Saudi Arabia attacks Yemen [Archive]

Palmares

26th March 2015, 03:40

Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen, launches coalition op against Houthi rebels

Published time: March 25, 2015 23:49
Edited time: March 26, 2015 02:20 Get short URL (http://rt.com/news/244117-saudi-arabia-bombs-yemen-houthis/)

http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/3b/99/50/00/saudi.si.jpg Reuters / Fahad Shadeed

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Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other countries, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the US said. The offensive, which started with airstrikes, will also involve “other military assets.”
According to Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). The US is not participating in the operation, the envoy stressed.

Al Arabiya reported that warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia, targeting their air defenses.
Reports from the ground indicate that Saudi forces have bombed an office belonging to Houthi rebels in Sanaa’s Jiraf area, with many casualties.
Residents are saying that warplanes are targeting the capital’s airport, according to Reuters.
Houthis are using heavy anti-aircraft fire to respond to the bombing.
Another warplane attack was said to have been launched on Sanaa’s Dulaimi military airbase. The bombers affiliation could not be immediately confirmed.
Al-Jubair told Al Jazeera that Houthi fighters are in control of Yemeni’s ballistic and heavy weaponry and could be taking over the country’s air force. Hadi’s government officials have been calling on Gulf states to impose a no-fly zone over Yemen.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.” The Gulf states said they were responding to a “major threat” to the stability of the region, saying that their cause is to “repel Houthi aggression” in Yemen.
Al-Jubeir said the 10-country coalition launched the campaign “to protect and defend the legitimate government” of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after his appeal to intervene. Hadi is believed to have fled the country as Houthi rebels captured the southern seaport of Aden, the deposed leader's stronghold.
Egypt is providing political and military support for the operation, the country’s state media said. Cairo is prepared to take part in air, naval and ground operations if necessary, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has announced.
While the Saudi envoy insisted Washington only “consulted” Riyadh, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that America has been supporting the military operation in an unspecified way.
An unnamed US official confirmed to Reuters that the Saudis consulted with Washington about the military operation at the “highest levels” before proceeding with the attack, adding that US President Barack Obama knew of Riyadh’s plans to invade Yemen.
READ MORE: Saudi Arabia moves heavy arms to border with chaos-stricken Yemen (http://rt.com/news/243789-saudi-arabia-military-yemen/)
Houthi leaders have in turn branded the Saudi offensive as “aggression” and warned that it will drag the entire Gulf region into conflict.

“There is an aggression underway on Yemen and we will confront it valiantly,” a member of the Houthi political office, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, told Al Jazeera. “Military operations will drag the region to a wide war.”
Ships in the region have been urged not to approach Yemen’s ports due to the ongoing military operation, Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV reported.

US President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-led military operations in Yemen, the White House said in a statement, confirming that Washington had close communication with Hadi, the Saudis and other GCC states prior to the launch of the military operation.

“While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support,” the statement said.

Moreover, the White House urged the Houthis to immediately halt “destabilizing military actions” and to return to political dialogue with the deposed Yemeni government.
Meanwhile, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told TASS that the UN is aware of Saudi Arabia launching a military operation in Yemen and is looking into more details. Just a few hours before the operation, Haq told journalists that the UN does not believe in military actions to resolve the conflict in Yemen.

http://rt.com/news/244117-saudi-arabia-bombs-yemen-houthis (http://rt.com/news/244117-saudi-arabia-bombs-yemen-houthis/)

Hrafn

26th March 2015, 14:53

Saudis and Iranians clashing over territory and strategic interests. Again. Tragic.

Creative Destruction

26th March 2015, 15:57

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.”

They'll be helping the Houthi militias if they can expel al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Palmares

26th March 2015, 16:36

Iran's Zarif urges immediate end to Saudi attacks on Yemen

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Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:54AM

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Yemenis stand at the site of a Saudi air strike against Houthi Ansarullah fighters near Sana’a Airport, Yemen, on March 26, 2015. (© AFP)

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The Iranian foreign minister has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately cease its military aggression against Yemen.
“We demand an immediate stop to the Saudi military operations in Yemen,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language al-Alam news network on Thursday.
Zarif said the military operations constitute a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and will only lead to bloodshed.
“We will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen,” Zarif said.
http://217.218.67.233//photo/20150326/62764612-7e49-44e2-a422-6abd1d964917.jpgIranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad ZarifHe pointed out that the act of aggression will benefit no country, adding that the military campaign will further escalate the tensions in the region.
The Iranian foreign minister also urged the regional and western countries to avoid playing into the hands of terrorists such as al-Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen.
Speaking to Press TV on the situation in Yemen, he said, "We believe that the situation in Yemen is a very dangerous situation and we advise against any escalation because we believe that any interference in Yemen will simply lead to further loss of human life as it has since this morning.
Stressing the need for promoting dialog in the Arab country, he said, “We believe that there is an urgent need for dialog, for understanding among the Yemenis without external interference and that's what we hope we get."
Strikes will fuel flames
http://217.218.67.233//photo/20150326/4b3899ae-d5e1-4fad-9bf9-c98301cf7f49.jpgIran’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham also strongly condemned the Saudi military campaign against members of the Ansarullah movement in neighboring Yemen, stressing that the move will create an insecure atmosphere in the Middle East.
“Resorting to military actions against Yemen, which is already engaged in internal conflict and fighting terrorism, will further complicate the situation, spread the extent of the crisis and squander opportunities to peacefully resolve internal disputes in Yemen,” Afkham said.
She also called for the immediate implementation of agreements struck between Yemeni factions, and a quick cessation of Saudi air strikes and operations against Yemen and its nation.
Afkham further noted that the ongoing onslaught against Yemen will have no outcome other than the spread of terrorism and extremism, and will undermine security in the Middle East.
http://217.218.67.233//photo/20150326/49688624-39c5-40aa-bc5f-4085a796dc94.jpgYemenis stand at the site of a Saudi air strike against Houthi Ansarullah fighters near Sana’a Airport, Yemen, on March 26, 2015. (© AFP)Saudi strikes to backfire
Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament Alaeddin Boroujerdi also denounced the Saudi attacks against Yemen, stating that such an action would eventually backfire.
“The fact that Saudi Arabia has waged a new war in the region attests to its disregard and irresponsibility towards issues in the Muslim world. The outcomes of this crisis will boomerang on Saudi Arabia as war is not confined to the borders of one particular region,” Boroujerdi pointed out.
http://217.218.67.233//photo/20150326/4519b47e-24a6-4323-97b8-836ff2838e43.jpgChairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament Alaeddin Boroujerdi (file photo)He also criticized the United States for fomenting instability in the Middle East, stating that Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies have had Washington’s carte blanche in order to launch attacks against Yemen.
The ongoing Saudi air strikes on Yemen have so far claimed the lives of 13 civilians with more deaths feared, according to Yemeni sources.
"Thirteen civilians, including women and children, were killed in the Saudi raids overnight," a civil defense source said on Thursday.
According to witnesses, residents are helping civil defense authorities in the search for any more victims under the rubble of houses damaged in the air raids.
Following the attacks, forces loyal to fugitive Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi seized control of the international airport in the southern port city of Aden.
Troops of the 39th Armored Brigade, who are allied to the Houthi Ansarullah movement, had earlier seized the facility.
The Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia has deployed "100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units" for the military campaign in Yemen.
Meanwhile, Yemeni sources say parachutists of Saudi forces have already landed in Aden, located approximately 420 kilometers (260 miles) south of the capital, Sana’a.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/03/26/403426/Iran-slams-Saudiled-invasion-of-Yemen

hexaune

27th March 2015, 16:51

They'll be helping the Houthi militias if they can expel al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Their airstrikes only seem to be targeted at Houthi strongholds, not the parts of Yemen controlled by al-qaeda, I think they are more than happy to let al-qaeda operate from Yemen.

Slavic

28th March 2015, 18:24

Their airstrikes only seem to be targeted at Houthi strongholds, not the parts of Yemen controlled by al-qaeda, I think they are more than happy to let al-qaeda operate from Yemen.

That is only recently. For years, the US has been bombing AQAP in Yemen with drones.

The US doesn't want Al-qaeda or the Houthi to control the Yemen state, they'd rather keep their relationship going with the ousted president.

hexaune

28th March 2015, 22:32

That is only recently. For years, the US has been bombing AQAP in Yemen with drones.

The US doesn't want Al-qaeda or the Houthi to control the Yemen state, they'd rather keep their relationship going with the ousted president.

The quote I was responding to was referring to the bombing campaign being carried out by these countries:

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait.

