Crush the Houthis

Since ⁤last November, ⁤Houthi terrorists operating from enclaves in northern Yemen have ⁤launched 26 attacks on commercial ⁢shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The⁤ Houthis have fired ‍drone ‍swarms, cruise missiles, and anti-ship‌ missiles. The Houthis ‌have pirated ships. They ‍have⁣ endangered lives, disrupted international trade flows, and ​raised the cost of shipping⁤ a container from Asia to​ northern Europe by 173 percent. And they have ‍paid no price.

Inspired, financed, and trained by the Iranian⁢ revolutionary regime, the Houthis have given America the bird. They flout any pretense of international law.⁣ Despite propaganda to ‍the contrary, the ​Houthis are‍ not a legitimate state actor. They have ​no serious grievance or ideological cause. Their claim ​to act ‍in ‌solidarity with Palestinians is a crock. ⁣Even ⁤if they were sincere, it wouldn’t justify their onslaught. The Houthis are a terrorist ⁢gang,⁢ and if they are not stopped, then ⁢the toll they exact in blood and treasure will grow.

How⁣ to stop them?⁢ First, tell President Biden that his strategy to contain the Houthis is not working. At ⁢this ‍writing, he has done the ​bare minimum to respond to their‌ challenge to⁢ the global‌ commons. Last year, when ‌this latest wave of violence began, ‍Biden and his national‍ security team did nothing but order U.S. naval assets to intercept the Houthi barrages.⁣ The Houthis kept firing.

Then, in ⁤mid-December, ⁣the United ‍States announced that an international coalition would protect commercial transport. Toward the end of the⁣ year, the Treasury Department sanctioned one of the Houthis’ Iranian fixers. Neither the display of multilateralism‍ nor the financial ‌threat stopped the Houthis. On New Year’s Eve, U.S. forces ‍destroyed ‍ four​ Houthi small boats attempting ⁤to hijack a container ship. This⁤ act of self-defense also failed to restore deterrence.

Biden‌ went ⁢to the United ​Nations. Maybe, if⁢ the⁣ so-called international⁢ community condemned the Houthis’ malign behavior, Iran and its proxy would think twice before the next assault. ‌And maybe the ⁤sea will turn to pink lemonade.

On January 10, a few ⁣hours before the U.N. passed a resolution calling⁤ on the‍ Houthis to quit it, the ​militia launched its most sophisticated offensive to date. U.S. and U.K. ships and planes knocked out 18 bomb-carrying drones and 3 missiles launched from Houthi⁤ territory. ⁤Secretary of State‍ Antony Blinken, visiting Bahrain, said, “There’ll be consequences for the Houthis’ actions.”

Note Blinken’s ⁤use of the⁤ future continuous tense. ⁤It’s diplomatic code for woulda, coulda, shoulda. His promised consequences are long past ‌due.‍ Of course ‌the Houthis⁢ have⁣ increased their attacks. Their harassment hasn’t been punished. It has been ignored, evaded, swept under⁢ the rug.

Why? Because the administration is fearful. It is overburdened by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, threats from Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq, a migrant crisis on ⁤the‍ U.S. southern border, shortfalls in weapons stocks, and⁢ threats ⁤from China and North Korea. It worries that a clash with ⁢the Houthis‌ might lead to direct ⁢conflict with Iran. It hears ⁣from the Saudis that retaliation could unravel the fragile ceasefire in Yemen and cause the Houthis to resume their ⁣attacks ​on the⁤ Kingdom.

As happened ​in Ukraine, Biden’s attempt ​to avoid⁢ escalation has given the adversary the upper hand. Biden is self-deterred. He’s allowed the Houthis to⁢ take the initiative. They choose the time ⁤and location of their strikes. They crow about their victories. Their evil achievements give ⁢them a sense of élan. They feel the ⁣wind at their backs.

Let’s shake their confidence. By‌ the ⁢time you read these words, Biden may have ⁣authorized strikes against Houthi encampments and missile sites on the Arabian peninsula. It would be the right move. With this proviso: Limited and proportional ‍strikes on materiel would⁣ not go ⁣far enough. The​ enemy doesn’t appreciate the nuances⁢ of “proportionality.” It cowers at—and it is incapacitated by—disproportionate responses.

You⁣ hit the Houthis hard on ⁣several fronts. Go after ‌their camps and munitions and boats, for sure. But also‌ restore the Houthis to ⁢the ​list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations,⁣ from which the Biden administration removed them in 2021. And‍ follow the advice of my AEI colleagues Kenneth Pollack and ⁤Katherine Zimmerman. “The U.S. needs to begin military support to the​ Yemeni government,” they write in the Wall Street Journal, because “that is the‍ only way to ensure the Houthis won’t ​consolidate their grip on the country and be able to project more ⁤power abroad.”

This strategy would require Biden ​to abandon the illusion‌ that the ‍Houthis are rational diplomatic​ actors interested in a peaceful‌ settlement with the Yemeni government. It would require ‌the fortitude to allay the concerns ‌of the Saudis and⁣ Emiratis. ‍Above all, it would⁢ require the administration to recognize that America and her⁢ allies are under sustained assault from Iran and its proxies and must act accordingly.

That’s ‍a hard ⁣lift with this crew. Yet continuing the present course will result in more chaos and⁢ economic pain, an emboldened Iran, and the further erosion of American power. ⁤Russia, China, and Iran feel, with some justification, that America is⁤ a helpless⁢ giant whose days as‍ a superpower are numbered. ‌We need to change that perception. Change starts⁤ by putting the Houthis in their place—and Iran on the⁣ defensive.