Category: Houthi

Hamas and Houthi top dogs meet to discuss ‘expanding confrontations’ with Israel

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/hamas-and-houthi-top-dogs-meet-to-discuss-expanding-confrontations-with-israel; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

As they do so, Old Joe Biden and other short-sighted and/or treasonous Western leaders shower money upon them like a coke-addled millionaire enamored of a stripper.

“Hamas meets Houthi officials to discuss ‘expanding confrontations’ in Israel,” FirstPost, March 16, 2024:

Amid the Houthi-orchestrated crisis in the Red Sea and an ongoing war in Gaza, the rebels reportedly met Hamas leaders to discuss “expanding confrontations and encircling” Israel.

Speaking to AFP, a Houthi official said Representatives from Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war, the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine met last week with the Houthis in Beirut.

Palestinian sources said that the meeting saw deliberations on “mechanisms to coordinate their actions of resistance” for the “next stage” of the war in Gaza, now in its sixth month.

Another Palestinian source, also requesting anonymity to share details of the meeting, told AFP that those present discussed the “complementary role of Ansar Allah (the Houthis) alongside Palestinian factions, especially in the event of an Israeli offensive on Rafah”.

The Houthis, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad are all part of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance”, an alliance of groups hostile to Israel and the United States that also includes Lebanese Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq….

Houthis expand Red Sea operation, warn new ‘hypersonic missile’ will target Cape of Good Hope bound shipping

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/houthis-expand-red-sea-operation-warn-new-hypersonic-missile-will-target-cape-of-good-hope-bound-shipping; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The Houthis, an Iranian proxy from Yemen that has been attacking ships in the Red Sea in a show of support for Hamas, are now set to expand its war by “hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope.” Many ships are heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid the Red Sea, and now the Houthis intend to disrupt the shipping routes there as well. Already, the Houthis have affected the supply chain in many countries in the West, and the entire economic stability of Italy.

Houthis now intend to use hypersonic missiles with “highly destructive capabilities.” Last year, it was reported that Iran “created a hypersonic missile capable of traveling at 15 times the speed of sound” and named it Fattah, meaning “Conquerer.” The Houthis plan to “begin manufacturing it for use in attacks in the Red Sea and Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.”

So far, the Biden-leading coalition in the Red Sea has downed several Houthi missiles, but is losing the war against the group, again sending a message of weakness not only to the Houthis, but also to Iran.

The Houthis continue to be drastically underestimated in the West, while posing a grave danger to the region and beyond.

“Houthis warn new ‘hypersonic missile’ will target the Cape of Good Hope bound shipping,” The New Arab, March 15, 2024:

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, said the rebels would start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope.

Yemen’s Houthis claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia’s state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine.

However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.

On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, said the rebels would start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in Africa’s southern tip. Until now, the rebels have largely struck ships heading into the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal…..

Why the U.S. is Losing the War to the Houthis

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/why-the-us-is-losing-the-war-to-the-houthis; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Two fallen Navy SEALS and only 32 dead terrorists after two months of fighting.

After Biden came home from his Caribbean vacation, the Deputy Defense Secretary came back from hers and the Secretary of Defense was on the verge of being released from the hospital, airstrikes were finally authorized against the Houthi Jihadis attacking ships in the Red Sea.

Biden said that the air strikes sent “a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes.”

The message was not very clear since the Houthis then struck a bulk carrier owned by an American company and spent the next two months terrorizing the Red Sea. The Iranian-backed terror group which seized control of much of Yemen due to Obama’s Arab Spring has launched even more devastating attacks on ships and has now reportedly attacked an undersea cable, after previously deploying an undersea drone and warning of further “submarine” attacks..

The Red Sea siege has affected shipping and commodities prices all over the world. The U.S. Navy ended a lot of its cargo runs in the Red Sea and so have a lot of civilian shipping firms.

Why have the Houthis been able to not only survive, but to escalate their attacks? Because the Biden administration was never serious about taking them out. The original attacks targeted less than 30 sites from a terror group that had shot off over 1,000 rockets and missiles in the previous 7 years and was clearly prepared for an extended campaign of rocket attacks.

Israel had reportedly dropped over 1,000 bombs a day in the first week of the Oct 7 war. While numbers like these were widely criticized as overkill, they worked. There had been over 6,000 Hamas rocket alerts in the first two weeks of the war. Two weeks later, the number had dropped to over 1,000 and currently stands at less than 100. Israel’s massive assault had worked.

Biden’s occasional pinprick attacks barely even slowed down the Houthi attacks.

After the first round of U.S. strikes, right before Biden flew off to Raleigh, North Carolina to promote his plan for subsidized internet, there was a remarkable exchange with a reporter.

“Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?” he was asked.

“Well, when you say ‘working,’ are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue?  Yes,” Biden replied.

No one in the press seemed interested in following up the very strange statement. If the airstrikes aren’t working, why carry them out? Was there a plan to step up the strikes? No.

After the initial wave of attacks, the US Navy shifted over to what it euphemistically called “defensive air strikes” against Houthi missiles or rockets that had already been launched or were being prepped for launch. The constant reports about “defensive air strikes” made it sound as if the United States were constantly bombing Yemen, when the US Navy had been allowed to do the bare minimum to prevent and survive more incoming attacks. It wasn’t enough.

Two weeks after the original raids, as the Houthis continued their attacks, Biden authorized follow-up air strikes on a mere 8 locations. A week later, a tanker had been hit and was burning. In early February, Biden signed off on a third round of attacks hitting 36 targets across 13 locations. In the coming weeks, the Houthis shot down the second of two U.S. drones

After multiple Houthi attacks and damage to an underwater cable, Biden now signed off on a fourth round of attacks that hit 18 targets across 8 locations. Will these stop the Houthis?

As Biden already admitted after the first round of attacks, they won’t. But that’s not their purpose. The goal is to maintain some sort of balance of power against the Houthis. The Department of Defense regularly issues official warnings to the Houthis that there will be consequences. But the only consequences are the occasional light air strikes on old Yemeni air defense capabilities and rocket:, some of which date back to the days of the USSR.

