Last month the State Department took the Houthis, an Iranian backed terrorist group in Yemen, off of the official terror designation list.
"Effective February 16, I am revoking the designations of Ansarallah, sometimes referred to as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended," Secretary of State Antony Blinken released in a statement. "This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel. The revocations are intended to ensure that relevant U.S. policies do not impede assistance to those already suffering what has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. By focusing on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Yemen, we hope the Yemeni parties can also focus on engaging in dialogue."
Immediately, the Houthis fired rockets at a civilian airport in Saudi Arabia and their violent behavior has only escalated since they were delisted. The humanitarian situation has also worsened.
I am starting to detect a pattern here. https://t.co/7zXohBWM1q
— Victoria Coates (@VictoriaCoates) March 8, 2021
One of the first Biden foreign policy acts was to reward the Houthis by removing their terrorist designation. They are now "alarmed" that the Houthis are behaving like terrorists. https://t.co/rdAH1NLKcn
— David Reaboi (@davereaboi) March 8, 2021
Good. The rationale behind delisting the Houthi was that this action would ease the humanitarian crisis. It has made it worse as the terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate. https://t.co/jwzAPKkDYc
— Victoria Coates (@VictoriaCoates) March 8, 2021
For those keeping score at home: https://t.co/bbkwCjBdmR
— Victoria Coates (@VictoriaCoates) March 8, 2021
Now this week, the State Department is fretting over terrorists acting like terrorists and has issued a condemnation of their actions.
.@StateDeptSpox: We are and remain deeply concerned by the frequency of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Attacks like these are not the actions of a group that is serious about peace. pic.twitter.com/ON2Ok0JIZt
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 8, 2021