US Navy personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on.
Yesterday I wrote that Biden had allowed the Houthis to win by refusing to take any affirmative action against the Iran-backed Jihadis operating in Yemen and attacking shipping in the Red Sea.
“US Naval personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on. They did not have authorization to fire when the Houthis were firing on the Maersk Hangzhou or on what were clearly enemy vessels, but only defensively in response to attacks on the US Navy.”
An NBC News account of inside deliberations in the Biden administration reveals that Biden refused to approve any follow-up response.
“According to the officials, U.S. Central Command provided Defense Department leaders with options for an additional military response after the incident, and the Pentagon sent those options to senior White House officials. Biden, who was on vacation in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, did not approve an additional military response.”
Military leaders probably wanted to at least carry out some minimal strikes on Houthi bases. Nope.
Now the Biden administration and its Red Sea coalition issued yet another threat warning of “consequences.”
We hereby reiterate the following and warn the Houthis against further attacks…
“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.”
Accountable and consequences. Words to terrify any bureaucrat. Not so much international terrorists.
Biden has pledged nothing, committed to nothing and therefore threatened nothing. Instead, he’s allowed Iran to hold the world’s shipping hostage.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield
