Biden Admin Reportedly Worried It’s Only A Matter Of Time Until Americans Are Killed By Iranian Proxies
REAGAN REESE
WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
January 22, 2024
President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly worried that the conflict in the Middle East may escalate and result in American troops being killed by Iranian proxies, according to The New York Times (NYT).
As the Iranian-backed Houthis continue to attack U.S. interests and commercial ships within the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the Biden administration continues to weigh how it should respond, according to the NYT. The administration has reportedly struggled to strike a balance in its response, not wanting to cause the conflict to escalate into a war but privately, officials think “they may have no choice” if American troops die, the outlet reported.
“The administration confronts a problem without a risk-free solution,” Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator, told the outlet. “They don’t want to strike Iran directly for fear of escalation, which only widens the margin for pro-Iranian groups, including the Houthis, to strike at U.S. forces. At some point, if U.S. forces are killed, they’ll have no alternative but to respond directly against Iranian assets.”
The Biden administration has launched a series of retaliatory strikes on the Houthis in response to their continued attacks on U.S. interests in the Red Sea. Despite the Biden administration’s strikes, the Houthis have continued to retaliate.
Shortly after the Biden administration ordered strikes on the Houthis for the first time, the administration moved to put the group back on the foreign terrorist list. Former President Donald Trump’s administration marked the Houthis as terrorists in Jan. 2021, but after coming into office, Biden reversed the decision in Feb. 2021.
National Security Official Jake Sullivan announced Wednesday that the administration had designated Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The designation helps “impede terrorist funding to the Houthis,” Sullivan said in a statement.
As the Houthis continue to attack U.S. interests, Biden admitted that the strikes he ordered have not been working.
“Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?” a reporter asked Biden on Thursday.
“Well, when you say working, do you mean stopping the Houthis, no,” the president answered. “Are they gonna continue? Yes.”
After Biden conceded that his strikes were not effective, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby could not answer why the Houthis are not afraid of the United States’ efforts.
“John, President Biden admitted yesterday that the retaliatory strikes against the Houthis aren’t working,” the Daily Caller asked Friday. “Why aren’t they afraid of the U.S.?”
“Well, you have to ask the Houthis what’s in their mindset. I’m not gonna get in between the ears of Houthi leaders,” Kirby said. “They claim it’s about Gaza, it’s not. They claim that it’s some sort of U.S. and Britain effort to wage war on them. It’s not. We’re simply trying to do two things. We’re trying to defend our Navy ships and sailors and the Navy ships and sailors of other nations that are in the Red Sea with us, and two, protecting our national shipping.”
Read more: https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/22/biden-admin-american-troops-iran-houthis-middle-east/
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