Michael Goodwin: As Houthis wave the white flag to Trump, Iran now firmly in admins crosshairs
Take a moment to savor President Trump’s shocking announcement that the Houthis waved the white flag and the US agreed to stop its devastating bombing campaign of the Yemeni terrorists. “They just don’t want to fight,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.“We will stop the bombings and they have capitulated.
They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.” He suggested there was an informal promise the Houthis would not target American ships in the Red Sea, adding, “We will take their word.” Chalk one up for peace through strength and the crushing impact of American weaponry. And note the unmistakable message to Iran: We mean business and you’re next unless you drop the nuke program. Tick tock, tick tock. That the cease-fire happens just before Trump is scheduled to visit the region next week, starting in Saudi Arabia, boosts his leadership credibility among both allies and foes. Once again, America is the strong horse. The Houthis, financed and directed by Tehran, have suffered heavy losses, with both Israel and the US hitting numerous targets over the last year, especially in recent days. After a Houthi ballistic missile landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport Sunday, the Jewish state responded with a massive two-day attack. The first round obliterated a major port, and the second destroyed the international airport in the capital of Sanaa. The American attacks have been going on for more than six weeks and were aimed at weapons systems and military storage facilities. Although former President Joe Biden occasionally bombed the group as a warning when it fired on American ships, the Trump salvos that began in mid-March have been far larger and involved near-daily attacks. Some included 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs, the most powerful non-nuclear weapons in America’s arsenal. The relentless pounding made it clear the new sheriff in town wasn’t playing Biden’s game of tit-for-tat.The rain of bombs would fall until the...