(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Critics are putting blame on the Biden administration’s policies for the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The criticism comes after the Islamic Republic of Iran launched new attacks Jan. 16, including 24 hours of missile and drone attacks into Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. The latest attacks are an escalation of Iran’s open warfare, which has been increasing since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel. Since the attack, Iran has provided aid to Hamas and has been involved with supplying weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November. On Jan. 11, the U.S. Navy conducted a nighttime seizure of Iranian weapons, including anti-ship cruise missiles and propulsion, guidance and warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles, bound for Yemen.
Experts are now criticizing the Biden administration, saying a deficient Biden foreign policy is to blame for the escalation.
A Lebanese-American academic expert on the Mideast, Walid Phares, stated the conflict escalated because the Middle East policies of the Obama administration have been entirely resumed by the Biden administration, “but with further recklessness.” Phares stated that resuming the policies and removing the Houthis from U.S. terror lists in February 2021 sent a signal to Iran. Phares added that the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 sent the message that the U.S. is “hurdling towards a global retreat.”
Phares, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump, said “dangerous choices” about “traditional friends and allies” of the United States have been made by the Biden administration, including those about Israel not responding to Iran’s aggressive behavior. Phares added that not containing the Houthis rebels has led to them holding “the maritime line in the Red Sea hostage.” The U.S. relisted the Houthis as a terrorist organization Jan. 17.
However, others are attempting to defend the Biden administration’s decisions. The U.S. State Department and Secretary Antony Blinken continue to promote “stability and regional integration in the Middle East,” which they have since the beginning of the Biden administration, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department.
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