The Houthis, an Iran-backed terror organization based in Yemen, were one of the first groups declassified as such under the Biden administration to spite former President Donald Trump, who had originally classified them as terrorists. Since October, the Houthis have been plaguing ships in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait, essentially disrupting world commerce. Their attacks have finally provoked President Joe Biden, whose team is re-listing the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

It took them entirely too long to do so, and frankly, it seems a hollow gesture in light of Houthi collusion with Iran. But Slow Joe being impotent seems par for the course.

It took months for Team Biden to muster up the gumption to stand against the Houthis, and even that was probably economically motivated.

After unanswered attacks against the U.S. by Iranian proxies since October, Biden and a coalition greenlighted missile strikes against the Yemeni terror group. This occurred on January 11 and it did not deter the Houthis, or Iran for that matter — mostly because the attacks against the 60 targets were effectively announced to the Houthis in advance. This gave the terrorists time to move personnel and whatever weapons or other stash they had to a safer location. In other words, it was a weak-sauce show from the administration.

Iran responded in three ways. First, it attacked buildings near the U.S. consulate in Iraq (which the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps took credit for). Second, Iran sent an aid boat loaded with weapons for the Houthis after Biden warned the mullahs to stay out of it. In the process, we lost two Navy SEALs during an attempt to intercept the boat. The fate of the SEALs is currently unknown. Third, Iran isn’t limiting its animus toward only the U.S. or Israel, also firing rockets into Pakistan just to cause trouble.

For their part, the Houthis responded by continuing to fire missiles at ships. One was a U.S. containership; another was a Maltese ship. Neither ship was seriously harmed. The Houthis have made it clear that they intend to target other U.S. bases that are within their range.

Biden’s addled and apathetic show is telegraphing weakness all over the globe. We have a new Axis of Evil in the East. Russia, China, and Iran are all reacting to the proverbial blood in the water that Biden’s bumbling has created. This can be traced to Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal; not long after that, Russia attacked Ukraine. Iran sent military aid in the form of weapons to Russia, and China has been working behind the scenes to influence the world against the U.S. and its allies in the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Well, the October 7 attack on Israel via Hamas — another Iranian proxy terror group — was a second salvo in the pushing and prodding of the will of the West.

Guess what’s next? China invading Taiwan. Xi Jinping’s most swift and easy path to “reunification” is going to be under the Biden presidency.

Meanwhile, as the Middle East and Ukraine burn, fiddler Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was trying to put out the fires from a hospital bed, while Biden is stubbornly refusing to agree to an aid package to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine because he doesn’t want to secure the southern border. It’s truly an upside-down world.

Update: The Biden administration did predesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization, however, it’s a far weaker label than the Trump administration’s. The Houthis are now on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list. This classification does not have any sort of real consequences associated with it. It doesn’t criminalize the Houthis and it doesn’t allow American banks to seize and freeze their assets. What a lackadaisical approach, and what a slap in the face to all our servicemen and women out trying to keep these terrorists under control. As Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior adviser Richard Goldberg says, it’s a classic “bait and switch” to make the public believe that definitive action has been taken while in reality it hasn’t.