vIranian-backed Houthi rebels fired at a U.S. Destroyer responding to a distress call from the Central Park tanker carry phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden. Responding to the distress call, the USS Mason intercepted Somali pirates attempting to commander the tanker, taking five Somali pirates into custody. Closely tied to Iran, the Houthi rebels have been fighting a war with Saudi Arabia since 2015, prompting former President Donald Trump to cancel May 8, 2018 former President Barack Obama’s Iranian Nuke Deal. Saudi Arabia was under attack by Iran’s Houthi rebels for three years before Trump cancelled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] attempting to slow e Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Denied by Iran, Western intel officials think that Iran is working on an A-bomb, something that prompted Obama to negotiate the JCPOA.
Watching Yemen’s Houthi rebels fire ballistic missiles at the USS Mason should be an act of war to the Biden administration. While Biden has retaliated at Iran proxies in Syria, he has yet to respond directly to Iran. Since the Oct. 7 slaughter of 1,200 Israelis and other, taking another 240 hostages, Iran uses Hamas as its proxy force in Gaza. Biden has not responded directly to Iran, Supremes Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei knows the U.S. regards attacks by Iran’s proxies as an attack by Iran. Iran told former Hamas leader-in-exile Ismail Haniyeh that Iran would not get involved to save Gaza from Israel. Ayatollah was irked with Hamas that he was not given advance notice before Hamas’ latest terrorist attack on Israeld or reclaiming land. If nothing else, the Oct. 7 attack remined the world that Hamas is not about “resistance” but purely about terrorism.
Attacking a the USS Mason in Gulf of Aden, Biden has every right to respond to Iran directly, without going after the Houthi rebels in Yemen. When Trump cancelled the Iranian Nuke Deal, Houthis were firing Cruise missile into Saudi Arbia’s Riyadh International Airport and Aramco oil refineries. Ayatollah likes to pretend Houthis operate independently but it’s widely known they take orders from Tehran. Only recently has Iran tried to mend fences with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salaman after years of proxy war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Iran denies responsibility for Houthis or rebel groups operating Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. When you consider Biden’s been in office for three years, you’d think he’d have a better handle on U.S. foreign policy. In reality, Biden has launched a proxy war with the Kremlin, all but wrecking decades of diplomacy.
Unless Biden confronts Iran, the U.S. can expect more attacks by proxies causing havoc at U.S. and allied targets. When it comes to Houthis, they’ve fire rockets at Israel since Netanyahu announced Oct. 7 war with Hamas. Hamas is considered part of the Arab axis of resistance against Israel. But has Palestinians found out, no Araba state wants war with Israel for obvious reasons. Arabs learned their lesion in the 1967 Six Day War, when Israel defeated to collective arms of seven Arab states, leaving them defenseless. Israel annexed Egypt’s Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Jordan’s West Bank and East Jerusalem and Syria’s Golan Heights, holding all territories, except the Sinai, as buffer zones. Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, returning the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for peace. Had Palestinians signed peace treaty with Israel, things would look different today.
Israel finds itself battling an ISIS-like terror group with Hamas, hell-bent on destroying Israel and killing all Jews. Of course, Hamas knows it can never destroy Israel, only occasionally strike Israel when its guard is down. Israel found itself on Oct. 7 in the same place as the U.S. on Sept. 11, when Osama bin Laden flew jetliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Dealing with terror groups hasn’t been easy for the U.S. where it took 10 years for the Pentagon to finally bring justice to Bin Laden. U.S. officials struggle to keep terrorism off U.S. soil, when the Mexican border provides little protection against undesirables crossing into the U.S. Biden pays a price for leaving the Mexican border unprotected. Biden’s approval ratings are down to 40% because voters don’t like the inflation that has robbed many consumers of their purchasing life savings.
Watching Houthi rebels and other Iranian-backed proxy groups attack the United States has turned voters off to giving Biden four more years. Recent polls show Biden losing to Trump in key battleground states, prompting the Democrat-controlled media to accuses Trump of trying to destroy U.S. democracy. Sounds like the same rubbish Biden says about Ukraine, insisting the bankrupt, war-torn country defends European democracy. Biden knows in 2024, he cannot run on his record but must divert attention to Democrats new narrative about Trump: That he’s a dictator trying to destroy U.S. democracy. If Biden wants to reverse his slide in the polls, he should let Iran know that he holds the Ayatollah responsible for proxy attacks on U.S. and allied targets. Watching Houthi rebels launch missiles at U.S. warships reminds voters that he’s not fit for another four years.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analzying spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