So far two American Navy SEALS are dead and Iran has control of the world’s shipping.

And how many of the Houthi Jihadis have been killed? After an initial naval battle in which ten of the terrorists were killed, the Houthis claimed that only five of their men were killed in Biden’s first round of airstrikes. The funerals of another 17 were held after the third round of strikes.

That would make for a total of 32 dead terrorists after two months of fighting the United States.

Are the Houthis understating their casualties? Maybe. But a New York Times article on the Biden administration’s intentions stated that the strategy represents “the administration’s attempt to chip away at the Houthis’ ability to menace merchant ships and military vessels but not hit so hard as to kill large numbers of Houthi fighters and commanders, and potentially unleash even more mayhem into a region”. As if ceding the Red Sea hasn’t done that already.

Chipping away at their arsenals while trying to minimize Houthi deaths has failed miserably.

What is the Biden administration doing wrong? Apart from scale, it’s trying to target Houthi drones and missiles, and some air bases, preferably right before they’re about to be used. This is the same approach that failed in Iraq and it’s also the same approach Israel used to use against Hamas also in an effort to deter attacks, minimize casualties and avoid escalation.

And then Oct 7 happened. Since then, the Israeli military strategy has been to destroy Hamas forces as functioning units rather than target its rocket stockpiles. And it worked. Hamas, like the Houthis, had learned to fire off rockets or drones from disposable locations before running away. Even when rocket stockpiles are taken out, the terrorists can go ahead and build more.

Rockets can be replaced, but organized forces that have trained together are harder to replace. That’s what Israel demonstrated. And it worked. Even though Israel didn’t specifically focus on taking out Hamas rockets, the rocket attacks dropped sharply because there’s no one to shoot them. When rockets are targeted, the terrorists run away and regroup, but when the terrorists are targeted, they have to keep running, so they don’t have the time and space to regroup.

(That is what the proposed hostage deal and the various calls for a ‘ceasefire’ are really about.)

Biden is unwilling to target the Houthis and so they keep attacking.

After two months and over four rounds of larger attacks, the Houthi command and control operations, and their forces, remain intact even if they lost some infrastructure along the way.

This might be excusable if, like Bush in Iraq, Biden really believed that what he was doing would work, but he admitted in a direct quote to the press that he knows what he’s doing won’t work.

Beyond the damage to shipping and the prestige of the United States, two Navy SEALS are dead because the commander-in-chief pursued a military strategy that he knew would fail.

Biden had two options in Yemen. He could either hit the Houthis hard or let them do what they wanted. Both were politically untenable. It would be too politically damaging to go into the primaries inflicting sizable casualties on an Arab Muslim terror group that his pro-terror supporters love and now chant at pro-Hamas ‘ceasefire’ rallies, “turn another ship around.”

But doing nothing while shipping slowed down and prices rose would also be damaging.

Given a choice between alienating the country and his party’s terror supporters, he chose a middle ground of ‘show’ strikes like the kind that Bill Clinton had deployed against Osama bin Laden that will avoid offending terror supporters but also will not end the Houthi attacks.

This strategy serves no one except Biden who has sacrificed the nation’s prestige, a major international waterway and the lives of two U.S. Navy SEALS to win an election.

Biden’s Strikes Against the Houthis Haven’t Touched a Fraction Of Their Arsenal

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/bidens-strikes-against-the-houthis-havent-touched-a-fraction-of-their-arsenal; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

No, you didn’t misread that. Biden only struck 8 locations.

Two months later, the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Islamic terror militia that took control of much of Yemen due to Obama’s Arab Spring, are continuing to terrorize shipping in the Red Sea. The Biden administration’s efforts to stop their attacks have failed to end the violence.

Why? Let’s look at a few basic numbers.

In response to the latest Houthi attacks, the Biden administration and its allies launched the fourth set of airstrikes against 8 locations.

No, you didn’t misread that. 8.

Compare and contrast that with how many locations the Israelis had to strike to finally end the barrage of Hamas rocket attacks. After all the media condemnations, that is what it takes to stop an Iranian terror proxy.

We don’t have hard numbers on the size of the Houthi arsenal, but the Shiite terror group was able to launch over 1,000 rocket, drone and missile attacks across 7 years. Beyond utilizing the existing Yemeni arsenal (likely the subject of much of Biden’s airstrikes) that they captured as a result of the Arab Spring, the Houthis have plenty of Iranian weapons and like Hamas, weapons manufactured under Iranian guidance.

With hundreds of Houthi attacks launched in 2021, Biden’s attacks are woefully inadequate for dealing with the scale of their arsenal.

The Biden administration knows this and it’s not even trying to address the problem. Instead, two months in, it keeps threatening that consequences will eventually arrive.

“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned.

It’s been two months. If there are consequences for terrorizing an international waterway, they should have arrived already.

Report: Iran-backed Houthi terrorists hit underwater internet cables linking Europe and Asia

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/report-iran-backed-houthi-terrorists-hit-underwater-internet-cables-linking-europe-and-asia; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group has hit at least four undersea internet cables, impacting communications between Europe and Asia, Israeli news reports suggest. “Four underwater communications cables between Saudi Arabia and Djibouti have been struck out of commission in recent months, presumably as a result of attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels,” the Jerusalem Post reported February 26.

Internet users in India and the Gulf states will be impacted most from the disruption. “Most of the immediate harm will be absorbed by the Gulf states and India,” the newspaper added.

The news of the attack on underwater cables comes as Houthi terrorists wage a “maritime jihad” against Israeli and Western-owned ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea. The missile and drone strikes on the international shipping were intensified after the October 7 massacre of innocent Israelis by Hamas, an Islamic terrorist group allied with the Houthis.

In January, the Biden administration placed the Houthis back on the terrorist list, finally bringing itself in line with the decision taken by President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the Iranian proxy terrorist organization has mutated from a Yemen-based jihadist group to one with pan-Islamic ambitions.