And the statement that they wanted to expel Al-qaeda & Isis (not sure that they are in Yemen?) as well as the Houthis.

Antille

29th March 2015, 20:30

Rafiq

29th March 2015, 22:35

Does anyone think Iran actually has any tangible influence on Houthis? From what I can gather the only similarities between both parties are that they happen to be majority-Shia groups, and the only political action or otherwise I can discern relating Iran to Houthis is the condemnation of Saudi intervention in Yemen that they issued jointly with Russia; does anyone have evidence to the contrary? :confused:

The houthis emerged in coincidence with a general wave of religious barbarism whose historic culmination took the form of the Iranian reaction, the establishment of a legitimate political-Islamist current in the Near east in what has always been a strategic power in the region. So while the Houthis existence isn't owed to conspiracy, while they are definitely an organic manifestation of general social ills, they are certainly related to the Iranian state in that they can trace their political genealogy to Iran, alongside the Shia Islamists in Iraq and Lebanon. They are an organic representation of the interests and influence of the Iranian state (and ultimately Russia, of course) - the point of Iranian imperialism is that it is able to spread in the same way Russian imperialism could in Serbia a hundred years ago: as a definite approximation of real problems faced by (once) oppressed nations and their subservience both to its imperial interests AND that of the native ruling classes. Ultimately, this represents not simply a utilitarian desire for economic influence but the drive for the exportation of a new kind of capitalism (or ideological apparatus) to other countries.

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the conflict in the Near east was between the modernizing national bourgeoisie against the reactionary and despotic monarchies, with a basis in the rural poor. With the former's defeat in the midst of globalization and the encouraged integration of these antagonisms into the world totality (I.e. Uneven political development, if you will), this mantle was taken up by forces of reaction against globalization: The Iranian state and Syria, later patroned by Russia. So we have here a great irony, an apex of conflict between two bloody bastards of neoliberalism.

It comes as no surprise why Russia is the hotbed of global anti-globalism, because neoliberalism was particularly destructive for the health of Russian capital. Globalization in Russia brought about the oligarchs, fostering mass destruction and ruin. Putin's protectionism was the savior of Russian capitalism politically and socially.

Hrafn

29th March 2015, 22:54

There are widespread, apparently legitimate reports of Iranian aid to the Houthis.

And the statement that they wanted to expel Al-qaeda & Isis (not sure that they are in Yemen?) as well as the Houthis.

They are.

John Nada

29th March 2015, 23:43

Yemen used to be two countries, the Yemen Arab Republic(North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen(South Yemen). North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire under the Mutawakkilite Kingdom, where the predominate sect of Islam was Zaydi Shia Islam. South Yemen was a British colony, called the Aden Protectorate, where the predominate sect was Sunni Islam.

In the 60's there was a coup and civil war in North Yemen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yemen_Civil_War . Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists and Egypt supported the Republicans.

In South Yemen, there was a more Soviet oriented government that drove the British out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden_Emergency . There wasn't as much hostility compared to east/west Germany, north/south Korea and north/south Vietnam. Eventually after the fall of the USSR, they united. Nevertheless, there's still a north/south divide, which can be seen in the current civil war.

Antille

31st March 2015, 00:43

John Nada

31st March 2015, 04:15

Can Iran truly be referred to as an Imperial influence in the Middle East considering the role the UK/France/USA have played in recent and historic years insofar as destabilization, subversion, and sometimes outright war leading to puppet regime change is concerned? Even now the West still has a firm hand in the Middle East. You can say the circumstances in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq etc are attributed to Iran but don't you think what's happening is just a symptom of Western division in the region? I mean there would be Arab resistance to Imperialism in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq etc irrespective of Iranian influence, but they do influence the ability of the Arabs to resist by arming, training them, etc.Iran could be referred to as an imperial influence, as could Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. With the Iranian-led bloc being at least an extension of Russian and Chinese imperialism, the Gulf states being at least an extension of US/France/UK imperialism. However all of them also have their own interests, which sometimes conflict with the major imperialist powers.
While the Ba'ath government in Syria and the former Saddam govt, along with the current Iranian govt are clearly grassroots and largely reactionary too Western Imperialism, the gulf monarchies are clearly only able to exist still through continued support from outside Western suitors.This may be true. However the Gulf monarchies might be imperialist powers themselves. They seem to have the characteristics(export capital, monopolies and cartels, buy off some of the workers, ect.).

MarxSchmarx

6th April 2015, 05:06

John Nada

6th April 2015, 10:27

The coup is a very convenient excuse for intervention, and the class conflict angle of this has been severely under-reported.

I think as leftists, we need to understand the class struggle angle from the Iranian/Houthi perspective as well. For them, it is perhaps something as simple as expanding the sphere of influence of a different ruling class. Similarly, With the possible exception of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the gulf monarchies also have substantial support from their local population, at least if it is defined as native born citizens (i.e., excludes migrant workers in Dubai for instance). What this means is that there is a broad mandate in those countries to prevent Yemen from being taken over by the rebels, and pointing out that the gulf monarchies are undemocratic or handmaidens of the west may not be a sufficient critique.Yemen is a very poor countries. More than half live of less than $2.00 a day. The majority are in agriculture. Biggest exports are oil, coffee, mangos and khat. There isn't that much oil, yet it's the biggest sources of revenue. 46% are under 15.

Khat is an is a stimulant leaf from a tree that's somewhere between amphetamine and strong cup of coffee(so I've heard, haven't tried it yet). Largest grower are Yemen and Somalia. It's illegal in many countries, but is popular in the Middle East and East Africa. It isn't that unhealthy, but a lot of Yemenis are addicted to it. It their replacement for alcohol. It perishes after a few day or if it drys out, hence it never caught on like coffee, tobacco or tea. However thanks to modern transportation and refrigeration khat is now exported outside it's traditional area. It may well be their second biggest export.

The problem is most Yemeni people work in agriculture. Yemen is running out of water. The capital Sanaa might have to be abandoned it's so bad. Much of that water goes to coffee or Khat. Much of which is grown in the former Yemen Arab Republic. The landlords control the land it's grown on. It perennial so it's years of harvest after a couple years growth. Coffee's probably not much better and less profitable.

In the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, they fell the north is cutting them out and not giving them a fair share. Neoliberal capitalism has not been kind to either side. However what little oil there is, is in the south.

In spite of all it oil, Saudi Arabia has very high unemployment, about a 1/3. 1/5 of Saudis are in poverty. Most Saudi citizens that are employed work for the state. The vast majority of workers are immigrants, though the government has launched a xenophobic "Saudization" campaign to give native Saudis priority on jobs. The Salafists are the dominate sect in power but the minority. 50% of the population is under 25.

What you have is Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy that imposes the sect of the ruling class onto a majority who aren't Salafi. There's a young population that doesn't expect to go anywhere but down and a large immigrant population that's even worst off. A new king inherits this, probably wants to prove himself, keep the proletariat busy.

In Yemen, it's semi-feudal, an agrarian economy dominated by landlords. They're actually running out of water. IMF screwed that country starting in the 90's, with it's "adjustments" that have always been a disaster. There's nothing to fall back on for the young population.
But is this really all their is to the Yemini civil war - a turf battle between different factions of the bourgeosie? I'd argue that here, as almost everywhere you see this kind of tension, there are genuine grievances between different regions of the country that have already been identified in several other Yemeni conflicts. In this case, I don't think it is so simple as Iran playing the puppet master. What is useful, however, is the recognition that the gulf states+SA see this as an opportunity to establish their hegemony once and for all. They are taking advantage of this opportunity, and frankly if you were a member of the local bourgeoisie in Riyadh or Tehran, I think you'd come to the conclusion that now is your chance eitherway.King Salman of Saudi Arabia inherited the thrown after the Arab Spring. While Defense Minister he led the invasion of Bahrain. They helped fund Daesh, which has a lot of Saudi members. Now his government wants to prove itself, because he's a walking anachronism, in a big family, and dangerous neighborhood.

Yemen, in particular the former North Yemen, is a chocking point in the Red Sea. This is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Piracy from Somali has already made this route less safe. People in Yemen are desperate. If both sides become pirate territory, this would cost billions. Theoretically it could really fuck up countries that depend on the Suez Canal for trade.

hexaune

6th April 2015, 12:43

Yemen, in particular the former North Yemen, is a chocking point in the Red Sea. This is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Piracy from Somali has already made this route less safe. People in Yemen are desperate. If both sides become pirate territory, this would cost billions. Theoretically it could really fuck up countries that depend on the Suez Canal for trade.

