President Joe Biden acknowledged the Iran-backed Houthis as “terrorists,” reversing his earlier decision to revoke their terrorist designation made by former President Donald Trump.
This move comes after the Houthis have been involved in attacks against U.S. military and international commercial ships.
Biden recently ordered strikes against Houthi targets and stated that further action would be taken if necessary. (Trending: Trump Responds To Biden’s Bombing In Yemen)
REPORTER: "Are you willing to call the Houthis a terrorist group?"
BIDEN: "I think they are."
Biden removed the terrorist designation on the Houthis in 2021, reversing Trump's designation. pic.twitter.com/teJEz3X3FS
— AnalyzingAmerica (@AnalyzAmerica) January 15, 2024
A reporter asked Biden, “Are you willing to call the Houthis a terrorist group, sir?”
“I think they are,” replied Biden.
Former Trump Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel, said, “So you shut them down financially and you are able [to] target them as terrorists. And then if they meet the threshold, you’re able to take out their leadership — people who are actually terrorists.”
“When you remove the designation, like the Biden administration did, you allow them access to the global banking system, you allow them to travel freely, you allow them to engage in business with our allies,” he continued.
“So you allow them to get money, get funded. You allow Iran to pay them, and we don’t have a recourse. Since they’re not a designated terrorist organization, operationally and intelligence-wise, they’re not a priority to take out, they’re not a priority for intelligence collection purposes,” explained the former Pentagon official.
Despite acknowledging the group as terrorists, Biden deemed the designation as “irrelevant,” emphasizing the need for a coalition to respond to their behavior.
“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior, along with our allies,” said Biden.
“It’s irrelevant whether they’re designated. We’ve put together a group of nations that are going to say that if they continue to act and behave as they do, we’ll respond,” explained Biden.
The Houthis’ actions have led to increased tensions, including firing missiles at U.S. military vessels.
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