The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 was an unmitigated disaster that tarnished America’s reputation as a global leader. It resulted in the deaths of 13 Americans and 170 Afghans, left hundreds of American citizens behind, and allowed the Taliban to retake control of the country virtually overnight.
Though America’s leadership has recently recovered a bit during the outset of the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict has recently eclipsed Ukraine as the focal point of American foreign policy. The U.S. can regain its leadership credentials by acting incisively in the Middle East.
There are three things that the U.S. can do now to make the Middle East and the world a safer place without going through Congress or spending money.
The first is to re-designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Houthis are an Iranian-backed military group in Yemen that overthrew the country’s government in 2014.
Since 2015, the Houthis have been at war against a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia that are trying to restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government. With the help of Iran, the Houthis have caused the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
In February 2021, the Biden administration removed the Houthis as a designated terrorist organization to reduce hostilities and provide aid to the Yemeni people. The crisis in Yemen has only become worse since that decision. The Houthis have become more aggressive, and Hamas’ attacks against Israel have emboldened them.
Now the Houthis are launching rockets into Israel, seizing ships near Israeli ports, and they have even recently fired ballistic missiles at three commercial ships in what can only be categorized as a terrorist attack.
The time for consideration is long past. The Houthis have already proven they are terrorists, and America needs to act accordingly.
The second thing the U.S. can do is refreeze Iranian assets. The Biden administration recently unfroze $6 billion of Iranian oil money in exchange for five U.S. prisoners under the condition that the money be used for humanitarian purposes. That money is in a Qatari bank and has yet to be released. There is an additional $10 billion being held in escrow in Iraq.
There can be no doubt that if Iran regains these assets, it will use them to fund terrorism and violence across the world. The Iran nuclear agreement has allowed Iran to continue to build nuclear weapons under the guise of diplomacy. The Biden administration cannot afford to make the same mistake now.
Unless Iran is confronted, they will continue to support Hamas, the Houthis, and a variety of other terror organizations bent on destroying Israel and America.
The third thing that America can do is stop working with the Palestinian Authority. The Biden administration is currently working on a postwar plan that includes the Palestinian Authority taking over leadership of Gaza.
This would be a grave mistake.
The Palestinian Authority has shown time and time again that it is not capable of securing or ruling its current territory in peace.
The Palestinian Authority is essentially a lower-functioning Hamas. They both share the same ideology which denies Israel’s right to exist. The only reason the Palestinian Authority has not committed a terrorist act like the one perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 is that they lack the capability.
As with Iran, Biden is hoping for a diplomatic solution with a bad-faith actor with a history of rejecting peace. If the Palestinian Authority takes power, it will only create further conflict and jeopardize the safety of every Israeli.
Right now, President Biden is continuing the same kind of short-sighted policies that caused the Afghanistan disaster. His administration is giving terrorist states and organizations a level of legitimacy that empowers them to commit further violence.
It is time for Biden to step up American leadership and prioritize safety and security over prospective political wins that will just blow up in his face anyway.
{Reposted from MEF}
