A CHANCE TO STOP THE U.S. WAR ON YEMEN

For almost three years, the U.S. military has provided arms, intelligence and refuelling for a Saudi-led bombing campaign that has targeted Yemen's hospitals, weddings, schools and residential areas, killing thousands of citizens. A Saudi-led naval blockade, aided by U.S. vessels, has cut off vital food and medical shipments, wrecking havoc on the country's medical system, and unleashing a famine and cholera outbreak. 8 Million citizens are on the brink of starvation. This is one of the greatest human rights disasters of our time.

The executive director of UNICEF, the WFP executive director and the WHO director general all released a statement attesting to the horrendous conditions of Yemen.

U.S. involvement in this atrocity needs to stop. Now there is a resolution in Congress that can make that happen.

Announced on February 28th by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), the Sanders-Lee resolution invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution and Arms Export Control Act to force the Senate to hold a vote on withdrawing the U.S. military from the unauthorized war. The legislation carves out an exception for forces “engaged in operations directed at al Qaeda or associated forces.” Advocates say it presents the best chance yet to withdraw U.S. support from a devastating intervention.

A coalition of 55 different organizations across the political spectrum, led by Win Without War, have decided to take action in offering their support for the Sanders-Lee Resolution on stopping America's involvement in Yemen (S.J.Res.54). They have sent a letter to Congress urging U.S. senators to support this resolution. This coalition of 55 includes Win Without War, Peace Action, Just Foreign Policy, CODEPINK and others. Win Without War also has a petition that can be signed for anyone who wants to add their support.

“This war of attrition has been waged using U.S. weapons, military support, and personnel without consent of Congress for far too long,” reads the letter.

A group of nearly three dozen experts—including former U.S. ambassador to Yemen Stephen Seche and Nobel peace laureate Jody Williams—also delivered a similar letter to lawmakers.

If all goes according to plan, the Sanders-Lee resolution will move out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by early March and can then be called up at any time for a debate and a vote. That means there’s a chance it could even come up on or around March 19, when the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman, arrives in Washington for meetings at the start of a U.S. tour that could last close to two weeks.

The resolution from Sanders, Lee and Murphy is guaranteed a vote on the Senate floor because of authorities outlined in arms control legislation, staffers say; the U.S. is a major supplier of weapons to Saudi Arabia and its chief partner in the war, the United Arab Emirates.

The Trump administration has responded to the Sanders-Lee Resolution by questioning its legal basis. The acting general counsel of the Defense Department has argued that lawmakers legislation cannot invoke the War Powers Resolution and force an end to the policy because American support to the coalition, dominated by Saudi Arabia and fellow U.S. partner the United Arab Emirates, does not constitute “hostilities” against the Iran-backed rebels the coalition is fighting. The Defense Department’s acting general counsel sent Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a letter making this argument.

A few key human rights groups have also decided not to show the resolution support, despite the fact that Yemen is one of the greatest human rights disasters of our time.

Robyn Shepherd, media relations manager for Amnesty International USA, tells In These Times that the organization is not weighing in on the resolution, or whether this war should continue because, as a matter of policy, the organization does not take stances on wars. “We don’t take a position on whether or not a state should go to war/take action in the first place,” she explains over email. “We just say if that’s a thing you want to do, that you comply with international laws and take all necessary care to avoid civilian casualties.”

Andrea Prasow, Deputy Washington Director for Human Rights Watch, tells In These Times, “We don’t take a position on the legality of armed conflicts,” explaining that the group only comments on “the legality of actions conducted in an armed conflict.” However, Prasow says, “there have been extremely rare occasions where we call for humanitarian intervention.” She was unable to immediately identify any specific instances.

So these groups are refusing to officially support the new legislative effort mentioned above, even after documenting, in harrowing detail, the human right's abuses that have occurred.

A dangerous threat to the Sanders-Lee Resolution is the Todd Young-Jeanne Shaheen Bill. The Tod Young-Jeanne Shaheen Bill would continue U.S. participation in the Yemen war indefinitely. The Young-Shaheen bill would allow U.S. participation in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen to continue if Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "certifies" to Congress that the Government of Saudi Arabia is undertaking "(1) an urgent and good faith effort to conduct diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen; and (2) appropriate measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen by increasing access for all Yemenis to food, fuel, and medicine."

A number of groups have organized to host a press conference to denounce the Tod Young-Jeanne Shaheen Bill, including Peace Action, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, CODEPINK and Just Foreign Policy.

The Tod Young-Jeanne Shaheen Bill must be stopped and the Sanders-Lee Resolution must succeed.

THE SANDERS-LEE RESOLUTION TO STOP U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN YEMEN

Read Bill Here

SPONSOR

Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

COSPONSORS

Senator Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Senator Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Senator Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Senator Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Senator Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
Senator Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Senator Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Senator Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]