White House defends retaliation against Houthis: 'Deterrence is not a light switch'

A top White House national security official is defending the repeated U.S. strikes on Houthis in Yemen, amid continued attacks by the militant group on international ships in the Red Sea, which has drawn America into a pattern of retaliatory operations.

«In terms of how this is playing out, I think one thing that’s important to keep in mind is deterrence is not a light switch,» the White House deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, told ABC News «This Week» co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday. «It requires a pattern and a practice of activity over time and can’t be accessed based on a snapshot of what’s happening at any given moment.»

«This is not an attack just on the United States,» Finer said. «This is an attack on the entire global economy and the world is standing up and saying they won't tolerate that.»

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