LOS ANGELES.–Hitting Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen, 81-year-old President Joe Biden repeated the same joint attacks by the U.S. and U.K. Jan 13, hoping to deter Houthi terrorists from disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. U.S. and U.K. operation amounted to throwaway missile attacks, doing little to stop Houthis from attacking commercial shipping, creating supply chain problems, adding to costs and time to commercial shipping. Biden’s latest attacks come a week after Israel fired on Sanna, Yemen to retaliate for a Houthi missile hitting Israel in the ongoing wars between Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Biden’s latest actions show a feckless approach to the embarrassing use of the U.S. military, having little or no effect on Iran’s proxy terrorist groups. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on Biden to strike Iran directly.
Houthis, like most of Iran’s proxies, are spread out like most terror groups with assets largely on mobile rocket launchers, not in military warehouse easily found as military targets. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has taken the offensive recently firing off 180 missiles at Israel Oct. 2, most of which intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome with the help of U.S. assets in the Mediterranean off the coast of Israel. Ayatollah continues to order Hezbollah, a division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, to fire missiles at Israel, in retaliation for Israel’s successful strikes on Hezbollah assets, killing its Supreme Leader Hassan Nasrallah Sept. 28 in a targeted bombing strike at Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut. Whatever the Biden strategy, there’s no excuse for not striking the Ayatollah directly for its longstanding state-sponsored terrorism in the Mideast and Horn of Africa.
Biden keeps pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign onto a ceasefire deal with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, when it offers no guarantees that Hamas would leave Gaza and no longer rule the territory. Once Israel assassinated Hamas leader-in-exile Ismail Haniyeh July 31, Hamas executive leadership countered by appointing Oct. 7 Hamas mastermind Yahya Sinwar as Hamas leader. Nothing could have been more a slap-in-the-face to Biden and Israel than appointing the Oct. 7 mastermind to lead Hamas. Yet Biden, who should have been removed from office because of his known cognitive impairments, now publicly feuds with Netanyahu, all because his Mideast foreign policy has been a failure. Biden wants a ceasefire deal to cement his legacy set to end Jan. 20, 2025 and to help Vice President Kamala Harris with a high profile foreign policy win.
When it comes to dealing with Israel, Biden has a pre-Sept. 11 mindset, bullying Israel into making concessions to Palestinians, all under the failed strategy of Mideast peacemaking. How can you have Mideast peacemaking when the Ayatollah plays a central role in sabotaging any U.S. or European Union [EU] attempts at peacemaking? Since Iran hijacked the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations, essentially giving Iran a free reign to finance terror groups over the Mideast. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, father of the Iranian Revolution, used anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism as a way to dupe Sunni countries and states into supporting Iran. Shiite Iran has poor relations with other Sunni states, leaving Iran mostly isolated in the Islamic world. Ayatollah Khomenei and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continue to exploit Israel to advance its terrorist agenda.
Time has been long overdue for the U.S. to take military action against Iran. Ayatollah Khaemenei won’t stop sponsoring Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi terrorists unless he sees his rule threatened with U.S. strikes on his oil and nuclear infrastructure. Former President Barack Obama thought in 2015 he could stop Iran’s feverish pursuit of uranium enrichment with the intent of building an A-bomb, signing the Joint Cooperative Plan of Action [JCPOA] or Iranian Nuke Deal releasing billions of Iranian assets and ending sanctions on oil sales in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit uranium enrichment. When 78-year-old President Donald Trump came into office, it was obvious there was no enforcement mechanism for the JCPOA and Iran continued sponsor terrorism around the Mideast and Horn of Africa. Trump cancelled the Iranian Nuke Deal May 8, 2018.
Biden’s public feuding with Netanyahu has been disgraceful, especially given Israel fights a three-front war against Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. Where’s the U.S. help in neutralizing the key backer of all the terrorism against Israel? Iran has got away with murder since the 1979 Islamic Revolution with the U.S. not taking firm stand in all successive administrations until Trump. Trump at least recognized the dangers Iran possesses to Mideast Peace, but, more importantly, to Israel’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Periodic strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen do nothing to stop Iran from state-sponsored terrorism, currently fighting a war with Israel. If Biden had any handle on the situation, he would launch targeted military strikes on Iran’s oil infrastructure to stop the Ayatollah from continuing to sponsor terrorism in the Mideast and Horn of Africa.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
