US senators launch bid to end support for Saudi in Yemen war

Editor: Johnathan Meyers | Tactical Investor

US legislators have submitted a draft resolution calling for an end to US military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s war.

The draft resolution, unveiled on Wednesday, is being pushed forward by Senators Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy.

The bill intends to exploit a powerful but rarely activated provision in a 1973 law – the War Powers Act – that gives Congress the authority to overrule the president and withdraw troops if the former believes the conflict is not authorised.

“We believe that, as Congress has not declared war or authorised military force in this conflict, the US involvement in Yemen is unconstitutional and unauthorised and US military support of the Saudi coalition must end,” Sanders said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Sanders stressed that under the Constitution, Congress is the only authority that can declare war, alluding to divisions in the US government between congressional power and the president’s role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

A similar bid to end US support for the war in Yemen was launched in November 2017 in a draft resolution sponsored by Congressman Ro Khanna. And while the resolution was passed, it was not implemented.

“Many Americans are unaware that the people of Yemen are suffering today from a devastating civil war with Saudi Arabia and their allies on one side and Houthi rebels on the other,” said Sanders. Full Story

Yemen war: senators push to end US support of Saudi Arabia

Three US senators have introduced a resolution that will force the chamber to vote for the first time on whether the US should continue to support Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, a conflict that has led to the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians there and driven the Middle East’s poorest country to the brink of famine.

The joint resolution, sponsored by two senators from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, independent Bernie Sanders, Republican Mike Lee, and Democrat Chris Murphy, is a rare effort by Congress to claw back its war powers from the executive branch. Aides to senators say the resolution, which would trigger a vote over whether to end US participation in the conflict, is unprecedented in the Senate.

The intent of the resolution is to revive the decades-long debate over defining – and in their view, reclaiming – Congress’s constitutional role in declaring war, according to aides to both senators.

“This is about the process,” said an aide to Lee. “What decisions do we make for a country that has been at war constantly for almost 20 years? When do we say that something is worthy of intervening in and when do we make that determination? It’s about the how. Full Story

Yemen war: senators push to end US support of Saudi Arabia

Other Stories of Interest