OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
2:30 PM – Monday, October 23, 2023
Republican Candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Abe Hamadeh has called on the Biden Administration to reclassify the Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen as a foreign terrorist group.
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“What we’re witnessing right now in the Middle East is a complete lack of diplomacy and a complete destruction of the US State Department’s initiative in the Middle East,” Hamadeh told One America News.
Hamadeh’s push came after the crew of the USS Carney shot down cruise missiles and several drones launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder claimed he couldn’t say “for certain” what the missiles and drones were targeting, but he said the missiles were “potentially towards targets in Israel.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that the Houthi rebels decided to fire off missiles,” Hamadeh said. “They see this huge power vacuum happening because of a lack of American leadership.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed the terrorist designation from the Houthi forces after President Joe Biden took office.
“Joe Biden, the month he took office, he decided to declassify the Houtt Rebels as a terrorist organization,” Hamadeh said. “By the way, we were still getting missiles coming from them when he decided to do that.”
“Designation of a foreign terrorist organization like Hamas is a critical part in order to put pressure on these groups,” Hamadeh continued. “So other countries are able to not be trading with them, not be banking with them. It also limits military sales to them.”
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