President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Wednesday that it was designating the Houthis as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT), which is weaker than the designation of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) that the group had under the Trump administration.
The Biden administration’s designation is somewhat of a reversal of its previous policy and a vindication of the Trump administration’s policy on the Houthis.
In 2020, the Trump administration designated the Houthis as an FTO, which cut off the Iran-backed group from the international banking system.
Shortly after Biden took office in 2021, his administration rescinded that designation, arguing that it hurt Yemeni civilians and hindered peace negotiations in Yemen’s civil war between the Iran-backed Houthis and the U.S. and Saudi-backed government.
Former Trump administration Senior National Security Official Kash Patel called the new SDGT a “huge paper tiger.”
“The only thing you get with the SDGT is a listing on [Office of Foreign Assets Control],” he said, whereas “FTOs are hit with crippling sanctions and mandatory congressional notifications. They are literally suffocated from the global trade and banking [system].”
He added that from an intelligence standpoint, an SDGT does not allow a prioritization to collect against this hard target and move heavy kinetic operations.
He noted that some news headlines implied Biden actually opted for the stronger FTO designation. Indeed, some claimed that Biden had “re-designated” the Houthis as terrorists.
Patel said the confusion may be purposeful.
“It’s another example of national security by way of media headline grabs,” he said. “SDGT is a media grab. Most of the public doesn’t know the details of the designation. Now, he can call them terrorists. It’s like carrying a butter knife to a gunfight.”
He also criticized the 30-day period before the SDGT designation takes effect.
“This bogus designation doesn’t go into effect for 30 more days. So, 30 days of bombings from terrorists, and there’s nothing after 30 days to stop them,” he said.
The SDGT designation comes after U.S.-led military strikes against the Houthis failed to stop the group from continuing to attack U.S. military and international commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Houthi forces board the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023, in the Red Sea. (Houthi Media Center via AP)
The Houthis have said the attacks — conducted with missiles and drones — are in response to Israel’s military offensive against Hamas after the latter launched a terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people.
The Houthi attacks have forced shipping companies to find longer, alternative routes from Asia to Europe, costing more in insurance and shipping.
The Biden administration previewed the move in a background call on Tuesday and defended its decision not to designate the Houthis as an FTO.
“I think we believe that the SDGT designation is the appropriate tool at the moment to pressure the Houthis,” said a senior administration official from the National Security Council. The official continued:
I think we are always trying to make sure that the impact of our sanctions is – it’s used for the desired foreign policy effect while minimizing unintended consequences. And the SDGT allows us the possibility of making sure that we are continuing to – in our efforts to resolve the conflict in Yemen to deliver humanitarian assistance, to make sure that there aren’t unintended consequences for the humanitarian situation and the people of Yemen.
Officials also defended the fact that the designation would not kick in for 30 days, which could allow Houthis to continue the attacks without their intended consequences.
They said it would enable the administration to “ensure robust humanitarian carveouts are in place so our action targets the Houthis and not the people of Yemen.”
The official added that if the Houthis stopped their attacks on ships during those 30 days, they would be “willing to relook at this designation.”
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