Millions of people risk starvation in Yemen, and the United States has been playing a terrible part in a civil war that has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in history. It began in 2014 with rebels allied with Iran. They are fighting against the existing Yemeni government, which Saudi Arabia has joined. The Saudis are currently receiving U.S. military support.
Congress just invoked the War Power Resolution. This resolution has been on the books for decades and tries to halt a foreign conflict. It passed by a 247-175 vote. The bill now heads to Donald Trump, who has claimed he will veto it. The White House says the bill raises “serious constitutional concerns,” and Congress lacks the votes to override him.
How could the president of the United States do this? The answer is simple: he does not care about these children, these people.
The U.S. has not been nearly as supportive of the Saudis, since the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman order the kidnapping, strangling, and dismemberment of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi intelligence, officials have said. PBS reported:
‘The United Nations calls Yemen the site of the worst humanitarian suffering in the world. Years of war have caused widespread starvation and disease; supply routes are blocked by fighting, and fuel and food prices have spiked. With the economy destroyed, many Yemenis cannot even afford transportation to the medical facilities they so desperately need.’
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) agreed that the Yemani humanitarian crisis was the greatest crisis in the history of the world. Millions of people have died of starvation and related diseases. Engel stated that this was a result of America’s participation in that war and “demands moral leadership, according to PBS.
‘The president will have to face the reality that Congress is no longer going to ignore its constitutional obligations when it comes to foreign policy (and) demands moral leadership.’
Ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) was opposed to the bill even though he admitted the people of Yemen were in alarming shape. However, he said the proposed legislation was an abuse of the War Powers Resolution:
‘This radical interpretation has implications far beyond Saudi Arabia. (The bill could) disrupt U.S. security cooperation agreements with more than 100 counties.’
PBS News and documentary Emmy Award winning director William Brangham said in December:
‘This month, the United Nations announced that 73,000 Yemenis are living under famine conditions, and millions more risk dying from hunger as the country’s humanitarian crisis spirals downward.’
Jane Ferguson said two-thirds of Yemenis need food. The Irish journalist is a roving reporter covering the Mid-East for Al Jazeera English. After the 2011 Somali famine hit, she was among the first reporters in the country. She said:
‘The war in Yemen has devastated the economy. Millions are out of work, and the price of food and fuel has spiked. It is home to the worst humanitarian suffering in the world, with countless families unable to feed themselves.’
Ferguson continued:
‘The U.N. says two-thirds of Yemenis need food aid and millions are on the brink of famine. I came here in June and found unimaginable misery. Since then, fighting has intensified across the country, and I returned to find the crisis even worse.
This hospital is in the capital, Sanaa. Only the lucky ones make it this far. Millions are stranded in rural areas. To find some of those, we headed out to Hajjah, high up in the North Yemen mountains, where the main regional medical center is overflowing with crowds of desperate parents and children.’
