HuffPost reports:

President Joe Biden’s national security team is in a complex tug of war over a decision that could push millions of people into starvation — weighing the advice of humanitarian experts, most government officials and top Democrats against arguments from hawks who want Biden to restore one of former President Donald Trump’s most controversial policies.

Biden is considering slapping the U.S. government’s “foreign terrorist organization” label on the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia that has been fighting American-backed forces in Yemen since 2014, the president told reporters last month. Trump applied the label to the Houthis last January but Biden lifted it shortly thereafter.

While advocates of the move claim it would make the Houthis less aggressive, aid groups say it would devastate the struggling country. Banks and other businesses would likely become extremely reluctant to work in Yemen for fear of being hit by U.S. sanctions, which would make it nearly impossible and astronomically expensive to import food and other essential goods. Most foreign policy analysts also say it would ratchet up tensions. [Continue reading…]