Bobby Ghosh, Columnist

The U.S. Is Getting a Reality Check in Yemen

The Biden administration’s soft-pedaling on the Houthi rebels has played into Iranian hands.

May 11, 2021 at 4:00 AM UTC

Bobby Ghosh is a senior editor in the digital weekend team. Previously, he was a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion, where he wrote mostly about international affairs and culture.

Reality sets in.
Photographer: Mohammed Huwais/AFP

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The limits of talking softly with Yemen’s brutal Houthi rebels should now be abundantly clear to the Biden administration. The trouble is that the U.S. has no big stick to wield instead.

Given Iran’s support for the insurgents, this bodes well for Tehran in its nuclear negotiations with the U.S. — but ill for American allies in the Middle East.