The Trump administration correctly decided to formally designate the Iran-backed and Yemen-based Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization during its final weeks in office. The Biden administration then came into power and immediately reversed that decision -- one of numerous, knee-jerk, 'not Trump' moves that have led to highly visible Biden policy failures. This was a case of Biden trying to cajole and appease and Iranians in pursuit of ill-conceived nuclear negotiations, while thoughtlessly discarding a Trump policy. The results have been a disaster.
This week, reports have circulated widely that Team Biden has finally relented and re-listed the Houthis as a terrorist group, a belated and embarrassing concession to reality. After all, the Houthis are wreaking havoc in the Red Sea, disrupting international shipping lanes through violence, attacking Americans, and calling for the eradication of the United States (all with the financial and moral support of Iran, of course). American heroes have been lost in the administration's underwhelming efforts to combat the increasingly aggressive threat.
Despite the flurry of headlines about this shift, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served as Trump's National Security Council Chief of Staff, says there's less to it than meets the eye:
The NSC Chief of Staff under Trump says there’s less than meets the eye to Biden finally reclassifying the Houthis as a terrorist group. He says they still haven’t been restored to the previous level & the new designation doesn’t attach for a month: https://t.co/nb6J5WbCZm
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 17, 2024
Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg: Here’s here’s what’s interesting about it. We designated the Saudis the route administration as an FTO, a foreign terrorist organization. What the Biden administration has done is they’ve designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization, an SDGT. It’s a difference a huge difference. And what it means is there’s economic repercussions when you do that compared to an FTO. And for example, you can’t get an A visa the United States if you’re part of an FTO, but you can if you got an SDGT. So they basically said they didn’t go that extra distance that we did. Oh, by the way, when you read with the National Security Council wait.
Guy Benson: Can I ask you something? Just a point of clarity: What you’re saying is this re-designation that we’re describing -- you’re saying even with their new policy change, they still aren’t going fully back to the 'foreign terrorist organization' [classification]? They’re doing this sort of secondary level. That’s the new policy?
Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg: That is correct. And here’s and here’s your real kicker. If you read what the National Security Council put out, it’s going to be held in advance for 30 days. What, really? So they’re not even going to put this in effect for another month...What you’re really showing me is how unserious you are with this whole situation. And they’re not taking hard action.
So the much-ballyhooed change still lacks the teeth of the Trump administration's previous and tougher designation. Critics are calling this another weak half-measure. And it doesn't even apply for another month, while the threat is acute and real right now. Just ask the families of those missing Navy SEALs. Even as they've been forced to effectively admit through their actions that they were wrong to de-list the Houthis in the first place -- as their Iran fantasies and Trump loathing have blown up in their faces on this -- the Biden administration still can't come out and just say the obvious truth. Hopeless:
"Was it a mistake to take [the Houthis] off of the terrorist list back in 2021?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 17, 2024
JOHN KIRBY: "No" pic.twitter.com/zTuyc8EvfY
Listen to the very last part of Kirby's answer. He's clearly describing...a terrorist group. The Houthis haven't changed. Even if you take this explanation at face value, and if this enlightened new policy is so "flexible" on a humanitarian level, why didn't Team Biden go with the SGDT designation in 2021, instead of just foolishly de-listing the Houthis altogether? They made a reflexive and bad call, and now they're partially cleaning it up. And they still can't admit they were wrong to do what they are now undoing. The administration has been a rolling catastrophe, leaving Americans poorer, the world more chaotic, and America's enemies stronger and more emboldened. On that score, I'll leave you with this headline about another Biden signature "extraordinary success" in US foreign policy:
Heckuva job Joe! pic.twitter.com/jFDlcwtRqL
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) January 17, 2024
