The Houthis in Yemen had little to fear from the Biden White House. President Donald Trump is now trying to change the equation. It’s about time.
For the final year of Joe Biden’s presidency, the terrorist rebels who control Yemen — working as an Iranian proxy — carried out numerous attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting international commerce, damaging at least 30 ships and sending two to the seabed. The Houthis also launched scores of attacks on U.S. warships. The violence was a show of solidarity with Hamas in the wake of its barbaric Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
Biden, in concert with the United Kingdom, launched a series of strikes in January 2024 targeting the group. But the campaign used minimal force and was constrained by a number of factors. “Analysts believe officials largely were trying to avoid civilian casualties and not rekindle Yemen’s stalemated war,” PBS News reported this week, “which pits the Houthis and their allies against the country’s exiled government and their local and international allies, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
The Houthis halted the attacks in January when Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza. But they recently vowed to resume their aggression. That proved costly.
On Sunday, Trump ordered military strikes on Houthi targets in a significant show of force. “Residents in Sana shared images and videos on social media showing shattered windows and fireballs rising from sites that were struck,” The New York Times reported. The Houthi-run health ministry said the attack left at least 53 people dead and injured dozens, although the reliability of an agency run by terrorists is questionable.