One of the first things President Joe Biden did when he took office was to remove Yemen's Houthis from America's list of terrorists. Ever since Israel began its war with Hamas, the Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea. One Houthi supporter posted a message for Americans and the British, saying that "psychological warfare is utterly useless against them" and that "their life goal since childhood has been to fight America." Their only fear is "the punishment and wrath of Allah if they fail to support the people of Palestine and backtrack on their support."
Biden put the Houthis back on the terror list, but a new report in Bloomberg suggests he might take them back off if they stop attacking ships.
The US said it would consider revoking its recent designation of Yemen’s Houthis as terrorists if the Iran-backed militants cease their shipping attacks in and around the Red Sea. https://t.co/QeeaTyfnV1
— Bloomberg (@business) April 3, 2024
But why? Because Washington has been seeking "diplomatic off-ramps," Bloomberg reported a Yemen envoy as saying.
1. Biden removes Houthis from terror list
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) April 3, 2024
2. Houthis start attacking ships
3. Biden threatens to put Houthis back on the list
4. Houthis keep attacking
5. Biden puts Houthis back on the list
6. Houthis keep attacking
TODAY: Biden offers to take Houthis off the list pic.twitter.com/w98qmnkFDi
It’s almost like terrorists living in huts don’t care about soft sanctions and bad PR
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) April 3, 2024
Remember - Biden never put the Houthis back on "the list." They remain off the FTO list; and the sanctions he announced came alongside massive exemptions to render them toothless.
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) April 3, 2024
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"Strength through appeasement" isn't necessarily the greatest or the most effective deterrent, as anyone who has worked with unruly youth might tell you.
— Lubdha Khandelwal (@lubdha) April 3, 2024
How many examples of this do they need before they realize appeasement is just taken as a sign of weakness and exploited?
— Dan Peters (@TheDanPeters) April 3, 2024
“We’ve tried nothing, and we’re all out of ideas!”
— JWPTX (@jwpatx1485) April 3, 2024
He really really means it this time guys. He treats them like toddlers
— BBallMom (@boss_lady567) April 3, 2024
Hard to believe this is the best the executive branch can do with such stellar talent at the helm, cabinet included.
— AxeQuestions (@AxeQuestions) April 3, 2024
Tell us a kid staffer is running the country without actually telling us.
— Dave Syverson (@SyversonDave) April 3, 2024
He has been wrong on every foriegn policy decision in his whole career
— Scott Harnett 🇺🇸 (@ScottHarnett_) April 3, 2024
Dunno about you but they told us that Biden was a foreign policy genius
— Reliably Based (@BasedReliably) April 3, 2024
Does Biden really expect the Houthis to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea because of this "diplomatic off-ramp"?
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