<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><br><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="http://fair.org/home/downplaying-us-contribution-to-potential-yemen-famine/" target="_blank">http://fair.org/home/downplayi<wbr>ng-us-contribution-to-<wbr>potential-yemen-famine/</a></div><div><br></div><div><h1 class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564entry-title" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"pt sans",san-serif;font-weight:normal;margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;font-size:24px;line-height:26px">Downplaying US Contribution to Potential Yemen Famine</h1><div id="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-fair-byline" style="padding-bottom:10px;font-family:georgia,serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;color:rgb(0,0,0)">By Adam Johnson<br><div id="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-fair-byline" style="padding-bottom:10px">Feb 27 2017</div></div><div class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564entry-content" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:17px"><div class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-really_simple_share_clearfix" style="clear:both"></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">For almost two years, the United States has backed—with weapons, logistics and political support—a Saudi-led war in Yemen <a href="http://www.alternet.org/world/one-nastiest-wars-recent-history-raging-yemen-and-us-heavily-involved-it" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">that has left</a> over 10,000 dead, 40,000 wounded, 2.5 million internally displaced, 2.2 million children suffering from malnutrition and over 90 percent of civilians in need of humanitarian aid.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">A recent UN <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/media_94893.html" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">report</a> on the humanitarian crisis and near-famine conditions in Yemen (that encompassed South Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia as well) 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.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">A<b> Daily News</b> editorial (“USA for Africa (and Yemen),” <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/u-s-africa-yemen-article-1.2981829" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/27/17</a>) called on readers to give to aid organizations helping to alleviate the crisis, but neglected to mention the US/Saudi role in the humanitarian disaster the<b> Daily News</b> itself insisted was “caused by acts of man rather than God.” Which men were those? The<b> Daily News </b>doesn’t say.</p><div id="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-attachment_5585494" class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-caption m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-alignright" style="float:right;margin:0px 0px 0px 10px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:rgb(244,244,244);text-align:center;padding:5px 0px 0px 1px;border:1px solid rgb(221,221,221);width:360px"><a href="http://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/APFamine.png" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><img class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-image-5585494" src="http://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/APFamine.png" alt="AP: Almost 1.4 million children face 'imminent death:' UN agency" width="350" height="258" style="border:1px solid rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a><p class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-caption-text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px;font-size:11px;line-height:12px"><em>This <strong>AP</strong> report (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/21/almost-14-million-children-face-imminent-death-un-agency.html" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/21/17</a>) notes that “in Yemen’s conflict, nearly half a million children have ‘severe acute malnutrition'”–but it doesn’t mention the US government’s contribution to that conflict.</em></p></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">Similarly, reports on the near-famine in Yemen in the<b> Guardian </b>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/12/famine-looms-four-countries-aid-system-struggles-yemen-south-sudan-nigeria-somalia" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/12/17</a>), <b>AP</b> (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/21/almost-14-million-children-face-imminent-death-un-agency.html" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/<wbr>21/17</a>), <b>CBS News</b> (<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-needs-billions-to-prevent-catastrophe-of-hunger-famine/" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/22/17</a>) and <b>Reuters</b> (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-famine-idUSKBN1612QB" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/22/17</a>) neglected to mention the US-backed, Saudi-led bombing and siege that caused the hunger crisis in the first place.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">To the extent these stories cover the war in Yemen, they typically do so in a “cycle of violence” framing that gives the reader the impression the crisis is entirely domestic in origin. As FAIR has previously noted (<a href="http://fair.org/home/hiding-us-role-in-yemen-slaughter-so-bombing-can-be-sold-as-self-defense/" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">10/14/16</a>), while it’s common for American media to describe the Houthi-led provisional government as “Iranian-backed,” the role of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies is less often highlighted, while the role of the United States (and Britain) in supporting the Saudi-led assault is frequently omitted entirely.</p><div id="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-attachment_5585496" class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-caption m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-alignright" style="float:right;margin:0px 0px 0px 10px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:rgb(244,244,244);text-align:center;padding:5px 0px 0px 1px;border:1px solid rgb(221,221,221);width:360px"><a href="http://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GuardianFamine.png" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><img class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-image-5585496" src="http://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GuardianFamine.png" alt="The Guardian view on famine: sitting by as disaster unfolds" width="350" height="344" style="border:1px solid rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a><p class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail-wp-caption-text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px;font-size:11px;line-height:12px"><em>Like the US, the UK has not been “sitting by” but actively contributing to famine in Yemen.</em></p></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">A separate <b>Guardian</b> editorial (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/23/the-guardian-view-on-famine-sitting-by-as-disaster-unfolds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/23/17</a>), while briefly mentioning the war was “fueled in part by British and US bombs” in the text of the article, insisted in the headline the UK was “sitting by” as “disaster unfolded.” The UK is, of course, not “sitting by.” The British government has provided £3.3 billion in arms sales—as well as logistical support, surveillance assistance and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/29/uk-and-saudi-arabia-in-secret-deal-over-human-rights-council-place" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">political cover</a>—to the Saudi regime primarily responsible for the disaster in question.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">A UN report <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-un-idUKKBN15D0S9" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">from last year</a> found there had “been widespread and systematic violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and human rights norms” by the Saudi government and its allies. The US role in the humanitarian disaster was so significant, <b>Reuters</b> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-yemen-idUSKCN12A0BQ" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">revealed last year</a>, the State Department was sending internal emails warning of possible US exposure to war crimes prosecution.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">One notable exception was the <b>New York Times </b>(<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/africa/why-20-million-people-are-on-brink-of-famine-in-a-world-of-plenty.html" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/22/17</a>), which expressly mentioned the US and Saudi role in the war in its report on the UN’s findings.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">Over the past six months, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen—to say nothing of the US’s role in it—has been virtually nonexistent on cable and broadcast news. <b>NBC News</b>, <b>Fox News</b> and <b>MSNBC </b>have all neglected to cover the story. When it was covered on TV news, as with <b>CNN </b>(<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/27/middleeast/yemen-world-food-program/" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">10/7/16</a>) and<b> ABC News</b> (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/graffiti-artist-portrays-horrors-war-yemen/story?id=43103611" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">10/28/16</a>) last October, the role of the United States in fueling the crisis was omitted altogether.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">The US’s role in the war in Yemen is even more urgent of late, with President Donald Trump <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/02/10/trump-intends-to-follow-up-botched-yemen-military-raid-by-helping-saudis-target-civilians/" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">ramping up support</a> for Saudi Arabia’s harsh tactics, including possibly cutting off access to the critical port of Hodeidah on Yemen’s west coast—an act that the<b> Huffington Post </b>(<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-hodeidah-yemen-famine_us_58a88970e4b037d17d28610b" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">2/22/17</a>) insists could “spark a full-blown famine in Yemen.”</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px">A first step to putting political pressure on Trump to mitigate the suffering in Yemen is for the US public to speak out about their government’s role—a condition unlikely to be met if corporate media never bother to mention it.</p><hr><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px"><em>Adam Johnson is a contributing analyst for <strong>FAIR.org</strong>. You can f</em><em>ind him on <strong>Twitter</strong> at <a href="https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonnyc" style="color:rgb(89,109,159);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">@AdamJohnsonNYC</a>.</em></p></div></div><div><br></div>===<span class="m_9103174141520431036HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br clear="all"><div><div class="m_9103174141520431036m_-3305934636716647564gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><div><span style="text-align:left"><a href="tel:(202)%20448-2898" value="+12024482898" target="_blank">(202) 448-2898 x1</a></span><br></div><div><span style="text-align:left"><br></span></div></div></div></div>
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