“Houthis hit submarine communications cables,” by Assaf Gilead, Globes – Israel Business News, February 26, 2024:

Three months after the Houthis began attacking merchant ships, the Yemenite rebels have carried out another one of their threats. “Globes” has learned that four submarine communication cables have been damaged in the Red Sea between Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti in East Africa.

According to the reports, these are cables from the companies AAE-1, Seacom, EIG and TGN. This is causing serious disruption of Internet communications between Europe and Asia, with the main damage being felt in the Gulf countries and India.

Estimates are that the damage to communications activities is significant but not critical because other cables pass through the same region linking Asia, Africa and Europe that have not been hit. The repair of such a large number of underwater cables may take at least eight weeks according to estimates and involve exposure to risk from the Houthi terror organization. The telecommunications companies will be forced to look for companies that will agree to carry out the repair work and probably pay them a high risk premium.

EIG (European India Gateway) connects Southern Europe with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, the UAE and India. The underwater cable was laid by Tyco arm Alcatel-Lucent at a cost of $700 million and was the first cable stretching from the UK to India. Shares in EIG are held by a consortium including AT&T, Saudi Telecom, Verizon, and India’s Bharat Sanchar.

Biden’s Failure to Act Allowed Houthis to Shoot Down 2 US Drones

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/bidens-failure-to-act-allowed-houthis-to-shoot-down-2-us-drones; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The US Navy is not being allowed to go on the offensive.

The Houthis have caused damage to multiple ships, the latest a UK flagged vessel, and shot down two U.S. drones. They’ve managed to deploy an underwater drone in one of their latest attacks.Biden’s campaign of mildly inconveniencing the Houthis, Iranian-backed terrorists in control of much of Yemen, is going well. While Israel’s campaign against Hamas has largely ended the group's constant rocket attacks of the group, Biden’s pinpoint minimal strikes against the Houthis have not stopped the Islamic terror group’s attacks.

On Feb. 18, U.S. Central Command announced naval forces in the Red Sea destroyed an uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) in Houthi-controlled waters around Yemen. This is the first time that the Houthi Movement has been observed operating UUVs since attacks began last October.

Iran has a long tradition of unconventional naval warfare which has become more refined in recent years. Many of these platforms are now uncrewed, including boats, aerial drones and underwater drones, based on images systems released by the Iranian government. Hamas has also touted its possession of UUVs in Gaza, according to images the armed group released in November as reported by Naval News.

Iran is using the Houthis to test the weapons it plans to use against America. We're letting them do it.

“Unmanned surface and subsurface vessels are likely more difficult to detect and destroy than aerial drones and anti-ship missiles. "The Houthis are not likely capable of manufacturing these weapons on their own, so they are probably coming from Iran,” Mulroy said.

The unmanned weapons systems are an acute threat, Mulroy said, since they could “overwhelm the ship’s defenses” by attacking from multiple dimensions, a so-called “swarm attack.”

Meanwhile, the Navy’s ability to respond has been crippled by the Biden administration.

On Wednesday, U.S. forces destroyed seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, three aerial drones and an explosive surface drone prepared for launch from Houthi-controlled territory. The four separate strikes, conducted over a time span of about 6½ hours were in defense of ships in the Red Sea, the command said.

These aren’t strikes, they’re playing defense because the US Navy is not being allowed to go on the offensive to avoid inflaming the situation.

And so this is an absurd situation.

A US Navy admiral says the conflict against the Houthis in the Red Sea is one of the largest naval battles the US has fought in decades.

“I think you’d have to go back to World War II, where you have ships who are engaged in combat,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told the “60 Minutes” host Norah O’Donnell in an interview that aired Sunday.

“When I say engaged in combat, where they’re getting shot at, we’re getting shot at, and we’re shooting back,” he continued.

So Operation Earnest Will in the 80s doesn’t count? Reagan at least allowed American forces some leeway to fight back. Currently, US Navy forces are mainly under fire while Biden allows Iran to humiliate us. Again.

Biden Regime to List Houthis as ‘Terrorists’ While Still Making It Legal to Fund Them

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/01/biden-regime-to-list-houthis-as-terrorists-while-still-making-it-legal-to-fund-them; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Houthi-linked figures will also be allowed to come to America.

When Biden decided to take the Houthis off the Foreign Terrorist Organization list, under the false flag of a “famine” that (like the Hamas Gaza ‘famine’) was a propaganda ploy from the Iranian-backed terrorists themselves, he helped pave the way for the current Red Sea crisis.

And even now, rather than putting the Houthis back on the FTO list, he’s moving them to the specially designated global terrorist list.

Most people don’t know the difference, but it’s a huge one. It’s illegal to fund FTO terrorists. The Biden administration has the power to freeze SDGT assets, but there are no penalties for providing material support.

And there’s no automatic travel ban on the terrorists.

Here’s what an FTO designation can mean.

  • It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
  • Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
  • Except as authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to Treasury.

Biden has decided to protect financial institutions moving money for the Houthis and to allow Houthi-linked figures to come to America and to allow terrorist supporters in America to provide aid to the terrorists.

Biden could put an end to this, instead he’s letting it drag on with ‘warnings’, limited strikes and an SDGT designation that sounds impressive, but is basically a set of sanctions, all in the hopes that the Houthis will feel pressured enough to stop.

The Islamic terror group whose motto includes “Death to America” is not stopping. It and its Iranian masters see how weak Biden is.

Biden Admin. Assigns Houthi Group To ‘Specially Designated’ Terror List

Meaning the Houthis will get "Special Treatment" by Biden Administration

Biden Regime to List Houthis as ‘Terrorists’ While Still Making It Legal to Fund Them

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/01/biden-regime-to-list-houthis-as-terrorists-while-still-making-it-legal-to-fund-them

Houthi-linked figures will also be allowed to come to America.

When Biden decided to take the Houthis off the Foreign Terrorist Organization list, under the false flag of a “famine” that (like the Hamas Gaza ‘famine’) was a propaganda ploy from the Iranian-backed terrorists themselves, he helped pave the way for the current Red Sea crisis.

And even now, rather than putting the Houthis back on the FTO list, he’s moving them to the specially designated global terrorist list.