Somali piracy has been pretty much eradicated, there were no successful hijackings in 2013 or 2014 off the horn of Africa. Its only a big problem in south east asia these days.

John Nada

6th April 2015, 22:49

Somali piracy has been pretty much eradicated, there were no successful hijackings in 2013 or 2014 off the horn of Africa. Its only a big problem in south east asia these days.This is true. Actually most the piracy was based in Somaliland and Puntland. Somaliland is independent but not official recognized, Puntland officially declares itself an autonomous region of Somalia. Compared to the rest of Somalia, they have relatively stable governments. Hence due to pressure, they cracked down on piracy.

Part of what caused the piracy was that since neither is recognized as a government, their territorial water was being illegally fished and became a illegal toxic waste dumping site. Does anyone know if this was cracked down on too?

I brought up piracy as a hypothetical. Besides oil and khat, fishing is Yemen's next biggest source of revenue. It could be much larger, but is as of now done with small primitive boats. Similar issues could arise. Even if it won't, I'd guess the navy patrols, shipping companies and insurance companies may view it as a possibility. This does consist of the US, who've done stupid pointless shit like invade Grenada and Panama, and acted like Nicaraguan social democrats were the most dangerous threat to "freedom".

Yemen itself has territorial disputes. In the Red Sea there's the Hanish Islands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanish_Islands_conflict). Eitretia claimed them, during their War of Liberation the Rebels used the islands as a base.

Another is their border with Saudi Arabia. Many of the Yemenis along that border are nomadic and depend on grassing livestock. However it might have a lot of oil.

In 2000 they signed a treaty to settle this. Three years later Saudi Arabia violated this treaty. Saudi Arabia started build a wall, under the guise of "Stopping those damn illegals who bring in drugs, and took ma job!". The usually xenophobic shit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi%E2%80%93Yemen_barrier . Blame the foreigners for big problem with unemployment and amphetamines addiction(For a relatively small country, they seize amounts comparable to the US and China! And are in denial about it.). Because it couldn't possibly be a capitalist government's fault people can't find jobs and want to escape with drugs.:rolleyes: It blocks the nomads from grazing their cattle. It's was likely a naked imperialist attempt to seize oil.

Something else the GCC countries want is to build a bridge connecting Yemen with Djibouti. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_the_Horns There a lot of money to be extracted from Yemen. It's no surprise the imperialists and subimperialist are attacking.

John Nada

6th April 2015, 23:13

Here's an interesting article that says the Iranian involvement is greatly exaggerated:
The Danger of Blaming Iran
Hyping a Proxy War in Yemen
by KEVIN SCHWARTZ
It is an axiom in mainstream analyses of the Middle East that Sunni and Shii Muslims overwhelmingly operate in society based on their sectarian identity and not much else, regardless of their location (Iraq, Syria, Yemen), profession, tribal or regional affiliations, or other economic and political factors. It is a slight variation on the larger manner in which Muslims, particularly in the West, are deemed to interact in society solely based on their “Muslimness,” where aspects of their identities- whether they are mothers, doctors, businessman, or possibly gamers- are deemed subsidiary to their membership in a religion that has over a billion adherents. The obvious unacceptability of such an approach as applied to members of other religions and ethnicities need not be recounted here.

The latest example of Shii-Sunni determinism, where Shiis and Sunnis act as Shiis and Sunnis and little else matters, can be seen no better than the ongoing media coverage of events unfolding in Yemen. It is a conflict deemed to be developing as a proxy war between the country’s Houthi rebels, seen as backed by Shii Iran, and a coalition of mainly Sunni Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, supporting the ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. As the NY Times wrote on March 22, 2015: “The conflict has taken on the features of a regional proxy war, with Iran backing the Houthis, whose leaders are Zaydi Shiites, and Saudi Arabia and the other regional Sunni monarchies backing Mr. Hadi.”

This belief, and now likely occurrence, of a sectarian proxy war in Yemen has largely been a self-fulfilling prophecy, as much the result of unqualified claims perpetuated by mainstream media outlets as from hype stemming from Saudi Arabian officials that the Houthis are backed by Iran and doing their bidding in Yemen. The claims are based on the Houthis practice of Zaydism. (Zaydism is an offshoot of mainstream Twelver Shiism, the predominant religion in Iran.) No matter that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a onetime ally of the United States and Saudi Arabia who sought to rally tribal support in Yemen against the Houthis years prior, is now aligned with the Houthis and assisting them through his continued support by some in the military. No matter that Yemen is home to one of the highest rates of corruption in the world or a high rate of youth unemployment. Yet the importance of such shifting political alliances and local socio-economic factors remains severely overlooked.

With little evidence offered regarding the nature of the relationship between Iran and the Houthis, headlines nonetheless abound with inclusions of “Iranian-backed Shia Houthi fighters” and articles using the phrasing “the rise to power of the Iran-backed Houthis” and “the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.” (For a more nuanced picture of the history of the Zaydis and the political rise of Houthis in Yemen, including the impact of Iran upon Houthi religious leaders, see Daniel Varisco’s “Proxy Moron’s: The Demolition of Yemen.”) Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/06/hyping-a-proxy-war-in-yemen/

Also, the airstrikes aren't stopping the Houthis, and Al-Qeada has sezied the 5th largest city. Saudi Arabia is asking for Pakistan's support, likely for a ground war. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/07/world/middleeast/saudis-seek-pakistani-troops-for-yemen-campaign-official-says.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

6th April 2015, 23:31

Amended title of thread to remove 'breaking news': 9 days later it is hardly that anymore.

ckaihatsu

19th July 2015, 03:13

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/nyt-washington-post-provide?source=c.em&r_by=7269445

NYT, Washington Post: Provide Sustained Coverage of US-Backed Civilian Deaths in Yemen

Petition by Jim Naureckas & Robert Naiman

To be delivered to Editor, New York Times, Public Editor, New York Times, and Reader Representative, Washington Post

The New York Times and Washington Post should expand their coverage of civilian deaths in Yemen caused by a US-backed military campaign.

There are currently 2,079 signatures. NEW goal - We need 3,000 signatures!

PETITION BACKGROUND On March 25, 2015, a Saudi-led coalition began an airstrike campaign in Yemen to defeat the Houthi rebels who have effectively overthrown the government backed by Saudi Arabia and the US. The Obama administration is openly providing “logistical and intelligence support” to the offensive. [1]

The Yemeni civil war has claimed the lives of over 1,500 civilians. [2] The coalition declared the entire city of Saada a military target, which Human Rights Watch labeled a war crime. [3] Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East has said that the Saudi-led, US-supported coalition is “turning a blind eye to civilian deaths and suffering caused by its military intervention”. [4]

The US public must not do the same. Yet the coverage of civilian deaths in Yemen by major US media outlets, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, has been cursory and superficial. The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald [5] foretold the coverage of an airstrike by the US-backed coalition that killed at least 45 civilians in Fayoush, Yemen. [6]

"None of the victims will be profiled in American media; it’ll be very surprising if any of their names are even mentioned. No major American television outlet will interview their grieving families. Americans will never learn about their extinguished life aspirations, or the children turned into orphans, or the parents who will now bury their infants."

Coverage in the Times and Post bore out Greenwald's predictions: The Times website ran a Reuters wire story [7] and the Post online had an AP piece [8], neither of which included any details about the victims. Neither paper appeared to cover the airstrike in their print editions.

Urge these media outlets to provide serious coverage of the civilian bloodshed resulting from an offensive the US government is supporting.

References:
1. http://news.yahoo.com/us-logistical-intelligence-support-yemen-offensive-021512580.html
2. http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/middleeast/yemen-conflict/
3. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rights-group-airstrikes-yemen-killed-civilians-32132375
4. http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/31/disturbing-reports-civilian-deaths-yemen-warn-international-aid-groups
5. https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/06/civilian-deaths-yemen-will-ignored/
6. http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-yemen-market-explosion-20150706-story.html
7. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/07/07/world/middleeast/07reuters-yemen-security.html
8. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/airstrike-hits-market-north-of-yemens-aden-over-45-killed/2015/07/06/7cd06f6a-23e7-11e5-b621-b55e495e9b78_story.html
CURRENT PETITION SIGNERS
2079. rick myers from Ashland, MA signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2078. Tika Bordelon from Seattle, WA signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2077. Catherine Apostle from Minneapolis, MN signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2076. sara elkins from northampton, MA signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2075. joe volpe from ventura, CA signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2074. Susan Elias from Madison, WI signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2073. Marta Guttenberg from Philadelphia, PW signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2072. Janet Martucci from Roanoke, VA signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
2071. Dehra Iverson from United States signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
As far as I know, Houthi rebels are the only group in Yemen fighting Al Queda. Why don't we consider Houthi rebels to be allies against terrorist groups? Saudi Arabia, with U.S. support, attacks civilians and civilian targets in their attempts to weaken the Houthi rebels. Why is this not news in the main media?

