Yemen monitor/ Iftikhar Abdo
The United States of America announced on Friday evening that the designation of the Houthis as a “terrorist organization” came into effect in response to the attacks launched by the Houthi group against commercial ships in the Red Sea, which led to the disruption of maritime trade.
This designation of the Houthis comes for one reason: they attacked ships in the Red Sea while ignoring the group’s bloody past and its ongoing hostilities inside Yemen.
Despite the entry of this decision into force , the group is still continuing its attacks in the Red Sea, describing this decision as illegal and illegitimate, which costs the US lose a lot of credibility with most countries of the world.
For its part, the US administration still views the Houthis as a political card and is dealing with them on this basis, will their inclusion in the terrorism list affect them militarily?
“The impact of the inclusion of the Houthis in the list of terrorism on the military reality of the Houthi group allied with Iran can be viewed from two angles: the external angle of the continued supply of weapons to the Houthis from Iran, as U.S. officials stated that the U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandeb and the Red Sea intercepted during the past period 18 ships loaded with various types of weapons were en route to the Houthis, “said Abdul wasee Al-fatki, a political analyst.
The designation of the Houthis by Joe Biden administration as a foreign “terrorist organization” of a special kind requires preventing the continued flow of Iranian weapons to the Houthis through a series of measures that put an end to the smuggling of weapons to the Houthis, Al-fatki told Yemen monitor.
” The second angle is the internal angle: the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group comes in light of its claims to support Gaza, by adopting military attacks on Israeli ships and their associated, American and British, which gave the Houthis political and media gains that they exploited to increase the pace of recruitment, especially among young people, opened dozens of recruitment and training camps and received thousands of fighters under the pretext of preparing to fight America and Israel, which means preparing for upcoming battles in Taiz and Marib, “he said.
Houthis exploit of the events in Gaza
” Recently, the contact lines on the fronts of the Taiz and Marib governorates witnessed Houthi military movements and developments, and the Houthis carried out military exercises with live ammunition, which reveals the Houthis ‘ investment in the events in Gaza for misleading propaganda purposes in order to gain military, political and media gains, “he pointed out.
” The decision that classify the Houthis as a terrorist organization will not change anything on their military reality; rather, today we find a strengthening and expansion of Houthi attacks, and this is a proof that there will be no real good signs on the ground, “says Ahmed Hazza, a political analyst.
Hazza added to Yemen Monitor, ” There are U.S.-UK statements saying that despite the classification of the Houthis in the list of terrorism, the group did not stop their attacks, and this is a proof that the Houthis will not be deterred by this decision, which came timidly by the U.S. justifying its position towards the Houthis and its strikes launched against Yemen.
“The Houthis will not be affected financially or militarily, but they may like the game to practice more attacks,in both the Red Sea and on the internal battle fronts, especially Marib and Taiz, which have witnessed – in the recent period – a lot of Houthi strikes with heavy and light weapons, despite the validity of the so-called truce,”he added.
” The Houthis have a great ability to maneuver, or rather the ability to circumvent on any punishment that happens to them, and this is evident through the group’s continued smuggling of Iranian weapons and other prohibited acts,”he stressed.
“If there are any sanctions, the defeated citizens will be the only affected, while the Houthis are still rioting the same way without any deterrent against them,”he concluded.
For his part, Hamza al-jubaihi (media activist) says, “As for the decision to include the Houthis in the list of terrorism… if the U.S. has real credibility with it, let it be applied strictly; so that Iranian smuggled weapons, by sea or by land through Oman, will be banned.
Al-jubaihi told Yemen monitor, “if this decision does not limit the defensive, offensive and military capabilities of the Houthis in general, the decision makes no sense at all; the Houthis, in the eyes of Yemenis, have been terrorists since 2014 not from now, and this decision will change nothing in the people’s view towards the Houthis.
” The international community ultimately believed that the Houthis were terrorists, when it felt an economic danger caused by the actions of the Houthis, although I expect that this is a conspiracy between the Houthis and the U.S. to have a presence in the Red Sea and control international shipping traffic, “he said.
” The truth is that the Houthis and everything they are doing has nothing to do with the victory of Gaza at all, but this decision, if it really continues and is applied strictly, will limit their military capability, provided that they are closely monitored and any weapons are prevented from being delivered to them to weaken their strength, “he continued.
