Rep. Adam Kinzinger: US Can't Just Back Away in Yemen

Rep. Adam Kinzinger said the warships being sent to the waters off Yemen aren't likely to attempt to stop or board Iranian ships in international waters, but added that the United States might step in if asked by the legitimate Yemeni government if Iranian ships get into their waters.

"If the Iranian ships have weapons on them for the Houthis and we simply fly over them and watch them dock and resupply, you kind of wonder at the end of the day what have you accomplished?" Kinzinger said Tuesday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." 

"You might look a bit toothless," the Illinois Republican said. "You don't want to escalate the situation but you also don't want to back down from a pretty serious problem."

An aircraft carrier and a guided-missile cruiser are joining seven U.S. ships already in the area. Reports on Monday indicated the ships were to enforce a U.N. embargo on the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have taken over the country and forced the president to flee to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis deny they are receiving arms supplies from Iran.

But State Department acting spokeswoman Marie Harf on Tuesday said those reports are "blatantly untrue.

"This discreet movement of U.S. assets is for a discreet purpose," Harf insisted.

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