Most people don’t know the difference, but it’s a huge one. It’s illegal to fund FTO terrorists. The Biden administration has the power to freeze SDGT assets, but there are no penalties for providing material support.

And there’s no automatic travel ban on the terrorists.

Here’s what an FTO designation can mean.

  • It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
  • Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
  • Except as authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to Treasury.

Biden has decided to protect financial institutions moving money for the Houthis and to allow Houthi-linked figures to come to America and to allow terrorist supporters in America to provide aid to the terrorists.

Biden could put an end to this, instead he’s letting it drag on with ‘warnings’, limited strikes and an SDGT designation that sounds impressive, but is basically a set of sanctions, all in the hopes that the Houthis will feel pressured enough to stop.

The Islamic terror group whose motto includes “Death to America” is not stopping. It and its Iranian masters see how weak Biden is.

Biden’s History of Houthi Appeasement

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/01/bidens-history-of-houthi-appeasement; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes: 

(This article, “Biden Takes “Death to America” Terrorists Off Terror List”, appeared in early 2021. Because of current events involving the Houthis, I am reprinting it now.)

Blinken was only confirmed on Tuesday. By Friday, he took the Houthis off the terrorist list.

The Biden administration responded to protests against its stolen election by embedding a domestic extremism office into the National Security Council. The man in charge of making it happen, Joshua Geltzer, had previously denied that Black Lives Matter was a terrorist threat and had attacked the Trump administration’s response to Antifa and BLM violence in Portland.

That means that the only domestic extremists the NSC will be fighting are Republicans.

Even while the Biden administration is preparing to double down on Obama’s abuse of the national security state to target his political opponents, it’s also giving real terrorists a pass.

Joe Biden, whose biggest bundlers included the Iran Lobby, announced he was ending support for American allies fighting the Houthis, and then went even further by preparing to remove the terrorist organization whose motto is, “Death to America”, which took American hostages and tried to kill American sailors, from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.

The motto of Iran’s Houthi Jihadis is, “Allahu Akbar, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam.” The Houthis took over parts of Yemen as a result of the chaos unleashed by Obama’s pro-Islamist Arab Spring. Since then they’ve been engaged in a protracted war while causing a local famine by confiscating food from the local population.

Last year, the Trump administration had finally secured the release of three American hostages, Sandra Loli, an American aid worker who had been held for 3 years, another American who had been held for a year, and the body of a third American, in exchange for 240 Houthis, including three dozen Islamic terrorists who had been trained in the use of missiles and drones by Iran.

Like those launched at the USS Mason.

The Houthis lived up to their “Death to America” slogan by repeatedly launching cruise missiles at the USS Mason which had been protecting shipping in the area. And they lived up to the second half of their slogan by ethnically cleansing the remaining local Jewish population, locking them up, and confiscating their homes and land. Local reports stated that the Houthis were “cutting off water & electricity to Jewish homes and preventing Jews from purchasing food.”

“No Jew would be allowed to stay here,” one of the Jewish refugees said.

The Iran-backed Islamic terrorists fight using 18,000 child soldiers. The soldiers, many abducted, some as young as 10, are taught to hate America and to kill enemies of Iran.

None of this stopped Biden’s State Department from taking the Houthis off the terror list.

“Secretary Blinken has been clear about undertaking an expeditious review of the designations of Ansarallah,” the State Department claimed. “After a comprehensive review, we can confirm that the Secretary intends to revoke the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations of Ansarallah.”

‘Ansarallah’ or ‘Defenders of Allah’ is what the Houthis call themselves. Blinken had only been confirmed on Tuesday. By next Friday, he had already somehow completed the “comprehensive review”, amid all the other minor business like China, Russia, and a global pandemic, and decided that the Islamic terrorists whose motto is “Death to America” aren’t really terrorists.

How can the Biden administration deny that Islamic Jihadis backed by Iran who attacked Americans are terrorists? The State Department claimed that this, “has nothing to do with our view of the Houthis and their reprehensible conduct, including attacks against civilians and the kidnapping of American citizens.” Not to mention the attacks on the USS Mason.

But the Biden administration isn’t even going to pretend to care about attacks on our military.

The Bidenites are claiming that they’re taking the Houthis, whom they don’t deny are terrorists, off the list of designated terrorist groups because of the “humanitarian consequences”.

That’s a lie, no matter how often you hear it in the media, because Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would be providing licenses to “humanitarian activities conducted by non-governmental organizations in Yemen and to certain transactions and activities related to exports to Yemen of critical commodities like food and medicine.”

That’s despite the fact that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen was caused by the Houthis.

Nevertheless, the media, echoing propaganda from the Iran Lobby and Qatar, a close terrorist ally of Iran, has falsely claimed that the Houthis are the victims of the Yemen famine. A number of politicians, mostly Democrats, but some Republicans, as well as various aid groups, have pushed this same disinformation campaign about the causes of the Yemen famine.

America and its allies have spent billions providing food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid to Yemen. That aid has been seized by the Houthis who have used it for their own troops or to resell on the black market. This is a familiar problem from Syria to Somalia, and aid groups have refused to honestly address their complicity in aiding the terrorists who caused the crisis.

There’s no money in admitting that the aid an organization is providing is being seized by the terrorists, prolonging the conflict and worsening the humanitarian crisis. Some aid organizations share the same goal as the Houthis of worsening the crisis because it boosts their donations.

That’s why international aid organizations don’t want to talk about the Houthis taking their food donations, or about their use of child soldiers. “It’s a taboo,” an anonymous aid official had said.

When Secretary Pompeo announced that the United States was finally designating the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization, the United Nations took the lead in claiming that it would cause a humanitarian crisis. But the UN’s World Food Program had already admitted that its food shipments weren’t getting to the starving people because the Houthis were intercepting them.

The Middle East director for UNICEF also admitted that the Houthis were seizing food.

