[Peace-discuss] FW: Senate Votes to Continue Yemen Devastation

Sat Mar 24 14:37:00 UTC 2018

From: David Sladky [mailto:tanstl at hotmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2018 8:20 AM
Subject: Senate Votes to Continue Yemen Devastation

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Senate Votes to Continue Yemen Devastation

March 22, 2018

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On Tuesday, the Senate voted down a resolution that would have withdrawn US
support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen, choosing instead to continue to
illegally assist what the UN has called "the world's largest humanitarian
crisis," reports Dennis J. Bernstein and Shireen Al-Adeimi in this
interview.

By Dennis J. Bernstein

Shireen Al-Adeimi is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University. But she is
having a hard time focusing on her studies, when friends and family back
home in Yemen are under violent attack by the heavily armed, US-backed Saudi
forces, with many going hungry as a result of the Saudi blockade.

Al-Adeimi said on Tuesday, March 20,  "This month marks the third
anniversary of the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen. Despite the dire
humanitarian crisis, however, the United States continues to sell arms to
the Saudis and provide them with military support."

<https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/26365109320_3b422d171
f_o.png> Image removed by sender.

A Saudi military member stands next to a damaged building in the area of the
presidential palace in the southern city of Aden, Yemen. Sep 27, 2015.
(Flickr Ahmed Farwan)

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Ut.), and Chris Murphy (D-Ct.)
had introduced a bill that aimed to force a withdrawal of the United States
from the Saudi-led war, based on violations of the War Powers Act.  But the
Bill,
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/54>
Senate Joint Resolution 54, cosponsored by 10 senators, was voted down 55-44
on Tuesday.

Of course it was no surprise, given the amount of lobbying money spent by
the Saudis to buy congressional silence and support. The bill also was met
with fierce opposition by various Trump administration officials.

The American Conservative Magazine reported that "the media has been laying
out the red carpet for Crown Prince bin Salman in Washington. What the
establishment press won't tell you is that no less than 25 American lobbying
firms worked for the Saudi Arabian government in 2017 to the tune of $16
million, to burnish their image, manage the message, and get massive
military contracts for the weapons of war that are now being used to kill,
maim and slowly starve millions of civilians in Yemen today."

I spoke with Shireen Al-Adeimi on Tuesday, March 20, directly following the
vote by Congress to continue aid for the US-supported, Saudi-led slaughter.

Dennis Bernstein: Shireen, what is your response to the Senate voting to
continue aid to the Saudis?

Shireen Al-Adeimi: It is very disappointing because it ensures that millions
more Yemenis will continue to suffer.  On average, 130 children die every
day in Yemen due to malnutrition and disease caused by the Saudi-led
blockade.  Many more will die because of US bombs which are dropped from
Saudi jets. People continue to die for no reason at all.

DB: Could you give us a little background?

SAA: The Saudis began bombing Yemen in March, 2015.  Right now, some 80% of
a population of 24 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Yemen is experiencing the world's worst cholera outbreak in modern history,
with over 1 million cases.  There is a severe water crisis affecting 15
million people in Yemen.

Hundreds of thousands have died of malnutrition and disease because Saudi
Arabia is not only bombing Yemen but is also blockading Yemen by land, sea
and air, ensuring that no aid or medicine can come into the country.  The
Saudis have created what the UN calls "the worst humanitarian crisis on
earth today."

DB: Could you describe the United States' role in all of this?

SAA: In January, the US Army published an article detailing their support
for the Saudis, including training Saudi soldiers, advising military
personnel, maintaining and upgrading vehicles and aircraft, providing
courses on communication and navigation, and providing Saudi jets with
mid-air refueling.  This is in addition to the billions in weapon sales
between the US and Saudi Arabia every year.

The bottom line is that the United States is benefiting from this
relationship with the Saudis and it doesn't seem to matter that this has
caused such a humanitarian toll in the process.  Estimates are that over 75%
of the targets in Yemen have been civilian targets.

DB: Is there a notable difference between the policies of the last
administration and those of the Trump administration?

SAA: Absolutely not.  This began under the Obama administration, which sold
billions in weapons to the Saudis and provided them with the logistical
services I just mentioned.  The Trump policy in Yemen is basically on
autopilot, following blindly what the Obama administration did. This is very
much a bipartisan effort.

<https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/saudiss-03-300x200.jp
g> Image removed by sender.

King Salman greets President Obama and the First Lady during a state visit
to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 27, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

DB: Tell us more about how this is evolving on the ground.

SAA: People have lost their jobs.  There is no future to look forward to.
People who were once wealthy or middle-class are now resorting to begging on
the streets and selling their possessions.  Three million are displaced
internally because there is nowhere to go with the blockade in place. People
can't find water, they can't find food, they can't find medicine or fuel.
They can't decide whether to take a sick child to the hospital or provide
them with food. It is as bad as it can get.

DB: The Saudi prince was just in D.C.  He said that he really feels for the
people of Yemen and that he is working on easing the blockade because he
understands how devastating it has been.  What is your response to that?

SAA: It is a complete fabrication.  They are the ones imposing the blockade,
they are the ones bombing a sovereign country.  They have no business in
Yemen at all. And then to claim that it is the Houthis who are preventing
food and medicine from coming into the country is completely absurd.  In
fact, the Saudis have acknowledged that they are using starvation as a
weapon.

They have already bombed most hospitals in Yemen.  Four times they bombed
Doctors without Borders hospitals.  So far they have caused the death of at
least 10,000 civilians through airstrikes and tens of thousands more through
disease and malnutrition caused by the blockade.

DB: The US media has once again dropped the ball.

SAA:  <https://fair.org/home/msnbc-yemen-russia-coverage-2017/> MSNBC
reported on Yemen once in 2017 and not once since then.  There is no
reporting on the humanitarian crisis, on the resolutions before Congress.
When it comes to the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, people
just don't want to go there.

DB: What are human rights organizations saying about the potential for
famine?

SAA: The UN has designated Yemen a level 3 for famine out of a range of 1 to
4, but when you have people already dying of starvation it doesn't matter
much what level they establish.  In 2015, 15,000 children died of hunger and
disease in Yemen and a similar number in 2016. We are not at the brink of
famine, we are already there. People are dying of starvation every day.

DB: Is it possible to get through to folks on the ground there?  Is there
outreach from the country for support?

SAA: Organizations such as Oxfam and Save the Children do have their ships
there and they do bring in aid and food to the 7 million people who depend
on it every day.  But even that flow is obstructed by the Saudis. The cost
of fuel has increased 200%. Family members like myself are sending cash, as
are organizations like Doctors without Borders, to keep people employed and
afloat.  Kids are dying of diseases that are completely preventable. No one
has to die from cholera.

DB: How do you explain these congress people who support this ongoing war
and famine in Yemen?  Are they owned by the weapons manufacturers?

SAA: Some claim that it protects Saudi interests and prevents Iran from
spreading its tentacles in the region.  But they undoubtedly have contact to
the Saudis and to the weapons manufacturers who want to maintain their
interests in Saudi Arabia.

Dennis J. Bernstein is a host of "Flashpoints" on the Pacifica radio network
and the author of  <http://www.nyqbooks.org/title/specialed> Special Ed:
Voices from a Hidden Classroom. You can access the audio archives at
<http://www.flashpoints.net/> www.flashpoints.net.

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