Houthi Attacks are Terrorism, not Protest
By: Walker Cox
Most Americans couldn’t point to Yemen on a map, let alone tell you what the Houthi movement is. Is the United States embroiling itself in another ill-conceived Middle Eastern crusade it couldn’t possibly understand? No. Even though it is important to understand the context of the Houthi issue, our responsibility is cut and dry. The Houthis are terrorists attempting to gain political sway in the Arab world by supporting the Hamas invasion of Israel. The United States should be careful not to exacerbate the situation in Israel and Palestine nor cause unnecessary tension with Iran or bloodshed in Yemen, but the Houthi attacks cannot go unanswered.
The Houthi movement was founded in the mountains of Northern Yemen in the 1990s as a Shia Islamist insurgency against Yemen’s predominantly Sunni government, with the slogan, “God Is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam,” They have been fighting the internationally recognized government since 2004 and have caused what the UN has called the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” with 23 million people — 80% of the population — needing aid. Sunni Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen in an attempt to stabilize its neighbor in what many have called ‘Saudi Arabia’s Vietnam.’ Meanwhile, Shia Iran provides weapons and training for the Houthi militants. One should be careful, however, not to reduce the conflict in Yemen to a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, nor dismiss the Houthis as another Hezbollah (a terrorist group operating out of Lebanon backed and trained by Iran). The Houthis can make their own decisions, and they should certainly start making better ones.
Since Oct. 19th, the Houthis have been firing missiles and launching drones toward Israel (to hardly any effect, thanks to state-of-the-art Israeli air defense) in solidarity with the Hamas invasion. In November, they began targeting Israeli and allied ships with missiles, drones, helicopter attacks, and surface craft. They have imposed this blockade in response to Israel’s siege of Gaza and will not lift it until the humanitarian situation is resolved. They don’t seem to be interested in the 23 million people requiring aid in Yemen. Their attacks have yet to incur serious damage or casualties, but they have succeeded in hijackings (in which they captured Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino, and Mexican sailors, hardly their enemy) and have diverted shipping around Africa’s Southern tip. The Red Sea is an artery of global shipping, hosting 12% of global trade every year. Consumers and shipping companies will see costs rise as ships continue to make the long trek around the Cape of Good Hope. However, the cost could have been higher if Israeli and US protection had not been so vigilant or potent. Lives would surely have been lost.
The Houthi regime, through its attacks, is attempting to thrust itself into the spotlight, recruit more fighters, and gain leverage for renegotiation with Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s recognized government. They are certainly succeeding in their first goal as evidenced by the plethora of articles circulating in the mass media. The Houthis may think that flexing on the world stage will give them new legitimacy or power, but to Western leaders, at least, it looks like terrorism and not a compelling reason to stop supporting Israel. The Houthis’ framing of themselves as freedom fighters, however, has brought them new recruits. While many Yemenis may not have been convinced by Houthi rhetoric before, some are now eager to fight Israel and its allies on what they think of as the global stage. In the United States, there has been increasing support. Outside the Yemen Mission in NYC, protesters gathered to denounce the recent US missile strikes against Houthi weapons infrastructure. The addled logic goes that America has no business attacking Yemeni terrorists while Israel invades Gaza.
Houthis have utilized drone, missiles, and surface craft to attack shipping vessels
The American strikes in question were a series of guided munition attacks on Houthi weapons targets, resulting in Houthi casualties. The Biden administration has designated the Houthi regime as a terrorist organization and is joined by a coalition of 20 other nations in countering the new threat. As of the writing of this article, 10 days of strikes have not been enough to bring the Houthis into submission, though the attacking capability of the Houthis has been severely diminished (no longer do they send fleets of 20 UAVs on one-way trips). There is no appetite in Washington for a ground assault of Yemen, which would only lead to chaos, but there is consensus that the issue has to be fully and swiftly dealt with. Analysts suspect Iran is smuggling in many of the high-grade weapons the Houthis are using, and, in addition to missile strikes, the Navy will be working to intercept these shipments. These efforts to stop the Houthi’s attacks are justified and are not products of anti-Palestinian sentiment. Safe passage in international waters needs to be guaranteed, and terrorists should not be lauded even if they pose as humanitarian fighters.
The heart of the problem, as with many things in the Middle East, is the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Houthis are using it as an excuse to gain traction, and, frankly, do not care about saving human lives. They, like Hamas, are a terrorist organization using the very real woes of a people for their own gain. This observation, however, does nothing to fix the issue. The United States and its allies should work together to disarm the Houthi threat and allow for free trade and safe passage. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, however, is still a gaping wound, and the war in Gaza still burns through lives. The Houthi issue is a symptom of a larger illness that can only be solved by cooperation, not force. Once the Houthis have been sufficiently neutralized, they should be brought to the table with Saudi Arabia and the real Yemeni government to both answer for their crimes and help provide solutions for the future. Before then, though, Israel will likely have to come to terms with the Palestinian people, terrorists and civilians alike.