An Associated Press investigation found entire stores selling “cooking oil and flour displaying the U.N. food program’s WFP logo.” The former Houthi education minister said that 15,000 food baskets that were supposed to go to hungry families instead went to the Houthi terrorists whom the Biden administration is defending. Massive amounts of aid have been pumped into Yemen, and the famine has only grown worse because the Houthis have used starvation as a weapon.

The only way to end the famine is to end Iran’s grip on Yemen through its Houthi terrorists.

That’s obviously not what Biden or the Democrats have in mind. The loudest Democrat voices against designating the Houthis as a terrorist group have a troubling history with Iran.

“Reversing the designation is an important decision that will save lives and, combined with the appointment of a Special Envoy, offers hope that President Biden is committed to bringing the war to an end,” Senator Chris Murphy tweeted.

Murphy had been among the loudest voices against the designation.

And Murphy had met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif last year. That same year, he had advocated lowering sanctions on Iran for “humanitarian reasons”. Biden had also joined the push to use the pandemic as a pretext for reducing sanctions on the terror state.

That same year, the Left succeeded in forcing out Rep. Elliot Engel, one of the few remaining pro-Israel Democrats, and replaced him with the militantly anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman, whose election was backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and her antisemitic ‘Squad’.

Engel, who had served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was replaced by Rep. Gregory Meeks, a strong backer of the Iran Deal. Meeks’ position was cheered by Iran Lobby groups. As far back as 2009, Meeks had declared at a hearing, “I have developed a tremendous appreciation for the work of the National Iranian American Council. I am pleased that we will hear the perspective of NIAC’s President, Mr. Trita Parsi.”

Emails released allegedly showed Parsi telling Iran’s Foreign Minister, “I am having a meeting with Gilchrest and Meeks, and they asked for our assistance in getting some communication going between the parliamentarians.”

Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency, the official state news agency of the Islamic terrorist state, Chairman Meeks allegedly stated that he was willing to travel to Iran and had been engaged in dialogue with Iranian legislators.

Meeks took the lead in attacking the designation of the Houthi Islamic terrorists as terrorists, arguing that, “No solution in Yemen will be sustainable unless the Houthis are involved.”

And that gets at the real reason why Biden and Democrats oppose the designation.

It’s not about humanitarian aid, which would have kept on going anyway, only to be stolen by the Houthis. It’s about supporting Iran’s bid to take over parts of Yemen in order to control shipping and tighten the grip of the Islamic terrorist regime over the entire region.

The ‘diplomatic’ solution advocated by Biden and the Democrats would finalize Iran’s grip over parts of Yemen. Designating the Houthis as terrorists would get in the way of another in a series of Islamist dirty deals with Iran that began with Obama and that will continue on under Biden.

Even while the Democrats insist loudly that the Houthis must be part of the solution in Yemen, they just as vocally cry that the Republicans must be isolated and eliminated in America.

The Democrats militarized D.C. with an armed occupation and are criminalizing political dissent. They have claimed that one riot, after a year full of them by their own activist wing, requires a permanent state of emergency that will be run through the National Security Council.

The Biden administration is not only taking the Houthis, and likely other Islamic terrorist groups, off the terror list, it’s putting the domestic political opposition on its terror list. This is an extension of the same Obama policy that illegally shipped foreign cash to Iran even while it was using the NSA to spy on pro-Israel members of Congress and on the Trump campaign.

The Democrats are happy to fight terrorism by designating their domestic political opponents as terrorists while removing the “Death to America” Houthis who have kidnapped and killed Americans, who fired on the USS Mason, and ethnically cleansed Jews, from the terror list.

And what do the Houthis plan to do with their newfound support from the Biden administration?

In addition to sanctioning the Houthis, the Trump administration sanctioned three of their leaders, beginning with Abdul Malik al-Houthi. The Houthi leader has made it clear that he intends to build up the same missile program that was used to attack the USS Mason.

“To have rockets that could reach far beyond Riyadh, this is a great achievement,” he said, referring to the Saudi capital.

He also promised to send terrorists to fight against Israel.

“Many of Yemen’s tribesmen are ambitious to fight against Israel, and they are looking for the day to participate along with the freemen of the Islamic nation against the Israeli enemy,”

This is the terrorist group that the Biden administration and the Democrats are bailing out even while they’re criminalizing the Republican political opposition as terrorists.

“Death to America” is something that the Houthis and their Democrat supporters can agree on.

U.S. And U.K. Launch Retaliatory Airstrikes Against Houthis In Yemen

Huthi fighters brandish their weapons during a march in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 11, 2024, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the terrorist Hamas group in Gaza. Heavy air strikes pounded rebel-held cities in Yemen early on January 12, 2024, the Huthi rebels’ official media and AFP correspondents said. The capital Sanaa, Hodeida and Saada were all targeted, the Huthis’ official media said, blaming “American aggression with British participation.” (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:27 PM – Thursday, January 11, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/u-s-and-u-k-launch-retaliatory-airstrikes-against-houthis-in-yemen/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes: 

The United States and the United Kingdom launched a series of retaliatory attacks against the Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday.

Bombs from Washington, D.C., and London struck a number of locations in Yemen that the Houthis, who are supported by Iran, were utilizing.

According to surfacing reports, the main cities in Yemen that were hit the hardest with U.S. and U.K. airstrikes were Sana’a, Hodeidah, Saada, Dhamar, Taiz, and Zabid.

Fighter planes and warships firing Tomahawk missiles were fired by U.S. and U.K. planes striking targets that included air defense installations, supply centers, and logistical hubs, the Associated Press reported.

The rebel group started attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in late November, prompting the U.S. and U.K. to take direct, aggressive military action against the Houthis.

The United States refrained from hitting the Houthis in Yemen until this Thursday.

In an effort to safeguard commercial shipping, the U.S. formed a multi-nation maritime task force last month. However, the Houthis continued their attacks on ships and declared that the task force would not stop them.

The Houthis launched their largest drone and missile campaign to date earlier this week, aiming their attacks against commercial ships along with American and British warships. During the strike, allied troops from the United States and the United Kingdom shot down around twenty-one missiles and drones.

