Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) says the Houthis are operating out of Iraq to strike at the United States, calling it an attempt to open a second front against America.
Speaking Monday on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Issa said the Iran-backed group is “basically using Iraq as a base to declare war on the United States and create a second front.”
Issa blamed years of mismanagement for letting the Houthis rebuild their strength. He said Saudi Arabia and Jordan once ran effective missions against the group inside Yemen, degrading its capabilities. That changed, he said, when the prior U.S. administration pressured Saudi Arabia to stand down.
“Under the last administration, Saudi Arabia was basically threatened, because we supply their aircraft, that they had to stop. So, they — on our request, they stopped. That has allowed the Houthis to rebuild and to be able to support their allies and funder, quite frankly, Iran,” Issa said.
He contrasted that outcome with Egypt’s campaign against ISIS in the Sinai and Muslim Brotherhood elements, which he said Cairo pursued relentlessly until the threat was suppressed both domestically and abroad. He said that same sustained pressure has never been applied to the Houthis in Yemen or to Hezbollah, leaving them free to back terrorism elsewhere — including firing on targets from Iraqi soil.
“They’re basically using Iraq as a base to declare war on the United States and create a second front,” Issa said.
Co-host Kailey Leinz asked whether the U.S. should provide more forceful defense for Saudi Arabia given the threat. Issa said Saudi Arabia is already one of the largest buyers of American military equipment and that Washington should not restrain Riyadh or its allies, including Jordan, from establishing a safety zone.
He argued it may actually be easier for the U.S. to strike targets inside Iraq, working with the Iraqi government, than to act in Saudi Arabia directly.
“I would hope that, in time, we’re able to directly assist, whether it’s Iraqi forces doing it, our forces doing it, or, with assistance, the Saudis being able to target,” Issa said. “Because the idea that you get to fire deadly rockets and damaging missiles and drones and do it with impunity from a third country, one that we don’t want to attack, Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to attack, but they do need to stop this destruction.”
