It is not an exaggeration to say that President Joe Biden’s abysmal foreign policy record is beginning to rival that of fellow Democrat and former President Lyndon Johnson.
As Johnson had a penchant for wasting tax dollars in Vietnam in what then-sitting Defense Secretary Clark Clifford referred to as a “sinkhole” with “no end in sight,” so Biden’s Middle East conundrum is beginning to meet the criteria for Clifford’s words.
In the commander in chief’s latest mishap, a third MQ-9 Reaper drone was lost when it crashed in Yemen on Friday, CBS News reported.
With two MQ-9s being lost since November — each drone costs the taxpayer $30 million — the total estimated loss is now $90 million.
Hamas-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for all three incidents.
The Houthis’ actions are part of a broader response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in which the Biden administration has largely chosen to back the longtime U.S. ally over the Islamic terrorist group.
The Houthis — who are heavily funded by Iran, according to Forbes — began attacking shipping in the Red Sea in November in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel in October.
While they have attacked vessels with ties to Israel, they also have gone after those belonging to Israel’s Western allies.
A coalition of nations including the United States and United Kingdom have conducted airstrikes in Yemen in an effort to halt Houthi attacks.
Should the Biden administration change tactics against the Houthis?
Operations also have been conducted at sea to defend shipping.
In January, an unidentified diplomat told The Washington Post that the United States is “not trying to defeat the Houthis.”
“There’s no appetite for invading Yemen,” the person said. “The appetite is to degrade their ability to launch these kind of attacks going forward, and that involves hitting the infrastructure that enables these kind of attacks, and targeting their higher-level capabilities.”
Clearly, whatever deterrents or operations are being conducted aren’t diminishing the Houthis’ efforts.
Friday’s news came with a report from U.S. Central Command that the Houthis had launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea. No injuries were reported.
April 26 CENTCOM Red Sea Update
At 5:49 p.m. (Sanna time) on April 26, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea in the vicinity of MV MAISHA, an Antiqua/Barbados flagged, Liberia… pic.twitter.com/eCwPHkL9XP
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 27, 2024
Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary at the Pentagon, said in an April 2 briefing that the United States “certainly will continue to do everything we can to protect commercial shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and, of course, do everything that we need to protect our forces.”
All things considered, operations against the Houthis aren’t encouraging.
Our adversaries have become adept at countering drone warfare.
Be mindful that these aren’t professional soldiers. They are impoverished desert-dwelling rebels. What will happen if the U.S. finds itself engaged in a conflict in Asia or Eastern Europe against another nation?
Much as LBJ found himself in the “sinkhole” Clifford so aptly described, Biden is finding himself losing more and more tax dollars in the Middle East. For many, this news can only rub salt in the wound that is still fresh from a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
While this latest episode arguably began on Oct. 7 with Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, tensions with Iran over its attack on Israel and the Houthis in Yemen have followed.
The Middle East was a constant theater for U.S. foreign policy long before Biden took office, but he isn’t exactly becoming the standard-bearer for a resolution.
