US lawmakers launch new bid to end Saudi war on Yemen, stop US role

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US Congress have joined forces to end Saudi Arabia’s deadly war against the people of Yemen, amid international outrage over the Riyadh regime’s bombing of a Yemeni prison that killed over 100 people.

The lawmakers are seeking to protect an amendment to the annual US defense policy bill, which prohibits the Pentagon from providing the spare parts that Saudi Arabia needs to keep its warplanes, which are mostly US-made, in operational status.

The measure also ends certain forms of intelligence-sharing between Washington and Riyadh.

The amendment, first presented by Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, has already been adopted by the House of Representatives in its version of the military authorization bill, and now the bipartisan group, which features members of both Congress chambers, are trying to prevent the amendment’s omission.

“We strongly urge you to include the House provision that prohibits military support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war” the lawmakers said in a letter obtained by The Washington Post.

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Addressed to the leaders of various congressional committees, the letter was signed by dozens of lawmakers including Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee (Utah) as well as Democratic Representatives Adam B. Schiff and Mark Pocan and their Republican colleague Matt Gaetz.

“Inclusion of this amendment would ensure that our men and women in uniform are not involved in a war which has never been authorized by Congress, and continues to undermine rather than advance US national security interests,” the lawmakers asserted.

The letter is addressed to the top Republicans and Democrats on the armed services committees, who will negotiate a range of disparities between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

The lawmakers’ appeal comes as the Yemen conflict drags on in its fifth year, with the civilian death toll rising and feuding among factions allied with key US partners complicating prospects for peace.

Frustrated with Riyadh over its atrocities in Yemen as well as its murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year, American lawmakers have launched several bipartisan legislative steps over the past year to end military support for the kingdom.

As a result of growing international pressure, last year the Pentagon agreed to halt aerial refueling of Saudi jets. However, the administration of President Donald Trump insists on maintaining close ties with Riyadh mainly because of profitable arms deals that he says are crucial to creating jobs back home.

The American president has pledged to veto any bills that seek to undermine ties with Saudi Arabia as he did one earlier this year which banned a massive $8 billion arms sale to the kingdom.

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Saudi officials have indicated that while they would rather continue military cooperation, it can rely on other nations as well if needed.

Trump and his team have time and again touted Saudi Arabia as an important regional partner, which plays a vital role in keeping Israel secure while being considered a counterweight to Iran.

However, the war on Yemen, which has killed tens of thousands of people and caused near-famine conditions in the impoverished country, is drawing international attention.

Following the Saudi-led attack on the Yemeni prison in on Sunday, Sanders accused Washington of being an accomplice.

“Now we must use Congress’s power of the purse to block every nickel of taxpayer money from going to assist the Saudi dictatorship as it bombs and starves civilians in Yemen,” Sanders said in a statement.

"US bombs, logistical support, and intelligence for the Saudi dictatorship's airstrikes make us complicit in this nightmare," he added.

"Congress has declared this war unconstitutional,” the Vermont senator added. “We must now stand up to Trump and defund all US involvement in these horrors."

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