President Biden will redesignate the Iranian-backed Houthis as a terrorist organization three years after making the egregious blunder of removing them from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list.

Biden’s move comes after repeated attacks against shipping vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthis. The US military has also come under attack by the terrorists.

Former President Trump had the terrorist group put on the list but when Biden became president, his administration immediately removed them from it, citing concerns for humanitarian aid in Yemen.

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken delisted the Houthis as both a foreign terrorist organization and as specially designated global terrorists in February 2021 as the Biden administration sought to make it easier to get humanitarian aid into Yemen,” Fox News reported.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

Despite knowing the move was a horrid mistake, the Biden administration is not admitting they made an error.

“It was the correct step in 2021 to revoke the foreign terrorist organization and SDGT designations for the Houthis,” an administration official said attempting to justify the action. He remarked that Blinken made the decision “in recognition of a very dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.”

“Despite countless warnings and diplomatic engagement, these attacks by the Houthis [have] not stopped,” an official said, according to the New York Post “… In response to these ongoing and escalating attacks, the United States would designate Ansar Allah — or more commonly known as the Houthis — as specially designated global terrorists.”

“These attacks are a clear example of terrorism and a violation of international law and a major threat to life, global commerce, and they jeopardize the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” a senior administration official told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.

So it turns out the Biden admin reversing a Trump policy and removing the Houthis from the terror list was a bad idea. They’re now backtracking.

A story in 3 parts! pic.twitter.com/jD9dOCrJrE

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 17, 2024

The Houthis have launched dozens of attacks against ships in the Red Sea causing companies to suspend traffic there, opting for longer routes to avoid being targeted. The Houthis claim the attacks are in response to Israel’s war with Hamas, but they have hit ships that have nothing to do with Israel including a US-owned cargo ship. On Tuesday, the Houthis launched anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen into the Red Sea.

“The recent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping. Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said last week that 2,000 ships since November have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea,” the media outlet continued.

“We’ve taken this action to pressure the Houthis to cease their terrorist activities, including missile and drone attacks against international shipping. The ultimate goal of sanctions is to convince the Houthis to de-escalate and bring about a positive change in behavior,” a military official stated, according to Fox News.

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) pic.twitter.com/k3OYkxloYy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2024

The Biden administration has made the designation with a caveat.

“The terrorist designation is set to take effect in 30 days. Officials emphasized that commercial shipments of food, medicine, and fuel into Yemeni ports will be exempted so as not to deny humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people amid the civil war between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government,” the outlet noted.

“The administration is prioritizing the mitigation of unintended adverse impacts from this designation that may otherwise arise for the people of Yemen,” a second military official asserted.

“We’re rolling out as we take this action, unprecedented carve-outs and licenses to help prevent adverse impacts on the Yemeni people,” the official said. “The people of Yemen should not pay the price for the actions of the Houthis.”

The Biden admin is reportedly redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist group after they launched dozens of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

These violent extremists should have never been delisted in the first place.

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 16, 2024

“An SDGT designation will also freeze Houthi assets, but unlike the FTO designation, it will not impose immigration restrictions on members, according to the State Department. The SDGT sanctions also will not touch people and organizations who provide ‘material support’ to the Houthis,” Fox News explained.

The media must be clear – the Biden team isn’t putting the Houthis on an FTO list and is making it clear that the smaller designation they did today could end if the Houthis simply stop attacking the Red Sea.

So it’s clear the Houthis terrorist attacks outside of the Red Sea… https://t.co/dynjxLL54a

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 16, 2024

The Houthis have brazenly conducted themselves as terrorists for a long time and have threatened to take hostage mariners from over 20 countries.

According to CENTCOM, US forces destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles that were prepared to launch from Yemen on Tuesday.

“The recent attacks since November are really unacceptable,” a military official declared. “We cannot sit idly by and watch what the Houthis are doing in the Red Sea and not recognize their actions for what they are.”

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