything from weapons storage to command and control and radar sites. Because Iran supplies and supports the Houthis, of course, backed by China, who has recently sent a ship with missile propellant ingredients over to Iran, so Iran will get this message as well.

Great work here by the USS Harry S. Truman and Carrier Air Wing One, and there will be some land-based U.S. Air Force fighters participating, too. It’s great to see our joint forces in action. General Kurilla is doing the right thing.

Scott: Why did we tolerate this? The U.S. Navy was in the most sustained combat since World War II. Why did we put up with it?

Grant: They played zone defense and did a tremendous job, knocking down drones and missiles and taking out unmanned surface vessels. We used a rotation of five different aircraft carriers, starting with the USS Gerald R. Ford right after the October 7, 2023 attacks and coming up now to the Harry S. Truman. We’ve had an aircraft carrier in that region consistently since then. What I like is seeing us use the striking power. President Trump has been really smart to use the striking power of the U.S. aircraft carrier to get after these Houthi rebels.

Remember, it’s an illegitimate regime; the UN does not recognize them; they’ve been there a long time, but they are now creating a level of chaos, and we can’t afford to have shipping closed off and our forces pinned down. It was time to take offensive action.

Scott asked about the unverified claims of civilian casualties.

Grant: Avoiding civilian casualties is a big requirement. This is part of the reason for striking at night. Remember, every target selected goes through a collateral damage evaluation, particularly if it’s a building that’s close in among civilian facilities. The vast majority are straight-up, legitimate military targets: active radar sites, active missile launch sites, etc.  I know our planners in Central Command are being extremely careful to target military targets. That’s what they want to hit. They don’t want to waste ordnance either. We don’t want to see collateral damage. They want to get after their target objectives and get the task done.

Scott: President Trump liked to point to the fact that during his first term, there were no wars launched.  Is this tantamount to launching a war against the Houthis?

Grant: Reminds me more of President Trump’s first term campaign against ISIS, when, in a pretty short amount of time, he wiped out the rest of that caliphate. I think it would be great for the Houthis to meet the same fate of being taken apart as a viable military operation.

What a mistake they made popping up and trying to influence events in Gaza again. Now, they are going to feel the full weight of U.S. military power with our aircraft carriers and our fighters.

Scott: Given the decimation of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis are sort of the last big force left. Is Iran about to see a triumvirate of defeat among its proxy forces?

Grant: Yes, I think we are looking at getting after one of the last big operational legs of Iran’s terror mechanism. Always, of course, backed up by China, who buys 90% of Iran’s oil and keeps Iran in the game.

Full interview here.