‘Global terrorist’ designation of Yemeni rebels more symbolic than effective
Washington’s decision to re-designate the Houthis as global terrorists is yet another attempt to dissuade them from continuing their attacks on the Red Sea.
In the past week, US President Joe Biden’s administration, with the help of several other countries, has carried out three strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.
However, they seem to have had little effect.
They hope the financial consequences associated with the specially designated global terrorist description will pressure the Iran-backed rebels into rethinking its ways.
“This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
The designation allows the US to disrupt the Houthis’ access to funds by freezing accounts and blocking the assets of people associated with the Yemeni rebels.
But the administration could have gone further.
It chose not to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation, which would carry even harsher restrictions and could penalise organisations that provide material support to the group.
“The SDGT provides better flexibility to achieve the aims that we have in terms of carving out and safeguarding humanitarian assistance, as well as the broader well-being of the people of Yemen, and targeting the action towards the Houthis while still achieving our foreign policy aims, which is to call out the Houthis actions for what they are, which is unacceptable terrorism,” a senior administration official said.
Nadwa Al Dawsari, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said: “This is a group that’s not going to be discouraged by designations or missiles.
“In fact, this group feeds off of actions like that.”
That is a sentiment shared by Gerald Feierstein, a former US ambassador to Yemen under president Barack Obama from 2010 to 2013.
Mr Feierstein believes the designation is more symbolic than effective.
“They don’t operate overseas, they don’t have bank accounts overseas, they don’t participate in the US financial system,” he told The National.
Mr Feierstein said the Houthis’ repeated aggression in the Red Sea forced the administration’s hand.
“I think the administration felt that they were in a bind,” he said.
“There were demands that they do something that responded to the pressure on shipping and the global economy.
“So they couldn’t not do something. I don’t think they’re under any illusion that what they’re doing is actually going to have a serious deterrent effect.”
The Houthis have already derided the designation.
“The American terrorist list no longer has an impact, especially on the Republic of Yemen,” the group said.
On Wednesday, just hours after the State Department announced their decision, the rebels said that they had attacked an American ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Former president Donald Trump’s administration listed the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation and a specially designated global terrorist, which had devastating effects on Yemen’s access to critical humanitarian aid.
The Biden administration quickly reversed the designation but has now changed course.
The fact that it has had to do that shows how inconsistent America’s approach to the Middle East has been, said Ms Al Dawsari.
A senior official defended the administration’s decision to remove the Houthis from the foreign terrorist organisation list in 2021, saying it was the “correct step” at the time as it recognised the “very dire humanitarian situation in Yemen”.
The designation will come into effect in 28 days.
Mr Sullivan said the US was willing to “immediately re-evaluate it” if the Houthis stop attacking the Red Sea, a critical waterway for international shipping.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration was also prepared to take further steps if necessary.
“The President will not hesitate to take further actions to protect our people and free international trade,” he said during a White House briefing.