Another U.S. Embarrassment in Yemen Biden made concessions to the Houthis, who keep escalating the war.
In its early days in office the Biden Administration removed the Houthi rebels of Yemen from the list of foreign terrorist organizations and withdrew weapons support for the Saudi-led coalition aiding Yemen’s government. How are those goodwill gestures working out?
The Iran-backed Houthis recently breached the compound that once housed the U.S. Embassy and have detained Yemeni employees of the American government. “We are extremely concerned by reports of detentions of some of our local Yemeni employees in Sanaa,” a State Department spokesman said this week. “We call for their immediate release.”
The White House hoped its concessions to the Houthis would prompt them to negotiate an end to the war, but they have responded by pressing their advantage. The Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks on Saudi soil—where tens of thousands of Americans live—and intentionally targeted civilians. Thousands have been killed or displaced this year.
When announcing that the U.S. would roll back support for the coalition fighting the Houthi rebels, President Biden declared, “This war has to end.” Yes, but how? The Houthis, and their Iranian backers, saw that the U.S. was walking away from an ally, and they escalated with a goal of victory. They also see an Administration that refuses to intercept Iranian military supplies.
The response from the Biden Administration has been to issue increasingly stern press releases. America’s enemies around the world sense weakness in the White House, and they are moving to take advantage.
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