2070. Glenn Sollers from Phoenix, AZ signed this petition on Jul 18, 2015.
NEXT > >
Note: MoveOn Civic Action does not necessarily endorse the contents of petitions posted on this site. MoveOn Petitions is an open tool that anyone can use to post a petition advocating any point of view, so long as the petition does not violate our terms of service.

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NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

ckaihatsu

2nd February 2017, 15:13

News Updates from CLG
02 February 2017
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here:
http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news

Previous editions: Trump rips up controversial TPP 'trade' deal and says getting out is 'a great thing for the American worker'

UN report says several air strikes by Saudi-led coalition in Yemen may amount to war crimes (https://www.yahoo.com/news/un-report-slams-saudi-led-coalition-over-yemen-200222526.html) | 30 Jan 2017 | A UN investigation of 10 air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has concluded that most of the attacks did not involve legitimate military targets and may amount to war crimes, according to a report obtained by AFP on Monday. A UN panel of experts also said in the report that Yemen's Huthi rebels had tortured and ill-treated detainees in violations that could also amount to war crimes. The panel investigated 10 air strikes between March and October last year that killed at least 292 civilians, including at least 100 women and children.

U.S. Commando Killed in Yemen in Trump's First Counterterrorism Operation (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/world/middleeast/american-commando-killed-in-yemen-in-trumps-first-counterterror-operation.html) | 29 Jan 2017 | One American commando was killed and three others were wounded in a fierce firefight early Sunday with Qaeda militants in central Yemen, the military said on Sunday. It was the first counterterrorism operation authorized by President Trump since he took office, and the commando was the first United States service member to die in the yearslong shadow war against Al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate. Members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6 carried out the surprise dawn attack...After initially denying that there were any civilian casualties, American officials said they were assessing reports that women and children had died in the attack.

ckaihatsu

22nd February 2017, 15:37

Don't Help Saudi Arabia Cause Famine in Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Press Washington to force Saudi Arabia to allow aid to reach Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yNcAAwwo5RHiz0iwSSf%2FcQGp2i0Tsdxx)

President Trump's ramped-up support of Saudi Arabia's war may cause a famine in Yemen, the Huffington Post reports. Aid workers fear Saudi Arabia is planning to attack and close the critical port of Hodeidah on Yemen’s west coast, where most of the country's food has come in. The Obama Administration had opposed such an attack, but the Trump Administration may be encouraging it. Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has been dependent on the U.S. for military support and diplomatic cover. “If there were a serious disruption to that port, that would, I think, be sufficient to tip the country into famine,” said a former U.S. aid official. [1]

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, notes that Saudi Arabia's diversion of aid ships from Hodeidah is already raising the risk of mass starvation. Using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war is a grave violation of international law. [2]

Press President Trump and Congress to stop Saudi Arabia from causing a famine in Yemen by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qYkL19BkDGZk6ywMshzQjxBvox3mcjgt).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-hodeidah-yemen-famine_us_58a88970e4b037d17d28610b
2. http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/statement-humanitarian-coordinator-yemen-jamie-mcgoldrick-impact-conflict-and-ongoing

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ckaihatsu

24th February 2017, 16:05

New York Times: Report the UN's Famine Warning for Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Press the NYT to report the UN famine warning for Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kdMhx0OMnWXe4Tv6jIxNQlB5lUB1klqv)

United Nations and other international aid officials have been warning that Yemen is on the brink of famine. "Donald Trump’s Shift On Yemen Risks Plunging The Country Into Famine," the Huffington Post reports, warning that the Trump Administration may be giving Saudi Arabia a green light to attack and close the critical port of Hodeidah, blocking Yemen's food imports. [1] "Yemen war causing world's worst food crisis," Vatican Radio reports. [2] "'Time running out': 1.4 million children could die from famine in Africa & Yemen, says UNICEF," RT reports. [3]

But a search of recent stories on the New York Times' website only turns up wire stories, not a regular New York Times article. [4]

Press NYT editors for prominent coverage of the UN's famine warning for Yemen by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ixm6H0J4giDGePjkCGoeoVB5lUB1klqv).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-hodeidah-yemen-famine_us_58a88970e4b037d17d28610b 2. http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/02/17/yemen_war_causing_worlds_worst_food_crisis_amid_wi despread_/1293189
3. https://www.rt.com/news/378097-unicef-children-famine-malnutrition/
4. https://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection%AEion=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/yemen+famine/since1851/allresults/1/allauthors/newest/

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ckaihatsu

27th February 2017, 20:48

Demand UN Security Council Save Yemeni Children From Starvation

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Demand the UN Security Council stop Saudi Arabia from starving hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children to death.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=c8Z3NFOIFnrmHQknlJTma6irrVATHTsg)

"Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children languishing in refugee camps and remote villages are nearing starvation," the Washington Post reports (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9DMUkRrab4YUH28uYgHFnKirrVATHTsg). Airstrikes near the port of Hodeida - main entry point for food, medicine and humanitarian aid into northern Yemen - have slowed the delivery of supplies. Half a million children are severely acutely malnourished. The UN says Yemen is “on the brink of famine.”

U.S.-backed Saudi airstrikes have destroyed roads and bridges across Hodeida province. Unexploded rockets have landed inside the port, further reducing imports and the number of ships willing to come to Yemen. The Saudis are enforcing a blockade that is restricting food imports, and have told humanitarian agencies to redirect shipments to Aden. That would mean vital food and medicine would need to be trucked from Aden through war zones to reach the millions at risk of starvation in the north. [1]

To save hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children from starvation, someone must stop the U.S.-backed Saudi attacks on Hodeida. Sadly, so far Washington has turned a deaf ear to the cries of Yemeni children. But any member of the UN Security Council can demand a meeting to discuss action to save Yemeni children from starvation. Of the fifteen current members (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hManNXF1L9kGANvlZnd5XairrVATHTsg) of the Security Council, [2] Bolivia and Russia are the most independent of the U.S.-Saudi alliance that is pushing Yemen into famine. A vigorous Security Council debate would put pressure on the U.S. to stop supporting the Saudi assault on Hodeida.

Urge Bolivia and Russia to demand the UN Security Council save hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children from starvation by signing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nvo41HSHJHxfCJy7U7NsTairrVATHTsg).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hundreds-of-thousands-of-yemeni-children-are-nearing-starvation/2017/02/23/f01ead8a-f850-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html
2. http://www.un.org/en/sc/members/

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ckaihatsu

2nd March 2017, 14:02

Tell Trump: Yemen's Houthis Are Not Iran Proxies

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Tell Trump and Congress to end the Saudi war in Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=61lCu3uyTq30y2SnkdiBEM3vFqlP0JFv)

Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation. U.S.-backed Saudi airstrikes near Hodeida - the main entry point for food, medicine and humanitarian aid into northern Yemen - have blocked the delivery of supplies. The Red Cross says food reserves are dwindling [1] and is appealing for access to Hodeida. [2] The way to save these children is to silence the guns, so desperately needed aid can get through. [3]

Unfortunately, President Trump is escalating the Saudi war against Houthi rebels in Yemen instead of ending it, thinking this is a proxy war against Iran. But Yemen's Houthis are not proxies of Iran. Joost Hilterman of the International Crisis Group states that "very little hard evidence has turned up of Iranian support to the Houthis," while U.S. military support to the Saudis "exceeds by many factors any amount of support the Houthis have received from Tehran." Hiltermann notes the Houthis "are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda" and "Iran does not control their decision-making." He says the way to handle the Houthis is not to "continue an unwinnable war" but to "push Yemeni parties back to the negotiating table." [4]

Urge Trump and Congress to save Yemeni children and end the war by signing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HCjG036gYCQjXJ6irmF6%2Fs3vFqlP0JFv).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. "Red Cross: Yemen Food Reserves Dwindling as War Escalates," http://www.voanews.com/a/yemen-food-reserve-dwindling/3743457.html
2. "Yemen conflict: Red Cross appeals for access to key port," http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39114349
3. "Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation," https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hundreds-of-thousands-of-yemeni-children-are-nearing-starvation/2017/02/23/f01ead8a-f850-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html
4. "The Houthis Are Not Hezbollah: Donald Trump wants to ramp up Yemen's proxy fight against Iran. One small problem: Tehran doesn't really have a proxy there," Joost Hilterman, Foreign Policy, February 27 http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/27/the-houthis-are-not-hezbollah/

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ckaihatsu

2nd March 2017, 14:33

Boycott Correspondents' Dinner to Protest Media Failure on Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge Members of Congress to boycott the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FsFThAkRVqElQV4d4ttaRLlQF8IHwr8K)

It's not total censorship, but big U.S. media have downplayed the threat of famine in Yemen, and especially have downplayed the U.S. role in the war that is pushing Yemen towards famine, with hundreds of thousands of children facing starvation.

