Biden also pulling support for war against radical Islam in Yemen
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While Biden has argued that the Afghan conflict “is not in the national interest” in part because the country is so remote, the same cannot be said for Yemen. It sits at the outlet of the Suez Canal-Red Sea maritime link between Europe and the Indo-Pacific. It is one of the most strategic spots on the map under threat from Iran, an avowed enemy of the United States. Yemen is also on the border of Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have launched numerous missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that serve global markets and on commercial shipping. The vital consequences of the civil war in Yemen are why Obama provided the Arab coalition with support for its air campaign and President Donald Trump continued that policy.
Yet, at a February 5 press briefing only days into the new administration, State Department spokesperson Ned Price concluded his review of statements about “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales” and ending “our intelligence sharing arrangement with Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led coalition.” As an afterthought, he did concede that “Saudi Arabia faces genuine security threats from Yemen and from others in the region” but made no mention of Iran or the security of the Red Sea.
Antiwar and isolationist voices had shifted the theme of the war from the dire strategic consequences of an Iranian-proxy victory to Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis of the day. There is no question that war breeds suffering, but the blame is on those who launch wars of aggression, as we see playing out in Afghanistan. But in Yemen, it is the Saudi coalition fighting back against aggression that is being told to stand down even though the State Department knows “The Houthis benefit from generous military support from the Iranian government to wage attacks against civilian population centers and commercial shipping.” In May, sanctions were imposed “against two senior leaders of Houthi forces in Yemen who are involved in military offensives that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, pose a dire threat to civilians, and destabilize Yemen.” Secretary Anthony Blinken has called on Tehran to pressure the Houthis to negotiate, but the situation has continued to escalate since Iran has no fear of America taking effective action to back its diplomacy.
Millions face starvation. The Houthi captured Hodeidah on the Red Sea, and the Arab coalition will not allow fuel and food into the port where the insurgents will seize the shipments for their own use. On July 27, Special Envoy Timothy Lenderking arrived in Riyadh to discuss with Saudi and Yemini officials the import of fuel into northern Yemen even as the Houthis were launching new offensive operations. But with the U.S. telling the Arabs to stand down, there is no way to deliver supplies to the civilian population.
Biden did not want to risk American lives in an ingoing Afghan civil war, In Yemen, however, no Americas were in combat. The Arab coalition was doing all the fighting. What President Biden was responding to was pressure from congressional Democrats led by Sen. Bernie Sanders to appease Iran. A resolution calling for the end to all support for the Saudi-led war effort was passed by Congress in 2019. President Trump vetoed it, showing that in a broader context Biden is not continuing the foreign policy of his predecessor in either Yemen or Afghanistan, a policy that was based on strength. If Biden’s behavior does not change, allies around the world will have cause to wonder if the United States can be relied upon as a security partner.
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Pandering to Iranian aggression is a mistake. The rule by the Shia religious bigots of Iran is terrorists in Iran and in any area, Iran tries to institute dominance. Yemen is near a strategic waterway the much of the world's oil must use. Giving the Ayatollas a foothold there could lead to disaster for US allies in the region and in Europe.
The US was not a party to this war, but its allies in the region are and they should be supported.
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