The attack in Yemen poses a risk of escalating into a larger conflict and is expected to incite the Houthis and Iran. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in Gaza in early October, there has been a great deal of warfare throughout the region, with over 100 strikes against American soldiers in Syria and Iraq.

Groups with Iranian support assert that their attacks on the U.S. in the area are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Particularly, the Houthis maintain that U.S. and Israeli-backed ships are their targets.

Iran is expected to express outrage regarding the Yemen attacks that occurred on Thursday, as it considers the Houthis to be one of its most valuable proxy organizations in the Middle East. When the United States sank three Houthi vessels in the Red Sea at the end of December, Iran and the Houthis said they would retaliate violently.

There has been tremendous pressure on the Biden administration to stop the Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, which have hampered international trade. Major shipping firms have been compelled to detour around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope due to pressure from the Houthi group. Approximately 10% of commercial shipping passes via the Red Sea.

In addition, Washington, D.C., has had to decide whether to launch offensive operations in order to halt the Houthis or if the task force would be sufficient to safeguard cargo vessels and discourage the Houthis.

The extent to which the attacks have affected Houthi targets in Yemen is currently unknown. The rebel organization is well-versed in combat, having battled the Yemeni government for years, but they will most definitely still struggle from the joint effort by U.S. and U.K. military action.

After the strikes were conducted, Democrat Member of the House of the Representatives, Valerie Howell, released a statement declaring that the strikes were not authorized by Congress, and that the president needs to have congressional approval for any military strike.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Biden Has Already Allowed the Houthis to Win~Biden Blocked ‘Additional Military Response’ to Houthi Attack on US Navy~UK retail giant and others warn of shipping delays due to Houthi attacks on Red Sea merchant ships

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Playing defense against Islamic terrorists doesn’t work.

Playing defense against Islamic terrorists doesn’t work. The terrorists, at least initially, don’t need to win, they just need to take your society hostage and force you to constantly be on the defensive. Parts of your economy get shut down and you’re always on alert.

The Houthi Jihadists in Yemen, backed by Iran, have taken a crucial waterway hostage. Biden responded by playing defense, responding to Houthi attacks on shipping but without making a concerted effort to take out the terrorist infrastructure.

And so here we are.

Biden’s Red Sea Coalition responds defensively to attacks on shipping.

U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three small boats carrying Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Sunday, after U.S. warships responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel, military officials said.

A Maersk container ship, the Singapore-flagged Hangzhou, issued a distress call at about 6:30 a.m. local time, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday. The merchant vessel said four small boats were attacking it.

“The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew-served and small-arms weapons at the Maersk Hangzhou, getting to within 20 meters of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel,” Central Command said.

Helicopters from two U.S. ships — the USS Eisenhower and the USS Gravely — responded and issued verbal calls to the small boats, U.S. officials said.

While the helicopters were “in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew served weapons and small arms,” Central Command said.

Service members aboard the Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three of the four small boats, killing the crews, U.S. officials said. The fourth boat fled the area.

Read between the lines here. US Naval personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on.

They did not have authorization to fire when the Houthis were firing on the Maersk Hangzhou or on what were clearly enemy vessels, but only defensively in response to attacks on the US Navy.

Is it any wonder that Maersk is calling it a day?

Shipping and logistics behemoth A.P. Moller-Maersk said Tuesday that it’s suspending its shipping operations through the Red Sea until further notice as it investigates an attack on one of its ships by Iran-backed Houthi rebels this past weekend.

Biden has demonstrated that he’ll only react defensively to clear attacks. That’s not going to secure the Red Sea for shipping.

So Biden has handed the Houthis a victory. They don’t need to actually seize ships, they just need to demonstrate that the area is unsafe for vessels (unless they covertly pay protection money to the terrorists) and that America isn’t going to make the threat go away any time soon.

This is how we lose and the terrorists win.

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US Navy personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on.

Yesterday I wrote that Biden had allowed the Houthis to win by refusing to take any affirmative action against the Iran-backed Jihadis operating in Yemen and attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

“US Naval personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on. They did not have authorization to fire when the Houthis were firing on the Maersk Hangzhou or on what were clearly enemy vessels, but only defensively in response to attacks on the US Navy.”

An NBC News account of inside deliberations in the Biden administration reveals that Biden refused to approve any follow-up response.

“According to the officials, U.S. Central Command provided Defense Department leaders with options for an additional military response after the incident, and the Pentagon sent those options to senior White House officials. Biden, who was on vacation in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, did not approve an additional military response.”

Military leaders probably wanted to at least carry out some minimal strikes on Houthi bases. Nope.

Now the Biden administration and its Red Sea coalition issued yet another threat warning of “consequences.”

We hereby reiterate the following and warn the Houthis against further attacks…

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.”

Accountable and consequences. Words to terrify any bureaucrat. Not so much international terrorists.

Biden has pledged nothing, committed to nothing and therefore threatened nothing. Instead, he’s allowed Iran to hold the world’s shipping hostage.

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The Houthis are Iranian proxies who support Hamas. They have been escalating attacks in the Red Sea against merchant ships traveling to and from Israel. They have also launched missiles against Israel. For this reason, Biden created a naval coalition, called “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” to stop them. The motto for Houthis and their supporters: “Allahu akbar. Death to America, death to Israel, curse for the Jews, victory for Islam.” That motto is consistent with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Authority and virtually every violent and stealth jihadist entity. Few, if any, would have foreseen that the Houthis, from one of the world’s poorest countries, would blockade one of the busiest trade corridors in the world, the Red Sea, disrupting merchant ships and even attacking them, and causing impact on businesses worldwide.

Britain’s multinational retail giant Next has now announced a two-and-a-half week delay in stock delivery times for products coming through the Suez Canal.

“Next warns of stock shortages if Red Sea shipping problems continue,” by Jabed Ahmed, Independent, January 4, 2024:

Retail giant Next has warned supplies of its products could be delayed if attacks on container ships in the Red Sea continue.

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on ships in the Bab-el-Mandeb Straight of the Suez Canal have seen the world’s largest shipping firms halt shipments through the Red Sea, with the diversions adding thousands of miles to journeys, driving up costs and leading to delays.