Urge Members of Congress to boycott the White House Correspondents' Dinner to protest media failure on Yemen by signing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8vFPing4MdvUN4dpdXchD7lQF8IHwr8K).

Writing for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Adam Johnson notes (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=t6ltjR3125jaQ0GuLae5%2F7lQF8IHwr8K): "A recent UN report on the ... near-famine conditions in Yemen ... has led to a rare instance of Western media taking notice of the war and its catastrophic effect. But missing from most of these reports is the role of the United States and its ally Saudi Arabia - whose two-year-long siege and bombing have left the country in ruins." [1]

The White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 29 has become an annual ritual of celebrity-studded U.S. Big Media self-congratulation. [2] This is an opportunity for people of conscience to call out U.S. Big Media on its failure to report prominently, accurately, urgently, and persistently on the threat of famine in Yemen and the role of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.

Urge Members of Congress to boycott the White House Correspondents' Dinner by signing and sharing our petition (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=waQh816SAYfs3S%2BBgFpgvLlQF8IHwr8K).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. http://fair.org/home/downplaying-us-contribution-to-potential-yemen-famine/
2. http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/321666-media-divided-over-trump-skipping-correspondents-dinner

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ckaihatsu

7th March 2017, 14:27

House: Help Ted Lieu, John Conyers Avert Famine in Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge your Rep. to sign the Lieu-Conyers letter to help avert famine in Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2Bj3%2BHksiAlJzcVsTQWtq%2ByFWeiBzeEqV)

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have warned that Yemen is on the brink of famine, with hundreds of thousands of children in danger of starvation if the Yemeni port of Hodeida is not quickly opened to international humanitarian aid.

Rep. Ted Lieu [D-CA] and Rep. John Conyers [D-MI] are circulating a letter to Secretary of State Tillerson, "urging him to use all U.S. diplomatic tools to help open the Yemeni port of Hodeida to international humanitarian aid organizations to allow them to import food, fuel and medicine into northern Yemen and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children who face starvation."

Urge House members to sign the Lieu-Conyers letter by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=64k3Q59BljrzU%2BvCO%2BETjCFWeiBzeEqV).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
"Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation," https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hundreds-of-thousands-of-yemeni-children-are-nearing-starvation/2017/02/23/f01ead8a-f850-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html
"Red Cross: Yemen Food Reserves Dwindling as War Escalates," http://www.voanews.com/a/yemen-food-reserve-dwindling/3743457.html
"Yemen conflict: Red Cross appeals for access to key port," http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39114349

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ckaihatsu

7th March 2017, 14:58

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/06/yeme-m06.html

US ramps up bombing campaign in Yemen

By Niles Niemuth

6 March 2017

In a major escalation of operations in Yemen, the US military carried out more than 30 airstrikes and drone strikes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, hitting multiple targets allegedly linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). As many as 20 people were reported killed in the attacks, which hit the southern governorates of Shabwa, Al Bayda and Abyan.

The multi-day bombardment was the heaviest so far in the undeclared US war in Yemen, which has killed or injured more than 1,700 people, including hundreds of women and children, since 2009. According to a tally maintained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the US has carried out a least 390 attacks in the last eight years.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters on Friday that more airstrikes would be forthcoming: “US forces will continue to target AQAP militants and facilities in order to disrupt the terrorist organization’s plots and ultimately to protect American lives.”

Last week’s offensive was the first major military operation by the US in the country since the raid on January 29 by US Special Forces that killed as many as 30 civilians, including 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the US citizen and Islamist cleric assassinated by the Obama administration in 2011. The raid resulted in the death of Navy SEAL William (Ryan) Owens and left three other soldiers wounded.

President Donald Trump used the presence of Owens’ widow, Carryn Owens, at his address to a joint session of Congress last week to defend the murderous operation and promote American militarism, praising her husband as “a warrior and a hero.”

The string of attacks since January marks a definite intensification by the Trump administration of the US intervention initiated by the Obama administration. Trump’s predecessor pioneered the use of drone-fired missiles to assassinate those declared to be leaders or members of AQAP. Drones have been used to target and kill alleged terrorists in countries, besides Yemen, where the US is waging war without congressional authorization, including Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and much of North Africa.

Obama notoriously claimed the right to assassinate American citizens and anyone else he chose, beginning with the murder of Anwar Al-Awlaki in September 2011. His drone killing program and war in Yemen have now passed into the hands of Trump.

The intensification of US military operations in southern Yemen comes amidst an ongoing aerial onslaught and naval blockade by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebels in the country’s more populated western region.

The air campaign and subsequent ground invasion aim to push back the Houthi rebels, who took over much of the country in early 2015, and reinstate the US-backed government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies have been funneling weapons and money to Sunni militias, including those affiliated with AQAP, to serve as ground troops in the war against the Zaidi Shiite Houthis.

Since it began in March 2015, the Saudi-led campaign, made possible by continuous support from the US government in the form of intelligence, logistics, military equipment and aerial refueling, has killed more than 10,000 Yemeni civilians and wounded 40,000. Saudi bombs have hit hospitals, schools, marketplaces, factories and residential neighborhoods.

The war has plunged the poorest country in the Middle East into a humanitarian disaster, with the UN estimating that at least 19 million Yemenis, more than two-thirds of the country’s population, are in need of assistance and protection.

UN Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien reported on Friday that 500,000 children under the age of five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and more than 7 million Yemenis did not know where they would get their next meal. Even though the country risks being pushed into famine without immediate action, O’Brien reported that the UN had received only 3 percent of the estimated $2.1 billion needed to provide humanitarian assistance to 12 million people over the next year.

While Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is of considerable geopolitical significance, forming the eastern side of the Bab El Mandeb Strait, a major shipping lane which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. A significant portion of the world’s oil supply traverses the strait, making it one of the most important strategic choke points on the planet.

The US Navy announced last month that the USS Cole would join three other warships already operating off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea and the Bab El Mandeb, out of “concern for the freedom of navigation.”

Copyright © 1998-2017 World Socialist Web Site - All rights reserved

ckaihatsu

13th March 2017, 20:19

Amplify calls to open Hodeida port to avert famine in Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Amplify calls to open Hodeida port to avert famine in Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ewhly5lTuYgbgfDxDIaUWNLeNf0GeGcF)

On Friday, March 10, Stephen O’Brien, the United Nations’ under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, addressed the United Nations Security Council about what must happen to avert the threat of famine in Yemen. [1] He said: "only a combined response with the private sector can stem a famine: commercial imports must be allowed to resume through all entry points in Yemen, including and especially Hudaydah port, which must be kept open and expanded." [2] Sacha Llorente, Bolivia's Ambassador to the UN said: "Restrictions have to be lifted at the port of Hodeidah to allow access to humanitarian aid." [3]

On Thursday, March 9, 53 House Democrats wrote to Secretary of State Tillerson, urging him to "use all U.S. diplomatic tools to help open the Yemeni port of Hodeida to international aid humanitarian aid organizations to allow them to import food, fuel, and medicine into northern Yemen and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children who face starvation." [4]

The signers were: Ted Lieu (CA-33); John Conyers (MI-13); Gwen Moore (WI-4); Debbie Dingell (MI-12); Bobby Rush (IL-1); Barbara Lee (CA-13); Mark Pocan (WI-2); David Cicilline (RI-1); James McGovern (MA-2); Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5); Ruben Gallego (AZ-7); Keith Ellison (MN-5); Jamie Raskin (MD-8); Raúl Grijalva (AZ-3); Jan Schakowsky (IL-9); Steve Cohen (TN-9); Adam Smith (WA-9); Anthony Brown (MD-4); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1); Peter DeFazio (OR-4); Donald Beyer (VA-8); Alcee Hastings (FL-20); Darren Soto (FL-9); William Keating (MA-9); Hank Johnson (GA-4); Alan Lowenthal (CA-47); Chellie Pingree (ME-1); Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11); Frank Pallone (NJ-6); Betty McCollum (MN-4); Nydia Velázquez (NY-7); Adam Schiff (CA-28); Jared Polis (CO-2); Joseph Crowley (NY-14); Dwight Evans (PA-2); Pramila Jayapal (WA-7); Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12); Frederica Wilson (FL-24); Adriano Espaillat (NY-13); Anna Eshoo (CA-18); Stephen Lynch (MA-8); Judy Chu (CA-27); Zoe Lofgren (CA-19); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23); Bill Foster (IL-11); Jackie Speier (CA-14); Karen Bass (CA-37); Earl Blumenauer (OR-3); Tulsi Gabbard (HI-2); Mark Takano (CA-41); Salud Carbajal (CA-24); Louise Slaughter (NY-25); and Peter Welch (VT). [5]

