The Cost of Biden's Appeasement is Paid in Lives
Why the Houthi Attack in Tel-Aviv should put the whole region on alert
On Thursday, Iran-backed Houthi terrorists launched a sophisticated drone strike near the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, evading Israeli air-defense systems. This followed alarming reports earlier this week that Iran has plotted to assassinate President Trump and is targeting former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, and other national security officials. By the grace of God, our American diplomats and officials are still alive and well. But we can count on Tehran and its Houthi allies to keep trying.
This attack hardly occurred in a vacuum; it was the predictable consequence of years of Democratic administrations adopting soft-on-Houthi policies and accommodating Iran. During the early stages of the Yemen conflict in 2015, the Obama Administration pressured Riyadh and Abu Dhabi into taking a softer approach towards the Houthis–a shift that allowed the Houthis to regroup, rearm, and strengthen their capabilities. But it was the Biden Administration that would win the race to the bottom by removing the Houthis’ designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) almost immediately after taking office - without extracting a single concession from the Houthis. Secretary Blinken even highlighted the reversal as a top priority in his first appearance in office.
The Biden team justified the move on humanitarian grounds. But the Trump State Department had already exempted aid groups to mitigate the designation’s humanitarian impact–an indication the Biden reversal was less about saving Yemeni lives and more about currying favor with Tehran.
Following the October 7th attacks, the Houthis escalated in the region to an unprecedented degree. They unleashed countless attacks, causing as much as 25% of maritime commerce and trade in the region to divert elsewhere. Consequently, Sec. Blinken was eventually shamed into issuing a re-designation. He sought to save face with a half measure: listing the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) rather than as a FTO. As a result, Houthi members are still not banned from getting U.S. visas, and support to the Houthis is no longer punishable by the Department of Justice.
Adding insult to injury, the administration then pursued ludicrous negotiations with Tehran in a desperate and misguided effort to prevent its nuclear escalations. Instead, those efforts have bankrolled the Iranian regime’s war machine, providing billions in cash infusions to fund Israel-hating terrorists across the region. In turn, the Houthis have used this resource influx to acquire advanced weaponry, including suicide drones and ballistic missiles.
Both of these actions have directly enhanced the Houthi ability to execute long-range drone strikes and made them a more formidable and dangerous adversary–all but ensuring that tragic incidents like this one will be repeated. But the impact of these policies will hardly be confined to Israel. That the Houthis could launch a drone strike from Yemen and reach Tel Aviv–over 1,500 miles away–should raise alarm across the region’s capitals. While Israel is bearing the brunt of Houthi assaults now, others may soon pay a high price for the Houthis’ destabilization and Iran’s pursuit of regional hegemony.
Most critically, inaction will empower more proxy attacks on the United States and our regional interests. The Houthis have already targeted American Navy warships and sunk Western commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Iranian drones killed three American servicemembers on a base in Jordan, the Houthis almost hit the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv, and other Iranian-backed groups have attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Iran’s terror proxies have killed 45 Americans in the ongoing war and held Americans hostage in Gaza for over ten months, only five of whom are still believed to be alive. And on Friday, the Biden Administration finally admitted that Iran is just a week or two away from nuclear breakout. When will enough be enough for the Biden Administration? How many more Americans need to die from Iranian weapons before it reverses its deadly Iran policy?
The Biden Administration has stubbornly refused to see the cause and effect of its foreign policy blunders and the resulting tragedies. But even so, it would be the height of folly for Democrats to refuse to learn from these blatant errors. America must take decisive action to protect our national security and end the disastrous policy of Iranian accommodation, which has fueled proxy attacks on Israel and our troops. That could start today if the White House re-imposes the Trump-era policy that America will hold Iran directly responsible for any attacks conducted by its terror proxies.
It’s time for the Biden Administration to stop turning a blind eye to Iran’s proxy attacks. The cost of Iran’s appeasement is paid–and will continue to be paid– in American and Israeli lives. Only fortitude will deter the next attack.