According to Saudi and American experts, former President Biden’s alleged appeasement of the Houthis, an Iran-backed terrorist organisation, has sparked renewed criticism for allowing them to disrupt global commerce and destabilise the Middle Eastern region.
In a speech at the State Department less than a month into his presidency, Biden announced in February 2021 that his administration would end all US offensive support for the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis, while also pledging support for the United Nations-led “initiative to impose a ceasefire” and resuming peace talks in Yemen.
A week later, the Biden administration removed the Houthis from the terrorist list, which then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as “a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.”
Salman Al-Ansari, a prominent Saudi geopolitical analyst, told Fox News Digital that “Biden’s early appeasement of the Houthis, lifting them from the terror list for nothing in return, emboldened their aggression.”
The Houthis, an Iranian proxy, have thrown Yemen into chaos, destabilised the region, and targeted global shipping. Trump’s response is a necessary correction to Biden’s mistakes, sending a strong message that piracy and terror will not be tolerated.”
When asked about Trump’s military strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, Al-Ansari stated, “The strikes are long overdue. The Houthis have disrupted global trade, attacked US forces, and increased instability. However, it remains unclear how far the United States is willing to go in its campaign against them.
The Red Sea and the Strait of Mandab are among the world’s most important trade routes, transporting more than 20% of oil shipments and 13% of global trade.
He went on to say, “Any failure to secure them could have serious economic and security consequences.” While Saudi Arabia remains committed to a political solution, this cannot be achieved without putting significant pressure on both the Houthis and their ally, Iran. “They only understand strength, not appeasement.”
The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) is “Allah is Greater.” Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse upon the Jews. Victory for Islam.” One of Biden’s first foreign policy moves was to remove the Houthis from the list of foreign terrorist organisations. The Houthis were sanctioned by the first Trump administration.
The Biden administration also pressed Saudi Arabia to end its aerial military campaign to combat Houthi terrorism against the oil-rich nation and piracy on the high seas. Al-Ansari stated that “Saudi Arabia did its best to persuade the US of the Houthis’ threat, but the Biden administration completely failed Riyadh.”
The good news is that Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s legitimate government have already completed the heavy lifting, liberating approximately 80% of Yemeni territory. If the United States wants to take on the remaining 20%, it will have to do so on its own. Riyadh’s regional calculations have shifted, favouring diplomacy over military escalation.
Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that “Biden made the Houthis a partisan issue by de-listing them.”
This has prompted Trump to take a more aggressive stance against the Houthis. And it doesn’t hurt that weakening the Houthis will signal to the Saudis that America has returned as an ally of Saudi Arabia after four years of ambivalence from the Biden White House.”
“These US strikes have multiple benefits for the US,” Schanzer said. “It demonstrates to the Saudis that we are committed to their regional security. It demonstrates to Europe that we are committed to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, which will lower shipping costs for their businesses.
Perhaps most importantly, we are witnessing the dismantling of Iran’s ‘ring of fire’ strategy in real time. The regime is weakening by the day, raising concerns about a potential endgame to destroy the Iranian nuclear program or even bring down the regime.”
In response to Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist movement in Gaza, the Iranian regime-backed Houthis launched military strikes.
President Biden first authorised strikes against the Houthis in January 2024, in response to the group’s ongoing attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.
Biden claimed that the raids were authorised “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.”
A week after the first strikes, the Biden administration changed policy again, adding the Houthis to its list of specially designated global terrorists in an effort to halt the terror group’s attacks on US and global shipping.
Fox News Digital contacted President Biden’s spokesperson for comment on criticisms of his administration’s policies towards the Houthis.