Amplify these calls to avert famine in Yemen by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Fj9BOD0H2JFOZum3WwX9%2BDZOHsFOTIwg).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/11/world/middleeast/yemen-market-airstrike.html
2. http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/usgerc-stephen-o-brien-statement-security-council-missions-yemen-south-sudan-somalia
3. https://twitter.com/Bolivia_ONU/status/840320709855477762
4. https://lieu.house.gov/sites/lieu.house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Tillerson%20from%20MoCs%20re%20Yemen %20Crisis%20030917.pdf
5. https://lieu.house.gov/sites/lieu.house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Tillerson%20from%20MoCs%20re%20Yemen %20Crisis%20030917.pdf

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ckaihatsu

14th March 2017, 14:59

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/13/fami-m13.html

UN officials warn of worst famine crisis since World War II

By Patrick Martin

13 March 2017

More than 20 million people face imminent starvation in four countries, United Nations officials warned over the weekend, the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. All four countries—Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, and Nigeria—are wracked by civil wars in which the US government is implicated in funding and arming one of the contending sides.

UN emergency relief coordinator Stephen O’Brien gave a report to the UN Security Council Friday detailing the conditions in the four countries, and the UN issued published further materials on the crisis Saturday, seeking to raise $4.4 billion in contributions for emergency relief before the end of March. So far, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, only $90 million has been pledged, barely two percent of the total needed.

As outlined by UN officials, the populations most immediately at risk number 7.3 million in Yemen, 2.9 million in Somalia, 5 million in South Sudan, and 5.1 million in Nigeria, for a total of 20.3 million. The number of children suffering symptoms of acute malnutrition is estimated at 462,000 in Yemen, 185,000 in Somalia, 270,000 in South Sudan, and 450,000 in Nigeria, for a total of nearly 1.4 million.

While adverse weather conditions, particularly drought, are a contributing factor in the humanitarian disasters, the primary cause is civil war, in which each side is using food supplies as a weapon, deliberately starving the population of the “enemy.”

US-backed forces are guilty of such war crimes in all four countries, and it is American imperialism, the principal backer of the Saudi intervention in Yemen and the government forces in Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria, which is principally responsible for the danger of famine and the growing danger of a colossal humanitarian disaster.

The worst-hit country is Yemen, where US-armed and directed military units from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf monarchies are at war with Houthi rebels who overthrew the US-installed president two years ago. Some 19 million people, two-thirds of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Saudi forces, which fight alongside Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, control the country’s major ports, including Aden and Hodeida, and are backed by US Navy units in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in imposing a blockade on the region controlled by the Houthis in the west and north of the country.

US forces operations range throughout the country, with drone missile strikes and occasional raids, like the disastrous attack on a village at the end of January in which at least 30 Yemeni civilians were killed, many of them small children, and one US Special Forces soldier was shot to death.

In Somalia, the protracted civil war between the US-backed government in Mogadishu and Al Shabab militias, who control most of the country’s south, has laid waste to a country which already suffered a devastating famine in 2011, and has been ravaged by civil war for most the past quarter-century.

At least half the country’s population, more than six million people, is in need of humanitarian aid, according to UN estimates. Drought conditions have killed off much of the country’s animal population. In Somalia, too, US military units continue to operate, carrying out Special Forces raids and drone missile strikes. There is also an extensive spillover of Somali refugees into neighboring Kenya, where another 2.7 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.

The civil war in South Sudan is a conflict between rival tribal factions of a US-backed regime that was created through Washington’s intervention into a long-running civil war in Sudan. After a US-brokered treaty and a referendum approving separation, South Sudan was established as a newly independent state in 2011.

Tribal conflicts within the new state have been exacerbated by drought, extreme poverty, and the struggle to control the country’s oil reserves, its one significant natural resource, which is largely exported through neighboring Sudan to China. The country is landlocked, making transport of emergency food supplies more difficult.

The crisis in South Sudan was said to be the most acute of the four countries where famine alerts were being sounded, with some 40 percent of the population facing starvation. Last month, UN officials declared a full-scale famine alert for 100,000 people in South Sudan. A cholera epidemic has also been reported.

The famine crisis in Nigeria is likewise the byproduct of warfare, this time between the Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram and the government of Nigeria, which has military support from the US and Britain. The focal point of this conflict has been the Lake Chad region, where Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger share borders. This is the most densely populated and fertile of the four areas threatened with famine.

A recent offensive by Nigerian government forces pushed backed Boko Haram and uncovered the extent of the suffering among the local population in the region, where food supplies were cut off as part of the US-backed military campaign.

US military forces range throughout the Sahel region, the vast area on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert which encompasses much of western Africa. The armed forces of French and German imperialism are also active in former French colonies like Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as further south, in the Central African Republic.

According to the UN reports, the humanitarian disaster in Yemen has accelerated in recent months. The number of Yemenis in immediate danger of starvation jumped from four million to seven million in the past month. One child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen from a preventable disease.

When the UN humanitarian chief’s mission was in Yemen last week, it was able to secure safe passage for the first truckload of humanitarian supplies to the besieged city of Taiz, the country’s third largest, which has been blockaded for the past seven months.

The debate on O’Brien’s report to the UN Security Council featured one hypocritical statement after another by imperialist powers like the US, Britain, France, Japan and Italy, as well as by China and Russia, all bemoaning the suffering, but all concealing the real cause of the deepening crisis.

Typical were the remarks of the US representative, Michele Sison, who declared, “Every member of the Security Council should be outraged that the world was confronting famine in the year 2017. Famine is a man-made problem with a man-made solution.”

She called on the parties engaged in fighting in the four countries to “prioritize access to civilians” and “not obstruct aid”—although that is exactly what the US-backed forces are doing, particularly in Yemen, and to a lesser extent in the other three countries.

The UN report does not cover other humanitarian crises also classified by the World Food Program as “level three,” the most serious, including Iraq, Syria, Central African Republic and the Philippines (the first three due to civil war, the last due to the impact of several Pacific typhoons). Nor does it cover the devastating civil conflict in Libya or Afghanistan, ravaged by nearly 40 years of continuous warfare.

Nor does it review the worldwide total of people in acute need of food assistance, estimated at 70 million in 45 countries, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. This figure is up 40 percent since 2015, as a result of escalating civil wars, drought and other climate-driven events, and rising food prices.

The World Food Program experienced a shortfall in contributions of nearly one-third in 2016, receiving only $5.9 billion from donors towards a total outlay of $8.6 billion, forcing the agency to cut rations for refugees in Kenya and Uganda. Total unfunded humanitarian aid appeals came to $10.7 billion in 2016, larger than the combined total of such appeals in 2012.

While these sums are gargantuan in terms of the need, they are a drop in the bucket compared to the resources squandered by the major powers on war and militarism. The total deficit in humanitarian aid amounts to less than three days’ worth of global military spending. The $4.4 billion in aid sought for the famine crisis is half of what the US Pentagon spends in a typical week.

