Less than three years before launching a series of retaliatory strikes on the group, President Joe Biden’s administration removed the Iran-backed Houthis from the foreign terrorist organization list.
The Houthi rebels have recently launched at least 27 drone and missile attacks against commercial ships within the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the military said Thursday. Under Biden’s directive, the U.S. and the United Kingdom launched strikes against the group in Yemen on Thursday in response to the increased aggression. (RELATED: Shipping Giant Halts Commerce In Red Sea Despite US Navy Defending Against Houthi Attacks)
While the Biden administration launched attacks on the Iran-backed group, they weren’t even labeled a terrorist organization, after the president moved in 2021 to reverse a decision made by former President Donald Trump.
Before leaving office in January of 2021, Trump’s administration moved to deem the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization. Biden quickly reversed that decision in February of 2021, taking Ansarallah, the group also known as the Houthis, off the list.
“Secretary [Antony] Blinken has been clear about undertaking an expeditious review of the designations of Ansarallah given the profound implications for the people of Yemen, home to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe,” a State Department official confirmed to NBC News in February of 2021. “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.”
In November, the administration said it was considering putting the Houthis back on the list after the group seized a cargo ship.
The U.S. and the U.K. were joined by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands in hitting “a number of targets” in Yemen as a part of the strike ordered by Biden on Thursday. To carry out the strike, the countries used Navy ships, submarines and fighter jets, attacking with Tomahawk missiles to hit various Houthi drone storage and launch sites, U.S. and U.K. officials told CNN.
U.S. President Joe Biden holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House on October 02, 2023 in Washington, DC. Biden held the meeting to discuss economic legislation, artificial intelligence, and gun violence. Biden was joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Despite not making a public appearance since Monday, Biden released a public statement Thursday evening noting that the strikes he ordered send a “clear message.” Biden’s statement made no mention of Iran, which supports the Houthis financially and militarily.
“Today’s defensive action follows this extensive diplomatic campaign and Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels,” Biden said in his written statement. “These targeted strikes are 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.”
“I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary,” Biden continued.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the strikes on the Houthis from his bed in Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., a defense official told Business Insider. Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1 after experiencing extreme pain from a urinary tract infection, but the Defense Secretary and his Pentagon failed to notify the White House until several days later.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said in his written statement.