The attacks have forced a number of companies to reroute cargo around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, which adds 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles to journeys connecting Asia with Europe — adding about 10 days to journeys, according to the Dutch bank ING.

Next is not the first company to warn of issues in the supply of products. Last month furniture giant Ikea said some of its products could also be delayed due to attacks.

According to a CNBC’s Stock market and business report:

Drone and missile attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants have upended shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, a narrow waterway through which some 10% of the world’s trade sails.

The effects of the jihad against Israel are expanding globally — from antisemitism and intimidating pro-Hamas protests to the latest impact on businesses due to Red Sea attacks. In an update, the American-led naval coalition, which has grown to 13 countries including the US, has just vowed consequences if the Houthis continue attacks in the Red Sea. The Sydney Morning Herald stated that missile sites in Yemen may be targeted and struck. The participating countries in the Red Sea coalition are: America, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and New Zealand.

Yemen: Houthi top dog says ‘We want to confront the U.S., Israel, and even their European allies, directly’

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/yemen-houthi-top-dog-says-we-want-to-confront-the-u-s-israel-and-even-their-european-allies-directly#; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Even in these days of our woke, distracted, politicized, and depleted military, this may be a trifle over-ambitious.

“Yemeni-Houthi Official Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti: We Wish To Directly Confront The U.S., Israel, Their European Allies; We Will Annihilate Israel Without The Help Of Other Arab Countries,” MEMRI, December 20, 2023:

Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti of the Yemeni-Houthi Ansar Allah political bureau said on a December 20, 2023, show on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) that the Houthis seek to directly confront the U.S., Israel, and their European allies without the intervention of the Arab and Islamic countries. He said that the Houthis would annihilate Israel on their own and that there is no need for Arab countries to wage war against Israel and to abrogate their peace treaties with it.

Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti: “We will be able to annihilate the [Israeli] entity once and for all. Egypt, Jordan, or any other country, do not need to wage war against this entity, or abrogate their peace treaties with it. We will fulfill our duty in its entirety. If America becomes embroiled in the aggression against Yemen, we will confront it directly. We wish this.

“We want to confront the U.S., Israel, and even their European allies, directly, without any intervention from the Arab and Islamic countries.”

Israel-Hamas war: Israeli Govt. on hostage operations, murdered bodies held captive

The Israeli Government provided an update on the 129 hostages being held captive by Hamas. Israeli Government Spokesman Eylon Levy says Hamas is holding the bodies of hostages that have been murdered. The government says Hezbollah has launched an anti-tank missile from inside Lebanon at the Greek Orthodox Church, injuring a civilian.

China applauds Australia’s rejection of US-led maritime naval mission against Iran-aligned Houthis

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REPUBLISHED, SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/china-applauds-australias-rejection-of-us-led-maritime-naval-mission-against-iran-aligned-houthis

In case anyone has been wondering where China stands on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, here is some illuminating information according to The Guardian:

Beijing has been a supporter of the Palestinians since the Mao era and long called for a two-state solution, but it is increasingly close to Israel, and is presenting itself as a neutral party that holds steadfast to a noninterference principle.

Beijing is also trying to build on its minimal but growing influence in the Middle East, where it has major economic interests, and also presenting itself as a leader of the global south, and furthering its anti-US agenda.

A week on from the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, in which 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, called for a global peace conference and accused Israel of going “beyond the scope of self defence” in its bombing of Gaza. On 16 October, Xi Jinping called for a ceasefire

China is acting in accord with expectations regarding the Red-Green axis. Let’s not forget the China-brokered Saudi-Iran rapprochement. And now China is applauding Australia for its rejection of a US call for the “broadest possible” maritime coalition to protect ships in the the Red Sea from attacks from the Iran-aligned Houthis. China’s reaction is a declaration of hostility to America and Israel.

While Australia has been condemned as “weak” and for “spitting in the face” of allies, the country did state that it will be “almost tripling” its “contribution to the Combined Maritime Force”:

Up to six extra Australian Defence Force officers will be deployed to the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain in early 2024 and another five personnel will be embedded in the CMF headquarters for Operation Manitou, which supports international maritime security efforts in the Middle East and East Africa.

The only Muslim country to join the coalition is Bahrain.

“China Applauds Australia’s Retreat from Red Sea International Naval Mission,” by Simon Kent, Breitbart, December 20, 2023:

The Chinese government was quick to cheer Australia’s rejection of a United States’ call to send a warship to help police vital Red Sea trade routes, gushing Wednesday that Canberra was finally stepping out of America’s “shadow.”

In an opinion piece published by China’s tame state-run media – the Global Times newspaper – author Jerry Grey celebrated the left-wing Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reported refusal to send a warship to the Middle East, and Australia’s recent U.N. vote for a ceasefire in contrast to that of the U.S..

“(Australia) has finally stepped out of the US’ shadow to call for a ceasefire and could potentially act as a mediator in the conflict if needed. That opportunity will be lost if it has a military presence in the region. It is sensible for Australia to continue distancing itself from the US,” the paper said…

US announces naval coalition to protect ships in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks

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REPUBLISHED, SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/us-announces-naval-coalition-to-protect-ships-in-the-red-sea-from-houthi-attacks#

A naval coalition to “protect shipping in the Red Sea comes as two ships were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi territory on Friday.”

As America tries to form the “‘broadest possible’ maritime coalition” to protect the Suez Canal route which sees about six million barrels pass through each day, mainly en route to Europe, it is notable that only one Muslim country has joined: Bahrain. “Notable absentees were Arab nations Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” likely because they do not want to be viewed as siding with Israel and America.

Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Houthis are talking tough against the maritime coalition, threatening that “the Red Sea will be your graveyard.” The emboldening of the Houthis follows a threat by Iran days ago that any such coalition would face “extraordinary problems.”

Although Iran has not formally entered the intensifying war being waged by Israel against Hamas, it is battling on the sidelines, given its support for Yemen’s Houthis and its funding of Hamas (whose military wing saw a significant increase in 2023), Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hizballah (an ever-present threat of full scale war with Israel).

