This Image Does Not Show Americans Withdrawing Aircraft Carriers Fearing Houthi Attacks
The Claim
National Interest Magazine: The Americans have withdrawn their vulnerable aircraft carriers, fearing the destruction of these expensive and seemingly exposed assets by Yemen.
News posted on
Emerging story
Amid the current tensions in the Red Sea and the constant Houthi attacks, an image emerged on X claiming to show the U.S. withdrew its aircraft carriers fearing Houthi attacks.
An X user shared the image captioning it, “National Interest Magazine: The Americans have withdrawn their vulnerable aircraft carriers, fearing the destruction of these expensive and seemingly exposed assets by Yemen.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be misleading. The viral image is outdated and has no relation to the Houthi attack on the American carriers.
Outdated Image of the Repairing of USS Forrestal in 1967
Through reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the image published on Getty Images. However, it does not have any relation to the tensions in the Red Sea.
The image dates back to 1967. It shows repair crews working to fix the USS Forrestal CVA-59.
The USS Forrestal in the viral image was the first post-World War II carrier designed to handle jet aircraft. In 1967, a Zuni rocket accidentally struck it, causing a huge fire, off the coast of Vietnam.
The rocket resulted in leaking fuel which ultimately ignited, leading to massive explosions of outdated 1,000-pound bombs. Burning fuel spread to the hangar deck and then throughout the interior of the ship. The inferno destroyed 21 aircraft, injured 161, and killed 134 sailors.
The incident caused $72 million in damage at the time. It took nearly two years of repairs to put the Forrestal back into action, which served until 1993.
Two American Warships Attacked By Houthis
The armed group in Yemen Ansar Allah Houthis has attacked two U.S. warships with eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and three anti-ship cruise missiles.
The two vessels: the USS Stockdale and the USS Spruance, were attacked in the Red Sea on Monday, November 11.
However, the attack was thwarted. According to Pentagon press secretary Air Force Major Gen Pat Ryder, the ships were not damaged and no personnel were hurt. The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) forces had repelled “multiple Iranian-backed Houthi attacks” during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Reyder explained.
The Yemeni armed movement said in a statement upon the attack that they also successfully bombarded the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with a number of cruise missiles. Ryder, however, said that he was not aware of any attacks on the Abraham Lincoln vessel.
U.S. and U.K. Strikes Targeting Yemen
A day before the Houthi attacks on the U.S. vessels, the United States and the United Kingdom struck Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The Pentagon said it targeted advanced weapons storage facilities in the raids.
Local news outlets from Yemen reported that parts of Sanaa, the northern Amran governorate, and other areas were hit. There were no reports of casualties.
The Pentagon said that the strikes targeted facilities containing various weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Since January, the U.S. and the U.K. have repeatedly carried out strikes on Yemen to stop the Houthi rebels from attacking Israeli-linked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea.
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