[Peace-discuss] If the Russian War on Ukraine is “Genocide,” the Saudi War on Yemen is “Genocide”

[Robert Naiman]

Please vote in the poll.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/13/2091771/-If-the-Russian-War-on-Ukraine-is-Genocide-the-Saudi-War-on-Yemen-is-Genocide

*If the Russian War on Ukraine is “Genocide,” the Saudi War on Yemen is
“Genocide”
<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/13/2091771/-If-the-Russian-War-on-Ukraine-is-Genocide-the-Saudi-War-on-Yemen-is-Genocide>*

President Biden has crossed a rhetorical Rubicon in describing the illegal
actions of Putin and his “Willing Executioners” in Ukraine as “genocide.”

We can debate, if we want, whether President Biden’s description was
“technically accurate.” We can debate, if we want, whether that was a good
idea that was in “U.S. national interests,” whatever those are. We can
debate, if we want, if this was yet another *so-called *“Biden gaffe.”

But there ain’t no debatin’ which side of this rhetorical Rubicon President
Biden is standing on now on Russia-Ukraine. He’s standing on the “genocide”
side.

All this, of course, begs a crucial “Jeopardy Daily Double” question about
U.S. democracy, the Rule of Law, and U.S. policy in the Middle East.

If the last month of Russia’s war on Ukraine was “genocide,” then *by what
moral calculus *was the last seven years of U.S.-enabled, deliberate Saudi
regime-imposed famine in Yemen not “genocide”?

Now, of course, some Blob Establishment Concern Troll might try to claim
that “deliberate Saudi-imposed famine in Yemen” is rhetorically excessive,
beyond the pale. But if they did try to do that, then we could protect
ourselves with an Impeccably-Credentialed Blob Establishment Validator. We
could pull Marshall McLuhan from behind the movie poster in *Annie Hall*.

On May 17, 2017, *Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy* made the
following statement on the Senate floor:

"The Saudis are deliberately trying to create a famine inside Yemen in
order to essentially starve the Yemenis to the negotiating table.”
<https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4670011/user-clip-murphy-young-yemen-murphy-saudis-deliberately-create-famine-yemen>

Note that this was not Ilhan Omar, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Dellums, Mike
Gravel, Wayne Morse, Walter Jones, Justin Amash, or Ron Paul. This was not
the *People’s Daily World*, *Socialist Worker*, *In These Times*, *Jacobin*,
 *The Nation, Antiwar.com, *or *The American Conservative*. This was *Chris
Murphy*. He’s universally considered “Serious” by the “Serious” Blob
Establishment on U.S. foreign policy. He’s a member in good standing of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was on the “short list” to become
President Biden’s Secretary of State.

But perhaps some Blob Establishment Concern Troll might try to claim:
“Well, that was on May 17, 2017. That’s Ancient History. Let's not bicker
and argue about who killed who.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg30ino19Zc>”

But if they did try to claim that, it would just beg *yet another *“Jeopardy
Daily Double” question about U.S. democracy, the Rule of Law, and U.S.
policy in the Middle East.

Suppose that this statement was true on May 17, 2017, when Democratic
Senator and SFRC member in good standing Chris Murphy said it on the Senate
floor. Suppose that it is not true today.

On *exactly which day* did it stop being true? Surely not on January 20,
2021, the day that President Biden was inaugurated as POTUS. Surely not
even a Blob Establishment Concern Troll would try to claim that.

So let’s assume that this was all true then and remains all true today. Is
there anything we can do about it? If there’s nothing we can do about it,
what’s the point? “At this point, what difference does it make?” We are all
American Pragmatists now. We are all realists now. “Politics is the art of
the possible.” It’s not enough to be right. We need to have a “theory of
change.”

But there *IS* something we can do about this. We can pass the Yemen War
Powers Resolution
<https://twitter.com/USProgressives/status/1507432639392845833> now, and
shut down unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi regime-imposed
famine in Yemen for good.

This is not pie in the sky. Congress has passed a Yemen War Powers
Resolution before. In our corner right now, we have Pramila Jayapal, chair
of the Progressive Caucus. We have Peter DeFazio, chair of the House
Transportation Committee. We have @RoKhanna, who some people claim might be
the One
<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/9/2091026/-Yemen-Champ-RoKhanna-Bashes-NAFTA-in-IL-He-Running-for-POTUS>.
We have some Constitution-loyal House Republicans. And we have Uncle
Bernie. What’s the excuse for inaction from the DC Beltway Excuse Factory
now?

Fulfill the promise of the Democratic Platform: “Democrats will end support
for the Saudi-led war in Yemen and help bring the war to an end.”
<https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/renewing-american-leadership/>
Pass
the Yemen War Powers Resolution
<https://twitter.com/USProgressives/status/1507432639392845833> now!
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