In a piece that Time magazine published this week, “How Biden Can Stop Houthi Attacks – Without Risking War,” Trita Parsi wrote: “The Houthis had consistently expressed their demands publicly: an end to attacks on Red Sea ships in exchange for Israel halting strikes on Palestinians in Gaza, which have killed at least 23,000 so far, most of them women and children. There’s no guarantee the Houthis would have upheld their commitment post-ceasefire. But when a temporary truce did reign in Gaza from Nov. 24 to 30 of last year, the number of confirmed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea significantly diminished, according to the Institute for the Study of War.”

Parsi concluded: “If, in the worst-case scenario, Biden’s escalation against the Houthis sparks a regional war, there should be little doubt that this is another war of choice – and one without Congressional authorization. Not because Biden desired it, but because he refused to pursue the most obvious and peaceful path to prevent it.”

TRITA PARSI, trita@quincyinst.org, @tparsi
Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.