Copyright © 1998-2017 World Socialist Web Site - All rights reserved

ckaihatsu

15th March 2017, 15:29

No Arms Deal for Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Famine

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge your reps. to oppose the Saudi arms deal.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2B9ICMIRRRJG9pM5tW9JM1b2KSwIqjRKj)

While President Trump has lunch with Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, [1] children in Yemen are starving to death. Stephen O'Brien, the United Nations' top aid official, has demanded that Yemen's Hodeida port, currently blockaded and attacked by Saudi Arabia, be opened to food imports to avert famine. [2] 53 Members of the House have urged Secretary of State Tillerson to "use all U.S. diplomatic tools to help open the Yemeni port of Hodeida to international aid humanitarian aid organizations to allow them to import food, fuel, and medicine into northern Yemen and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children who face starvation." [3]

The Trump Administration wants to sell Saudi Arabia weapons that were put on hold by President Obama. Senator Rand Paul [R-KY] and Senator Chris Murphy [D-CT] oppose the sale. "I don't know why we would give them precision-guided munitions that allow them to target civilians more efficiently,” Senator Murphy said. [4]

Urge your Representative and Senators to oppose the Saudi arms deal by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kWCSCV5th9Mqb3dvRmcy%2BL2KSwIqjRKj).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
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References:
1. http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/14/news/economy/trump-saudi-deputy-crown-prince-oil-tech-defense/
2. http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/usgerc-stephen-o-brien-statement-security-council-missions-yemen-south-sudan-somalia; http://webtv.un.org/search/stephen-obrien-ocha-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-yemen-somalia-kenya-and-south-sudan-security-council-7897th-meeting/5355321872001
3. http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/join-unreliefchief-bolivia_o?r_by=1135580
4. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/congress-showdown-saudi-arms-sales-bombs-yemen.html

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ckaihatsu

16th March 2017, 15:42

Stop Trump's Sale of Fighter Jets to Bahrain

No fighter jets for brutal royal kingdoms! (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0ZmURlH5emV%2FfZ0syrrXpL%2FUtmiEKp2W)

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This Do-It-Yourself petition to the U.S. Congress was created by Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain:

Tell Trump "No" to the release of fighter jets to Bahrain without human rights conditions.

Click here to add your name to the following petition. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4T1orEGEzp%2Bn1Q0qvVJ0nL%2FUtmiEKp2W)

We strongly urge you to block the Trump Administration's recently-announced weapons sale to the Government of Bahrain. This weapons sale reportedly has no human rights conditions attached to it. A release of weapons to the Bahraini government would send a green light to authorities that they will receive little-to-no pushback against their violent, repressive policies that further serve to destabilize the country.

The Department of State in its recent 2016 human rights report found a number of systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the Bahraini government, including excessive use of force against protesters and imprisoning human rights defenders. Bahraini authorities must prove that they will not continue systematically committing human rights violations against the country’s civilian population. U.S. weapons sales to foreign countries -- if they should happen at all -- should always include human rights conditions to help ensure stability and peace abroad.

Add your name to the petition above. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sm%2BY%2Blgl%2BbXTo4kcbxVqub%2FUtmiEKp2W)

In January 2017, we heard a surprise announcement of the release of a previously-blocked multi-million dollar fighter jet package for the Government of Bahrain with no human rights conditions. The U.S. government had previously blocked the sale in 2016 due to concerns that the Bahraini government systematically violated the human rights of civilians. At the start of a new U.S. Administration under President Trump, the announcement of the sale is extremely worrying.

Since the Arab Spring protests of 2011, the Government of Bahrain has continued violently suppressing peaceful dissent in the kingdom and blatantly ignoring international calls for human rights reform. Just this year in January 2017, the Bahraini authorities launched a campaign of unprecedented force against the civilian population. Unidentified masked Bahraini security forces recently used live ammunition against protesters, rendering an individual brain-dead for exercising his right to peaceful assembly. And Bahraini authorities carried out the extrajudicial executions of three torture victims that same month, sparking an increase in protests in the street.

These incidents are just the latest in a list of a number of civilians severely injured or killed by the Bahraini government over the past six years. The Government of Bahrain in January 2017 issued a new Royal Decree granting arrest powers to the National Security Agency (NSA), an internal intelligence body accused of the arrest and torture of more than 150 detainees in 2011. Additionally, the Bahraini government has passed an amendment to the Constitution that would allow military courts to try civilians, which would effectively send Bahrain into a permanent state of undeclared martial law. In addition to increased excessive use of force, the recent Royal Decree and Constitutional amendment are clear indications that the Government of Bahrain refuses to implement human rights reforms.

Sign the petition by clicking here. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Oo3%2ByIXbntaEmmS%2BZFSIhr%2FUtmiEKp2W)

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ckaihatsu

18th March 2017, 15:40

NPR: Report UN Famine Warning for Yemen & US Role in the War

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge NPR to fully report the UN's famine warning for Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GMAlvpfPkf%2FZgh%2FCp802FijlRyQz9kuZ)

The United Nations has warned that Yemen is on the brink of famine. The primary cause of the impending famine is Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. This war is supported by the United States - not only with U.S. weapons, but with direct U.S. military participation, including refueling of Saudi warplanes that are bombing Yemen. In particular, the U.S. is perceived to support the Saudi blockade of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which has been the primary entry point for food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to northern Yemen. [1] Stephen O'Brien, the UN's humanitarian aid coordinator [2] and 53 Members of the House of Representatives [3] have called for the port of Hodeida to be re-opened to humanitarian aid.

Urge NPR to fully report the UN's famine warning for Yemen by signing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FRtvl0b4Rw8OMkKkgF%2FdYCjlRyQz9kuZ).

Major U.S. media are for the most part not reporting on the UN's famine warning for Yemen, and when they do report it, they are not reporting on the U.S. role in the war that is bringing about the famine. [4] On March 15, Democracy Now reported, "Aid Worker Decries U.S.-Backed "Relentless War" in Yemen Causing Widespread Threat of Starvation." [5] On March 16, the Guardian reported, "Yemen at 'point of no return' as conflict leaves almost 7 million close to famine." [6] But a search of NPR's website finds nothing remotely similar to the Democracy Now report nor the Guardian report in the last three months, nothing giving the perspective of aid groups on the famine warning for Yemen, nothing that talks about the U.S. military role in pushing Yemen to the brink of famine. [7]

Urge NPR Ombudsman Elizabeth Jensen to press NPR to fully report on the UN's famine warning for Yemen by signing and sharing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Pm0teE0BVf0YIVNSSoQVbSjlRyQz9kuZ).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-hodeidah-yemen-famine_us_58a88970e4b037d17d28610b
2. http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/usgerc-stephen-o-brien-statement-security-council-missions-yemen-south-sudan-somalia
3. https://lieu.house.gov/sites/lieu.house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Tillerson%20from%20MoCs%20re%20Yemen %20Crisis%20030917.pdf
4. http://fair.org/home/downplaying-us-contribution-to-potential-yemen-famine/
5. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/3/15/aid_worker_decries_us_backed_relentless
6. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/mar/16/yemen-conflict-7-million-close-to-famine
7. http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=yemen+famine&dateId=0&programId=0

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ckaihatsu

1st April 2017, 14:42

Help Reps. Pocan, Amash Challenge U.S. Role in Saudis' Yemen War

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge your Rep. to sign the Pocan-Amash-Lieu-Jones letter.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=h3HTLMW1xkg%2F2iI8tpYyIkI%2ByNn4Dnv6)

U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's war and blockade in Yemen has brought Yemen to the brink of famine, with hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children facing starvation. [1] Instead of ending the carnage, some in the Trump Administration want to get the U.S. directly involved in Saudi Arabia's war. [2] But this war has never been authorized by Congress. The Houthi Shia targets of the Saudi war aren't "associated forces" of Al Qaeda. On the contrary: Al Qaeda has fought alongside Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia's war against the Houthis has strengthened Al Qaeda. [3] Since Congress has never authorized this war, direct U.S. participation would violate the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

Now Reps. Mark Pocan [D-WI], Justin Amash [R-MI], Ted Lieu [D-CA], and Walter Jones [R-NC] are leading a bipartisan letter challenging the Administration to show its legal justification for direct participation in the Saudi war against the Houthis without Congressional authorization. Building support for this letter is a step towards invoking the War Powers Resolution to compel the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the conflict.

Urge your Representative to sign the Pocan-Amash-Lieu-Jones letter by signing our petition on MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jk4F01qKuYFn4hIiEjUkK1fELIGQwmu7).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hundreds-of-thousands-of-yemeni-children-are-nearing-starvation/2017/02/23/f01ead8a-f850-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_story.html
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-weighs-deeper-involvement-in-yemen-war/2017/03/26/b81eecd8-0e49-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html
3. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/25/the-u-s-backed-war-in-yemen-is-strengthening-al-qaeda.html

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ckaihatsu

6th April 2017, 14:16

39 NGOs to Trump: Don't Push Yemen into Famine by Attacking Hodeida

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Yesterday, 39 advocacy, civil society, peace, and faith groups sent a letter (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OBvG12iyqKPN7YxlTYbDRW3zXfQLUHjB) [l] to President Trump expressing grave concern over the proposed Hodeida offensive in Yemen. The White House is expected to consider this week General Mattis' plan to participate in a Saudi-Emirati offensive that would likely push Yemen into famine, while undermining prospects for a political resolution to Yemen's civil war.

This famine-producing attack can still be stopped.

