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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of...
President Biden’s Misguided Policy toward the Houthis Hurts Americans
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
June 27, 2024
…Two weeks into his presidency, President Biden removed the Houthis from the foreign terrorist organization list…. [He] also ended lethal support to the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates–led anti-terrorism operation against the Houthis….
It may be hard to see how this matters to Americans. For some, pulling back from conflict in the Middle East seems like good news. But as with the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden’s policies toward the Houthis have made life for Americans less safe and less prosperous and have necessitated more, not less, American intervention overseas….
[T]he Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and dozens more against American military assets in the region. This month, Houthi missile strikes have caused the crews of two container vessels to abandon ship, while earlier this year, two American Navy SEALs lost their lives in an operation to stop Iran from providing the Houthis with more weapons.
The Houthis’ concerted attack on global container trade, 30 percent of which passes through their strike zones, has already impacted the American economy. Shipping costs from China to ports on the West Coast are now up 235 percent compared with December 2023…. And we can expect things to only get worse, especially when the Houthis begin charging fees for safe passage.
You might think President Biden would respond by returning to proven policies that kept the Houthis in check under his predecessor…. [But r]ather than redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, he has designated them by a much weaker label: “specially designated global terrorist organization.” Moreover, instead of authorizing strikes against Houthis leaders and weapons depots, the president has authorized strikes only on reportedly empty warehouses and “drone launching sites”….
President Biden says his policies are designed to avoid “escalation” of the conflict. But they are having the opposite effect. When our country’s enemies go unpunished for attacking Americans and paralyzing the global economy, we are inviting them to continue their reckless, unchecked aggression to see what else they can get away with….