In case you missed it — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today condemned the Biden administration’s failure to return the Houthis to the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Their refusal to place sanctions on the Houthis allows members of the group to travel and does not punish the entities that provide material support to the Houthis.
In part, Senator Cotton said:
“The least this administration could do is to redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. Yet, Joe Biden refuses even to fix that mistake.
“Americans are dead, but Joe Biden’s pride and his ambition for a grand rapprochement with Iran are apparently more important to him and his aides than American lives.
“Instead, President Biden has opted to label the Houthis a ‘specially designated global terrorist group.’ Well, that sounds like progress, but unlike the previous Foreign Terrorist Organization designation, this designation includes no prohibition on Houthi travel, and no sanctions on entities providing material support for these terrorists—how convenient for the ayatollahs in Iran.”
Senator Cotton’s full remarks may be found here and below.
After Barack Obama selected Joe Biden to be Vice President in 2008, one newspaper columnist labelled him, “Tehran’s favorite senator.” Well, Tehran’s favorite Senator has now become Tehran’s favorite president.
Since taking office, Joe Biden has taken every opportunity to enrich and empower Iran and its terrorist proxies. There is perhaps no greater single example of this than his obscene coddling of the Iranian-backed Yemini terrorist organization known as the Houthis.
These barbarians with rockets have kidnapped, tortured, and murdered American citizens—along with shooting down American aircraft. They have attacked our allies and slaughtered Yemini civilians. The Houthi motto isn’t subtle: "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam." And in case anyone missed it, they also put it on their flag.
Yet in his first days in office, Joe Biden removed the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The Houthis quickly rewarded this one-sided, unreciprocated generosity by launching a major military offensive against our friends in Saudi Arabia. At that point, Joe Biden could have simply admitted that he made a mistake and redesignated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. He refused.
In the two years since, the Houthis raked in money, expanded their territorial control, and stockpiled Iranian-supplied weapons. Unencumbered by an American terrorist designation, they gathered their strength and waited for an opportunity to live out their creed of, again, “Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse upon the Jews.”
After the October 7 atrocities in Israel, they saw that opportunity. Less than two weeks after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the end of Holocaust, the Houthis began launching missiles at the Jewish State. In November, the Houthis then began hijacking ships and launching missiles and drones at both civilian and U.S. naval vessels—all in an attempt to put pressure on Israel and protect their terrorist brothers in Hamas.
Since November, the Houthis have attacked American and allied forces and international shipping an estimated 45 times, launching an estimated 31 missiles, 94 drones, and one drone ship.
Yet our president and his team of Iran accomplices, appeasers, and accommodators stood by for a month-and-a-half as these terrorists attacked with impunity.
When the administration finally did take action last week, its weak, pinprick air strikes only took out a small fraction of the Houthi’s offensive capabilities. Even the New York Times acknowledged in a headline that “Much of Houthi’s Offensive Ability Remains Intact After U.S. Led Airstrikes.”
The least this administration could do is to redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. Yet, Joe Biden refuses even to fix that mistake.
Americans are dead, but Joe Biden’s pride and his ambition for a grand rapprochement with Iran are apparently more important to him and his aides than American lives.
Instead, President Biden has opted to label the Houthis a “specially designated global terrorist group.” Well, that sounds like progress, but unlike the previous Foreign Terrorist Organization designation, this designation includes no prohibition on Houthi travel, and no sanctions on entities providing material support for these terrorists—how convenient for the ayatollahs in Iran.
And this designation won’t even take effect for 30 more days, giving the Houthis time to clear out their bank accounts and to sanction-proof their operations.
And most amazing, and most unforgiveable of all: the administration also announced waivers for even these weak and limited sanctions. These waivers allow the Yemeni terrorists to keep receiving food, medicine, fuel, personal remittances, telecommunications and mail, and to maintain port and airport operations.
Perhaps it makes sense that those in this administration don’t want to punish groups and individuals providing material support for Houthi terrorists. They would have to turn themselves in after three years of appeasement and conciliation.
This administration must reverse course in the Middle East, re-designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and put real pressure on Iran and its terrorist proxies—
not swiss-cheese like sanctions designed only for a good, one day headline. Anything less is a betrayal of the American people, their interests, and our allies.