Call your Representative here (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZGoWiIIBiPJ9eERYAmRJjW3zXfQLUHjB).

Email your Representative here (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3b098qw21uYW2u9%2Bu1rsuW3zXfQLUHjB).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

Help support our work!
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References:
l. https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/blog-x/ngos-trump-letter

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ckaihatsu

8th April 2017, 14:37

Weisbrot: Pressure on Trump Can Prevent Starvation In Yemen

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

According to one report, a "Principals Committee" meeting may happen tomorrow at the White House on General Mattis' plan to attack the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which the UN, aid groups, and former US officials say would likely push Yemen into famine. Some fear the attack could happen this weekend.

The Pocan-Amash letter pressing President Trump to come to Congress for authorization before launching this attack is expected to close today. At this writing, there are 50 signers. That's a good start. But we had 53 Democrats less than a month ago on the Lieu-Conyers letter to Tillerson pressing him to use diplomacy to open Hodeida to aid to avert famine. Indeed, at this writing there are 18 Democrats who signed the Lieu-Conyers letter (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BvLDe9ze9ipz4ElO31Vm8QGsmbvhAVaj) who have not yet signed the Pocan-Amash-Lieu-Jones-Lee letter.

This morning Center for Economic and Policy Research co-director and JFP President Mark Weisbrot put up this piece at Huffington Post (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CMSEnwjqWC5jjSW2JAS0VQGsmbvhAVaj) about the threatened attack and the Pocan-Amash letter. Please read and share Mark's post (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Gj4E87g9u%2FrczCgT3egVrgGsmbvhAVaj).

Please call your Representative (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RDXP59lObKkjdS%2BciPSTJQGsmbvhAVaj).

Please sign and share our petition (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SmILLJgDscGICyi%2B9eqLUgGsmbvhAVaj).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy

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ckaihatsu

11th April 2017, 14:29

Join Murphy, Paul, Durbin & Franken: Block Selling Arms to Saudis to Kill Civilians

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge Senators to co-sponsor SJRes40.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ww5qMfCVs3hv4KV%2FJ%2FM3iNYF1n6t4lFn)

Saudi Arabia's war and blockade have pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. But the Trump Administration wants to sell Saudi Arabia even more weapons. Under U.S. law, weapons exports are supposed to be conditioned on requirements that civilians be protected from their use. Unfortunately, Congressional "oversight" of U.S. weapons exports has often been virtually absent, particularly for countries like Saudi Arabia that have bought a lot of influence in Washington.

Senators Murphy, Paul, Durbin and Franken [1] have now introduced Senate Joint Resolution 40 [2], which would tighten these requirements in the case of Saudi Arabia. Under SJRes40, the Administration would have to publicly certify that Saudi Arabia is complying with international humanitarian law in Yemen and facilitating the flow of aid into Yemen in order for arms sales to proceed.

On September 21, 27 Senators voted against arming Saudi Arabia. [3] The more Senators co-sponsor SJRes40, the more Senate support we have for blocking the sale of weapons if Saudi Arabia doesn't change its behavior in Yemen.

Urge Senators to co-sponsor SJRes40 by signing our petition at MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZiY0Z%2FD5gO3K5xNa3rI3P9YF1n6t4lFn).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/40/cosponsors
2. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/sjres40/text
3. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=2&vote=00145#position

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ckaihatsu

13th April 2017, 14:23

Congress: Explicitly Prohibit Syria & Yemen Escalation on April 25

Just Foreign Policy

Dear Chris,

Urge your reps. to explicitly prohibit military escalation in Syria & Yemen.

Take Action (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=25WgY4NWoxIVpb0VFRV6hYYOYFG5kYth)

On April 10, 55 Members of the House sent a bipartisan letter to President Trump and Attorney General Sessions demanding that President Trump seek authorization from Congress before escalating militarily in Yemen. Rep. Mark Pocan said, “Administration officials have proposed the U.S. participate directly in an attack on Yemen's major port. Such an attack could push the country into full-blown famine...this letter is a first step in reasserting our Constitutional check on presidential powers. I am committed to pursuing all tools at our disposal to ensure President Trump abides by our Constitution before possibly plunging our country into another senseless conflict.” Rep. Ted Lieu said, “President Trump does not have the authority to send U.S. forces to battle the Houthis in Yemen, period." [1]

Press your representatives to pledge to invoke the War Powers Resolution when they return from recess to explicitly prohibit military escalation in Syria and Yemen by signing our petition on MoveOn (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VwpwVx55MwNsLE5FlXUwLYYOYFG5kYth).

On April 6, President Trump attacked Syria without congressional authorization. Many Members of Congress have said that President Trump did not have authority for this attack and that the President must seek authorization from Congress before any further military action. [2]

But in his required 48-hour notification to Congress on April 8 on the Syria strike, President Trump said he would "take additional action, as necessary and appropriate." He did not say he would seek authorization from Congress before taking "additional action." [3]

On April 25, Congress returns from recess. Under the War Powers Resolution, a single Member of Congress can force a debate and vote on continued U.S. participation in an unauthorized war. [4]

Press your representatives to pledge to invoke the War Powers Resolution when they return from recess to explicitly prohibit military escalation in Syria and Yemen by signing and sharing our petition (http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2ZXS5qCQ%2FTY6BOsdT%2FYvKYYOYFG5kYth).

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

If you think our work is important, support us with a $17 donation.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

References:
1. http://pocan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/bipartisan-effort-55-us-representatives-call-on-trump-to-come-to
2. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/328015-sanders-calls-on-trump-to-come-to-congress-over-syria-strikes; https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-statement-on-us-air-strike-in-syria-
3. https://www.lawfareblog.com/president-trumps-war-powers-report-syria-attacks
4. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/warpower.asp

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ckaihatsu

15th April 2017, 14:28

They're starving. We can help. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mnYyQTAc8g68Ww2OlFZekJQ0iliGrWKT)

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GRAPHIC: Sign here button (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0Qd0dewaIS%2BkynV6l5kimJQ0iliGrWKT)

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People all over the United States will naturally be eager to help hungry men, women, and children at risk of starvation in the impoverished nation of Yemen, if we can inform them that this catastrophe is happening.

To reverse the policies responsible will require admitting who is behind them, namely the governments of the United States and Saudi Arabia, and -- perhaps even harder to admit -- that chief among those policies is war-making.

Please click here to sign an important petition that we will deliver to the U.S. government, the Saudi government, and the United Nations. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=1orM3ZKAzI6EZD6Pbc6saJQ0iliGrWKT)

Then please read the rest of this email and forward it to everyone you can.

While an estimated 10,000 people in Yemen have been killed by Saudi bombing directly aided by the United States, estimates place the death toll from war-induced starvation much higher. UN agencies estimate that 462,000 Yemeni children under five years of age are currently suffering severe acute malnutrition, meaning that they are at serious risk of dying. Many more are approaching that dire condition.

Contributing to the crisis in Yemen have been:
• U.S. drone killings of civilians in Yemen;
• U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia;
• U.S. purchasing of fossil fuels from Saudi Arabia;
• U.S. and European allies' defense of Saudi Arabia from sanctions by the United Nations;
• U.S. identification of targets for Saudi bombing;
• U.S. mid-air refueling of the bombers;
• U.S./Saudi targeting of agricultural, health, and transportation infrastructure;
• The bombing of August 17, 2015, that destroyed all of the cranes used to unload container ships at the main port of Hodeidah, as well as a World Food Program warehouse;
• Newly escalated targeting of Hodeidah and the Red Sea coast;
• U.S. "special forces" raids on Yemeni families;
• Saudi takeover of the Central Bank of Yemen.

Help reverse these policies by clicking here. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HwB4%2FRNhcBMaYYzf%2FB5THJQ0iliGrWKT)

Then forward this email to everyone you can, urging them to pay some attention to this crisis despite the existence of so many others.

Two nations – the United States and Saudi Arabia -- helping to lead the destruction of the earth's climate, joined at the hip by fossil fuel and weapons sales, and both invested in supporting terrorists in Syria, have been collaborating for years on the creation of this other tragedy as well. It is time for us to put an end to it, to send in food and medicine rather than missiles and guns.

After signing the petition, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $3 now. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2XOBF8pq9IuBcnhtTKGWrJQ0iliGrWKT)

-- The RootsAction.org Team

P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Frances Fox Piven, Lila Garrett, Phil Donahue, Sonali Kolhatkar, and many others.

Background:
> Gareth Porter, Truthout: The U.S. Provided Cover for the Saudi Starvation Strategy in Yemen

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