https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17195/iran-houthis-celebrate-biden
By removing the Houthis from the terrorist list and cutting off US support to confront the militia group, the Biden Administration has emboldened and empowered the Houthis and given them a free pass.
That is most likely why the Houthi terror group has ratcheted up its missile attacks. More than 40 drones and missiles were reportedly launched by the Houthis at Saudi Arabia in the month of February alone.
In spite of the mounting evidence of crimes committed by the Houthis, the Biden Administration decided to hand an undeserved political victory to Iran’s regime. Let us hope that the Biden Administration reconsiders, and stops rewarding Iran for its malign behavior as well as jeopardizing the strengthening peace and stability that has finally been taking off throughout the Middle East.
The Biden Administration has completely reversed the former administration’s firm policy on the Houthis in the Yemeni civil war.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, also known as Ansarallah, as a “foreign terrorist organization” in January 2021. The move was intended to hold the terror group accountable, as Pompeo clarified:
“These designations will provide additional tools to confront terrorist activity and terrorism by Ansarallah, a deadly Iran-backed militia group in the Gulf region. The designations are intended to hold Ansarallah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure, and commercial shipping.”
But after less than a week in office, the Biden administration began reviewing the designation and revoked the designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group.
Why would the Biden Administration remove a militia group, which commits crimes against humanity, recruits, injures and kills children, from the terrorist designation? According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2020:
“Since September 2014, all parties to the conflict have used child soldiers under 18, including some under the age of 15, according to a 2019 UN Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen report in 2019. According to the secretary general, out of 3,034 children recruited throughout the war in Yemen, 1,940—64 percent—were recruited by the Houthis.”