Latest in Yemen
The label misunderstands the conflict and would harm Yemeni civilians more than the Houthis themselves.
The growing coronavirus outbreak is compounding the toll of the country's civil war and other humanitarian disasters.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Order from Chaos.
Over the past several weeks, a new front has opened up in the legal fight over U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen: the president’s authority to pursue arms sales. For months, congressional opponents of the Yemen conflict have blocked certain arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, citing human rights and other concerns.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Order from Chaos.
Late in the evening on Apr. 16, President Trump informed the Senate that he was officially vetoing S.J. Res. 7, the joint resolution that many hoped would bring an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Trump’s veto almost certainly means that S.J. Res. 7 will never be enacted into law. But it sets the stage for the next fight over U.S. involvement in Yemen’s civil war.
On Feb. 13, the House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 37, a joint resolution that purports to direct the executive branch to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Yesterday, on Dec. 13, the Senate made history. By a vote of 56-41, it adopted S.J. Res. 54, a bipartisan joint resolution that directs U.S. forces to withdraw from “hostilities” in Yemen not related to al-Qaeda within 30 days of enactment—a move that, its supporters maintain, will end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition currently waging a military campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Congress took what may be its most important step to date towards openly opposing U.S. involvement in the Yemen war. By a vote of 63 to 37, the Senate elected to discharge a joint resolution directing an end to U.S. involvement in Yemen out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and on to the Senate floor. The resolution in question, S.J. Res.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Order from Chaos.
The United States has usually not had a Yemen policy—rather, its policy toward Yemen is a subset of its policy toward Saudi Arabia. This is especially true today with the war in Yemen. Two U.S. administrations have backed the Saudi intervention in the civil war in its smaller and much poorer neighbor.