Trump’s executive order re-designating the Houthi rebels a foreign terrorist organization threatens direct military action against the Houthis, raising the possibility that the United States could get sucked into another long-term conflict in the Middle East, according to an American expert.
Gregory D. Johnsen who is an associate director of the Institute for Future Conflict at the U.S. Air Force Academy, found that Trump’s executive order seemed to threaten an expanded war in Yemen, stating “it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks on U.S.
Johnsen thought unlike Hamas and Hezbollah, two other Iranian-backed militias that have been significantly downgraded since October 2023, the Houthis have suffered relatively few losses over the past 15 months. Instead, the group appears to have benefitted domestically, regionally and Internationally in numerous ways from its missile campaign in the red sea.
The American expert added that Trump’s executive order aims to undo this Houthi claimed victory in two ways.
First, and most obvious, the order threatens direct military action against the Houthis.
Second, Trump instructed the U.S. Agency for International Development to “end its relationship with entities that have made payments to the Houthis, or which have opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis while turning a blind eye towards the Houthis’ terrorism and abuses.”
Interpreted broadly, Johnsen added, this could lead the United States to cut off support for the United Nations in Houthi-controlled areas and pursue sanctions against organizations and entities that are providing aid in those regions.
Johnsen noticed the The Houthis have long used Yemeni civilians as pawns to blackmail the international community, effectively weaponizing humanitarian aid and that the international community, including the United States, went along with this because it didn’t want to see an already disastrous humanitarian situation get even worse.
But with Trump’s executive order, his administration is effectively putting political considerations ahead of humanitarian concerns, betting that if food insecurity and starvation become bad enough in Yemen, the Houthis’ hold on power will weaken.
Johnsen concluded that what is certain, however, is that the Houthis now present a significant challenge to the United States, and the cautious approach has not worked.