‘The Iranians smell weakness,’ Newsham says as Houthis ratchet up tensions in strike on US-owned ship

Houthi rebels in Yemen struck a U.S.-owned vessel in the Red Sea on Monday, further inflaming tensions in the area. So what is the Houthi’s goal in attacking international shipping? Are they provoking the United States, the U.K. and their allies to attack Houthi targets in Yemen?

NTD spoke to retired Col. Grant Newsham, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, who was highly critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the situation to date.

He said the administration should be making the Houthis, an Iranian proxy, pay dearly for attacking American civilian and military vessels in the Red Sea.

“If you don’t go after the Houthis and the Iranians—raise the cost for them—you will see more of this, and you will see it increasing and in more places,” said Mr. Newsham. “And keep in mind, of course, that China is behind Iran, which is behind the Houthis.

“And unfortunately, this administration just doesn’t seem to have the steel, the nerve to deal with it. But there is no advantage, no benefit to appeasement, to hoping that if we pull back, these people will appreciate the gesture and just leave us alone, leave the Red Sea alone.”

“At some point, you either stand up for yourself, and you make it clear that anyone who deals with us is going to pay a very steep price,” he said. “And if you don’t do that, then you’re going to be on the receiving end of this. And the Iranians smell weakness, the Chinese do to, the Houthis do as well. That’s really a lesson that should have been learned by most people at about the age of five in the school yard.”