The Biden administration has ramped up war in Yemen with the second airstrike in a week. The U.S. says that they are targeting missiles and bombs with Tomahawk missiles in order to “restore freedom in the Red Sea.”
Yemenis are not taking this lightly. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the attack, which was a cooperation with the United Kingdom. They say that they will not back down from their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, as reported in Reuters said “We did not attack the shores of America, nor did we move in the American islands, nor did we attack them. Your strikes on our country are terrorism.” He added, “They are terrorists and they are amazing at lying to the people of the world, but the awareness of the Yemeni people is a different awareness. Do you, Yemeni, think that America is defending itself or is it a terrorist?”
The Biden administration is facing criticism from so-called Middle Eastern allies for this. Will they back down or ramp up this war?
As a reminder: The Houthis were once American allies against al Qaeda. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shared intelligence with the Houthis when he was commander of Central Command in 2014. Later, the Saudis wanted a war with the Houthis and then-President Obama supported that. In the first air raid, the U.S.-Saudi alliance bombed a civilian neighborhood, killing 14 children, according to Scott Horton’s reporting.
