Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Tell Congress: End U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen


The petition to members of Congress reads:
“Co-sponsor and support H.Con.Res 138 to end U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.”
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►

Tell Congress: End U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen
Saudi Arabia's gruesome assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has captured worldwide attention, but it is just one example of the Saudi regime's brutal disregard for human rights.1
For more than three years, Saudi Arabia, with massive U.S. support, has been waging a war in Yemen that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.2
With international outrage focused on Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi's murder, there is political momentum to finally end U.S. support for Saudi-led war in Yemen – which could lead to the end of the war for good. Progressive champions in the House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan privileged resolution to end U.S. military involvement and withdraw its support from the conflict.3 
The United States backs Saudi Arabia's war under the guise of confronting Iran. Saudi Arabia sees Iran's support for the Houthis – a Yemeni Shiite militia group originally formed around the historical economic and political marginalization of Yemen’s northwest – as a threat to its power in the region.4
Since the start of the war in 2015, the United States has provided the Saudis with weapons and logistical and intelligence support and helped refuel coalition jets as they dropped bombs on Yemeni civilians. After one such attack in August, the Saudis dropped an American-made bomb on a school bus that killed at least 40 children.5,6 The strike was just one in a long string of Saudi attacks on civilians.
Despite the international coverage of the bus bombing and calls for greater U.S. oversight, the United States is still supporting the Saudi war – all without explicit congressional authorization. That is because the Houthis have limited ties to Iran and absolutely nothing to do with Al Qaeda, ISIS or any other terrorist organization that could conceivably fall within the scope of military intervention under the current Authorization for Use of Military Force.7
This unauthorized war started under the Obama administration. But after the Saudis used a U.S. missile to strike a Yemeni market and killed 97 people, President Obama scaled back United States involvement by banning the sale of precision-guided military technology.8 Donald Trump overturned that ban and gave Saudi Arabia the green light to double down on its disastrous air campaign.9 The death toll in Yemen has been heart-wrenching. There are as many as 50,000 direct casualties of violence and more than 113,000 children – 130 a day – dying of malnutrition and preventable disease.10,11
Right now, a massive public outcry to end United States support for these atrocities could finally bring an end to this brutal war.
Beyond the direct violence, the ongoing war in Yemen has forced millions to flee their homes. It has contributed to a fast-moving cholera outbreak – the largest documented in modern history – that has already affected more than 1.2 million people.12 It has also led to widespread starvation: 400,000 Yemeni children are at risk of death from starvation while the United Nations estimates that as many as 13 million people in Yemen are on the verge of famine.13,14 Saudi forces are using food as a weapon of war by enforcing a blockade that has stopped much needed food, medicine and supplies from entering the country.15
Trump's coziness with the Saudi regime is unacceptable, whether it's supporting the war in Yemen or refusing to hold its leaders accountable for assassinating Khashoggi. It is Congress' responsibility to debate, vote on and authorize military action. But unless Congress asserts its authority and supports this War Powers resolution, it will continue allowing Trump to make the United States complicit in Saudi atrocities. Congress must remove us from this conflict, immediately.
Tell the Senate: Pass H.Con.Res 138 to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Click the link below to sign the petition.
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
References:
  1. Peter Holley, Felicia Sonmez and Karoun Demirjian, "Bipartisan calls for Saudi Arabia to face repercussions mount in wake of Khashoggi killing," The Washington Post, Oct. 21, 2018
  2. Mohamad Bazzi, "The United States Could End the War in Yemen If It Wanted To," The Atlantic, Sept. 30, 2018.
  3. Congressional Progressive Caucus, "CPC Leads Renewed Congressional Effort to End Illegal U.S.-Saudi War in Yemen," Sept. 26, 2018.
  4. Declan Walsh, "This is the front line of Saudi Arabia’s invisible war," The New York Times, Oct. 20, 2018.
  5. Nima Elbagir et al., "Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US," CNN, Aug. 17, 2018.
  6. Hakim Almasmari, Sarah El Sirgany and Tamara Qiblawi, "Saudi-led strike kills dozens of children on school field trip in Yemen," CNN, Aug. 10, 2018.
  7. Joost Hiltermann and April Longley Alley, “The Houthis Are Not Hezbollah,” Foreign Policy, Feb. 27, 2017.
  8. Elbagir et al., "Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US."
  9. Samuel Oakford, "U.S. Doubled Fuel Support for Saudi Bombing Campaign in Yemen After Deadly Strike on Funeral,” The Intercept, July 13, 2017.
  10. Shireen Al-Adeimi, "Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance has accomplished what 50,000 Yemeni deaths could not," NBC News, Oct. 16, 2018.
  11. Kareem Fahim, "The deadly war in Yemen rages on. So why does the death toll stand still?" The Washington Post, Aug. 3, 2018.
  12. Reuters, “Yemen cholera outbreak accelerates to 10,000+ cases per week: WHO," Oct. 2, 2018.
  13. Hannah Summers, "Yemen on brink of 'world's worst famine in 100 years' if war continues," The Guardian, Oct. 15, 2018.
  14. AFP, “ Yemen war: 5,000 children dead or hurt and 400,000 malnourished, UN says, The Guardian, Jan. 16, 2018.
  15. Clarissa Ward, “In Yemen, the markets have food, but children are starving to death,” CNN, Dec. 19, 2017.
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