It was a gift from President Joe Biden that former President Donald Trump probably wasn’t expecting. Biden just showed the world that Trump was right about the designation of the Iranian-backed Houthis as a terrorist organization. It’s another example of Biden proving that he is objectively inferior to Trump regarding foreign policy.
The Yemen-based Islamist paramilitary organization has caused havoc in the Red Sea, launching dozens of attacks recently on shipping vessels in the area. As a result, the Biden administration chose to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization three years after the Trump administration decided to do so. In Feb. 2021, Biden removed the Houthis from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
“Secretary [Antony] Blinken has been clear about undertaking an expeditious review of the designations of Ansarallah given the profound implications for the people of Yemen, home to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe,” a State Department official said in Feb. 2021 after Biden’s decision. “After a comprehensive review, we can confirm that the Secretary intends to revoke the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations of Ansarallah.”
It’s abundantly clear now this was a catastrophic mistake by Biden. He was in such a rush to undo everything Trump did once he went into office that his political hubris led him to make many mistakes that had devastating consequences that endangered the country and the world.
“The Biden administration signaled to the American people in the very first month in office that America does not come first,” Gabrielle Cuccia, former White House correspondent, told me. “For Joe Biden to make one of his first action items in office the removal of the Houthis from a designated terror list, by default, the American people cannot help but lose faith in their institutions.”
Biden prioritized partisan politics instead of sound and logical foreign policy. He was so eager to show he was different and morally superior to his predecessor that he made a litany of foolish decisions — the choice to remove the Houthis as a terror group is one of them.
“Where was Secretary Blinken to advise against such a decision?” Cuccia said. “Show me a storyline where the ‘bad guys’ get the nice treatment, and it works out well.”
Now, after nearly three years of chaos, including dozens of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and an increased use of anti-ship ballistic missiles in recent weeks in retaliation against Israel because of the conflict with Hamas, the Houthis are being held accountable. Biden’s reversal means the Houthis are on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist List, a move that will initiate sanctions to limit Houthi attacks.
“Since November, the Houthis have launched unprecedented attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as military forces positioned in the area to defend the safety and security of commercial shipping,” read a press release from the State Department. These attacks against international shipping have endangered mariners, disrupted the free flow of commerce, and interfered with navigational rights and freedoms. This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group’s terrorist activities. If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation.”
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It is a designation the Houthis should have had all along. The ordeal represents a total embarrassment on the global stage, in a long line of embarrassments for the Biden administration. It’s a scathing indictment of the incompetence and ineffectiveness of Joe Biden.
“Removing the Houthis from the terror list did not ‘lighten the mood,’” Cuccia said. “It lightened the Red Sea with missiles.”