Comments by "david boi" (@davidboi4025) on "Houthi Anti-Ship Missiles Take The Hit In Fresh Round Of U.S., UK Strikes On Red Sea, Yemen" video.
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The Houthis were added to the list of FTOs in a last-minute designation by the Trump administration on January 19, 2021. President Biden revoked the designation based on humanitarian concerns on February 12, 2021; however, the Houthis’ attacks targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea have renewed the debate about listing the group as an FTO.
The Department of State is the U.S. agency tasked with designating foreign groups as terrorist organizations if those groups meet the legal criteria in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended:
(1) It must be a foreign organization; (2) The organization must engage in terrorist activity . . . or terrorism, . . . or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism; [and] (3) The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.
The Annex of Statistical Information that the Department of State released on April 15, 2023, uses three inclusion criteria to determine whether an incident should be deemed a terrorist incident:
(1) The violent act aims to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal; (2) The violent act includes evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to an audience (or audiences) larger than the immediate victims; [and] (3) The violent act occurred outside the precepts of international humanitarian law insofar as it targeted non-combatants.
Based on the Department of State’s legal criteria, the Houthis meet the first and second criteria because the Houthis are a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity. Concerning the third criterion, strong evidence shows that Houthis directly targeted U.S. nationals and U.S. national security. For example, Houthi missile attacks in January 2022 targeted a military base in Abu Dhabi with 2,000 American troops stationed at the facility. Its ballistic missiles struck three commercial ships, and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the assault in December 2023. Its another attack hit a US-owned container ship with a ballistic missile in Gulf of Aden on January 15, 2024.
Based on the Department of State’s inclusion criteria, the Houthis meet the first criterion because they are fighting against the internationally recognized Hadi government in Yemen to achieve the following political, economic, religious, and social goals: reverse economic underdevelopment, end political marginalization, and achieve greater autonomy in Houthi-majority regions. The Houthis also meet the second criterion because their violent acts are intended to send a message to the entire country of Yemen and neighboring countries. As one example of evidence of this intent, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia numerous times from 2018 to 2023, mostly with drones and missile launches from Yemen. Within Yemen, the GRID records that the Houthis were the perpetrators of 1909 attacks from 2018 to 2022. Finally, the Houthis meet the third criterion. Again, according to the Annex of Statistical Information, it is clear that the Houthis’ violent acts targeted non-combatants because 29 percent of the victims were civilians.
To conclude, given the capacity of the Houthis to commit violent acts and the involvement of regional powers in the conflict in Yemen, it would not be wrong to conclude that the Yemeni conflict and the death of innocent Yemeni civilians will continue. Houthis will be a strong pawn in the game played by Tehran and serve the interests of its regime in the region. The United States removed Houthis from the list of FTOs due to humanitarian concerns in 2021, but its growing threat in the region has pushed Houthis to knock on the door of the terrorist list.
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The Houthis were added to the list of FTOs in a last-minute designation by the Trump administration on January 19, 2021. President Biden revoked the designation based on humanitarian concerns on February 12, 2021; however, the Houthis’ attacks targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea have renewed the debate about listing the group as an FTO.
The Department of State is the U.S. agency tasked with designating foreign groups as terrorist organizations if those groups meet the legal criteria in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended:
(1) It must be a foreign organization; (2) The organization must engage in terrorist activity . . . or terrorism, . . . or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism; [and] (3) The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.
The Annex of Statistical Information that the Department of State released on April 15, 2023, uses three inclusion criteria to determine whether an incident should be deemed a terrorist incident:
(1) The violent act aims to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal; (2) The violent act includes evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to an audience (or audiences) larger than the immediate victims; [and] (3) The violent act occurred outside the precepts of international humanitarian law insofar as it targeted non-combatants.
Based on the Department of State’s legal criteria, the Houthis meet the first and second criteria because the Houthis are a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity. Concerning the third criterion, strong evidence shows that Houthis directly targeted U.S. nationals and U.S. national security. For example, Houthi missile attacks in January 2022 targeted a military base in Abu Dhabi with 2,000 American troops stationed at the facility. Its ballistic missiles struck three commercial ships, and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the assault in December 2023. Its another attack hit a US-owned container ship with a ballistic missile in Gulf of Aden on January 15, 2024.
Based on the Department of State’s inclusion criteria, the Houthis meet the first criterion because they are fighting against the internationally recognized Hadi government in Yemen to achieve the following political, economic, religious, and social goals: reverse economic underdevelopment, end political marginalization, and achieve greater autonomy in Houthi-majority regions. The Houthis also meet the second criterion because their violent acts are intended to send a message to the entire country of Yemen and neighboring countries. As one example of evidence of this intent, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia numerous times from 2018 to 2023, mostly with drones and missile launches from Yemen. Within Yemen, the GRID records that the Houthis were the perpetrators of 1909 attacks from 2018 to 2022. Finally, the Houthis meet the third criterion. Again, according to the Annex of Statistical Information, it is clear that the Houthis’ violent acts targeted non-combatants because 29 percent of the victims were civilians.
To conclude, given the capacity of the Houthis to commit violent acts and the involvement of regional powers in the conflict in Yemen, it would not be wrong to conclude that the Yemeni conflict and the death of innocent Yemeni civilians will continue. Houthis will be a strong pawn in the game played by Tehran and serve the interests of its regime in the region. The United States removed Houthis from the list of FTOs due to humanitarian concerns in 2021, but its growing threat in the region has pushed Houthis to knock on the door of the terrorist list.
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