“US announces naval coalition to defend Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks | US military,” by Dan Sabbagh, Guardian, December 19, 2023:

The US has announced the creation of an enhanced naval protection force operating in the southern Red Sea in an attempt to ward off mounting attacks from Yemen’s rebel Houthis on merchant shipping.

Britain said it would be among the countries participating but notable absentees were Arab nations Egypt and Saudi Arabia while analysts speculated that shipping would continue to be disrupted and attacks continue.

Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said the new effort would be called Operation Prosperity Guardian and was necessary to tackle the “recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen”.

Other participants in the effort, Austin said, included Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

But it was not clear it had any immediate impact on securing the strategic waterway, through which an estimated 50 merchant ships normally pass each day, heading to and from the Suez canal, often transiting between Asia and Europe….

How the U.S. Should Respond to Attacks by Iran-Backed Houthis on American Ships

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/how-the-u-s-should-respond-to-attacks-by-iran-backed-houthis-on-american-ships;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The Americans are trying to tamp down the possibility of an escalation of the war, by sending a diplomat to Israel to persuade Jerusalem not to raise the level of violence in Lebanon. Instead of doing that, the Bidenites should try another tack. They should first of all respond to the attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on American and other ships. On October 10, a missile attack from Yemen targeted a guided missile destroyer, the USS Mason, but both missiles fell short; neither hit the ship. Nonetheless, the Americans did not at once respond by hitting Houthi targets in Yemen to discourage future attacks. On November 10 the Americans did send an MQ-9 Reaper drone toward Yemen, but the Houthis shot it down before it got to the country. And there have been no American attacks, as yet, on the Houthi bases in Yemen.

Now the Houthis have struck yet again, seizing a cargo ship in the Red Sea. The ship has been described as British-owned and Japanese-operated, but the Houthis claim it is “Israel-linked,” because, they assert, the ship is “owned by an Israeli.” This may be true: the ship, the Galaxy Leader, may only seem to be “British-owned” because it was registered in the Isle of Man, but it was to a company, Ray Car Carriers, which is a unit of Tel Aviv-incorporated Ray Shipping, according to LSEG data. In any case, even if the Israeli connection can be proven, seizing ships on the high seas, holding onto both them and their cargo, is a violation of international law. Israel and the Houthis, a stateless terror group that is a proxy of Iran, are not formally at war.

Why doesn’t the American military launch a major series of airstrikes on Houthi targets, both in response to the Houthi missile attacks on the USS Mason, to the shooting down of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, and finally, for its act of piracy in seizing the Galaxy Leader? Such an attack would be welcomed by Israel, which at the moment has its hands full in Gaza and would be much relieved to have the Houthi problem taken care of by the American military. Saudi Arabia and the UAE would also welcome an American attack on the Houthis. That would be one less worry for the region, and one more worry for Iran.

Finally, the American ships in the two carrier groups off the coast of Lebanon are well-positioned to attack Hezbollah. On what grounds could Washington do so? The Americans have a score to settle with Hezbollah, which back in 1983 blew up a Marine barracks near Beirut, killing 241 Marines. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is a designated terror group. 

As long as those American carrier groups are in the eastern Mediterranean, Hezbollah is unlikely to provoke a major war with Israel. It has already seen the severe American attacks on Iranian proxies and allies in Iraq and Syria, in response to attacks on American bases in those two countries. It will continue launching missiles at Israel, about 30 a day, as it has been since October 7. All it takes, however, for such a war to start is if another Hezbollah attack were to kill a large number of Israelis in northern Israel, or for Kataib Hezbollah, the pro-Iran militia in Iraq, to kill American soldiers, which so far it has not managed to do. Hezbollah now fears not just the IDF, which has demonstrated in Gaza the ferocity of its war-fighting capabilities, but also those powerful American carrier groups in the eastern Mediterranean that could inflict such huge damage on the Islamic Republic. Would Iran enter such a conflict on the side of Hezbollah, which would mean facing both the IDF and the American military? I don’t think Iran has a death wish. Do you?

BREAKING: IDF TARGETING Hamas Inside Al-Shifa Hospital, INTERCEPTS Houthi Missile

Hamas command center found in Gaza hospital, Israel says

AK-47s, ammo, and grenades were found in the MRI room of Shifa hospital

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/ak-47-ammo-and-grenades-found-in-mri-room-of-shifa-hospital;Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

According to a hadith, Muhammad said, “War is deceit.” (Bukhari 4.52.268).

Arizona House Candidate Abe Hamadeh Urges Biden to Declare Iranian-Backed Houthi Forces as Terrorists

GettyImages-1439034426-1-800x534.jpg

Arizona Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh participates in a border security roundtable with law enforcement officials at the Cochise County Sheriff's Office on November 04, 2022, in Sierra Vista, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
2:30 PM – Monday, October 23, 2023

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/arizona-house-candidate-abe-hamadeh-urges-biden-to-declare-iranian-backed-houthi-forces-as-terrorists/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Republican Candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Abe Hamadeh has called on the Biden Administration to reclassify the Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen as a foreign terrorist group.

“What we’re witnessing right now in the Middle East is a complete lack of diplomacy and a complete destruction of the US State Department’s initiative in the Middle East,” Hamadeh told One America News.

Hamadeh’s push came after the crew of the USS Carney shot down cruise missiles and several drones launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder claimed he couldn’t say “for certain” what the missiles and drones were targeting, but he said the missiles were “potentially towards targets in Israel.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that the Houthi rebels decided to fire off missiles,” Hamadeh said. “They see this huge power vacuum happening because of a lack of American leadership.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed the terrorist designation from the Houthi forces after President Joe Biden took office.

“Joe Biden, the month he took office, he decided to declassify the Houtt Rebels as a terrorist organization,” Hamadeh said. “By the way, we were still getting missiles coming from them when he decided to do that.”

“Designation of a foreign terrorist organization like Hamas is a critical part in order to put pressure on these groups,” Hamadeh continued. “So other countries are able to not be trading with them, not be banking with them. It also limits military sales to them.”

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