(Gatestone Institute) Col. Richard Kemp - This week, Ansar Allah ("Supporters of God"), also known as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed armed militia in Yemen, launched missiles against civilian targets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Immediately after he took office, U.S. President Joe Biden removed the group's Foreign Terrorist designation. He also ended support for Saudi Arabia's offensive military operations against the group. These steps emboldened Ansar Allah and their Iranian sponsors and reduced Saudi Arabia's capacity to fight against them. These moves were a classic example of the failure of appeasement. The Iranian ayatollahs were not won over. Instead, they have increasingly demanded more U.S. compromises in exchange for fewer restrictions on their nuclear weapons project - a typical Iranian regime response to perceived weakness. Meanwhile, Ansar Allah has stepped up its aggression, including increased drone strikes against U.S. allies in the region. Ansar Allah now controls Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and 60% of the country, with around 50% of the population, under a tyranny reminiscent of the Islamic State. Its motto is: "Allah is greater, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam." The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2022-01-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive