The Biden/Harris administration’s insistence on appeasing Iran has been a colossal disaster.
(JNS) In response to an unprovoked attack on Tel Aviv a few days ago by the Houthis—an Iran-backed Yemeni terrorist organization—Israel retaliated against Houthi military targets inside Yemen. This episode is emblematic of how the Biden/Harris administration’s foreign policy has been such a colossal failure, not just in the Middle East but around the world.
It demonstrates to our allies around the world just how totally the United States has abdicated its responsibility to defend the American-led world order. This emboldens our enemies and undermines the security of those very same allies.
This shirking of responsibility begins and ends with the administration’s appeasement of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
One of the Biden administration’s first acts upon assuming office was to undo the designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. No rational explanation was given for this. The obvious reason, even if not explicitly stated, was that the Houthis are a proxy of Iran. The Biden administration wanted to signal to the ayatollah that America was determined to return to the Iran nuclear deal. The lifting of the Houthis’ FTO designation was intended to be seen by the Iranian regime as an act of “good faith.”
This was only one early example of the administration’s policy of selling out our regional allies.
When the Biden/Harris team took office in January 2021, the civil war in Yemen was in full swing. Our Sunni Arab allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, supported the internationally recognized government of Yemen against the Houthi insurgents who wanted to overthrow it.
But rather than support our Gulf Arab allies and the legitimate government of Yemen, the Biden/Harris administration worked diligently to marginalize and undermine their war effort. Not only did the administration place an embargo on weapons shipments to Saudi Arabia but it also publicly labeled Saudi Arabia’s leader Mohammad bin Salman a “pariah.” In short, the administration surrendered Yemen to Iran and the Houthis.
This was just one of many acts of “good faith” by the Biden/Harris team towards Iran.
Rather than interpret the Biden/Harris acts of “good faith” as an invitation to return to the nuclear deal and moderate its behavior, Iran pocketed the concessions, stepped up its efforts to become the hegemon of the Middle East, waged war with Israel directly and through its proxies, and redoubled its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
If these acts of war by Iran were not enough to cause the Biden/Harris administration to change course, Iran and the Houthis have offered the White House many other opportunities to rethink its policy of appeasement. Each time, the administration failed to act decisively.
The Houthis have successfully curtailed—if not completely shut down—commercial shipping in the Red Sea by attacking merchant vessels doing nothing more than exercising their right of freedom of navigation under international law. Rather than go on the offensive and neutralize the Houthis’ assault on the rules-based American-led world order, the Biden/Harris administration opted to remain on the defensive. It adopted a strategy of intercepting missiles, drones and rockets once they had been fired. Having paid no price, the Houthis continue their assault on America’s interests in the region.
The administration’s failure to take offensive action against the Houthis should come as no surprise to anyone. Since the Oct. 7 massacre, there have been over 100 attacks against American service members in Iraq and Syria; both directly by Iran or by Iran’s terrorist proxies.
Out of the administration’s fear that Iran might view a serious military response as an act of “bad faith” on the part of Iran’s American friends in the administration, there has been no such response.
America’s failure to protect and defend its own service members has sent a message to the Houthis, the mullahs in Tehran and America’s enemies around the globe: There is no price to be paid for attacking the United States or its allies.
Shamefully, the Biden/Harris administration has lost its deterrence capability. We and our allies—particularly Israel—are now vulnerable to attack because no one fears American retaliation. This invites more aggression by our adversaries, not goodwill or moderation.
It gets worse. Our enemies have learned that if they become more aggressive, the Biden/Harris administration will make additional concessions rather than forcefully defend our national interests.
For example, American intelligence services have learned that Russia intends to arm Houthi terrorists to supplement the support they receive from Iran. Rather than disarm and destroy the Houthis to moot Putin’s efforts or attack Iranian supply lines to Yemen, the White House has instead launched a private diplomatic effort to try to persuade Russia not to arm Iran’s proxy.
Such diplomatic efforts will lead to only one outcome: American concessions. After all, what is the point of initiating a dialogue if you do not intend to make concessions?
It is reasonable to expect that, in exchange for a Russian agreement to limit its support for the Houthis, the Biden/Harris team will agree to 1) limit, if not halt altogether, any offensive military actions against the Houthis; 2) restrain the Israelis from taking any such actions; 3) hold back support for Ukraine or continue to tie Kyiv’s hands as it tries to take an offensive posture against Moscow; and 4) continue its appeasement of Iran.
Even after America makes all these concessions, Russia will very likely arm the Houthis anyway. After all, what is the downside to Russia or Iran for violating an agreement with Joe Biden or Kamala Harris if they know there is no price to pay?
Unfortunately, that is the Biden/Harris playbook. Why have a military victory when you can simply appease, surrender and lose?
Such defeats and humiliations erode our standing in the world and undermine the American-led world order. However, they do not threaten our national existence.
The same cannot be said of Israel. A loss of Israel’s war with Iran and its proxies means the destruction of the Jewish state. Israel cannot afford to lose. It must do everything in its power to defend itself and guarantee its survival.
Because the Biden/Harris White House is afraid to meet its obligations to defend the American-led world order, Israel is forced to do the job for us.
The least we can do is thank them and give them everything they need when they need it to succeed. Now that would be a sign of “good faith.”