Yemen: A Violent and Bloody History
The War in Yemen is a criminally ignored story. The United States of America is aiding and abetting what many rightfully consider genocide.
The War in Yemen began in 2015, and it is a war that has claimed many lives. The conflict began when Houthi rebels took control over Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, in 2014. After the fall of Sana’a, Yemen’s President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, fled to Saudi Arabia to seek help reclaim Yemen from the Houthis. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates formed a coalition to end the control of the Houthi Revolutionary Committee, and the United States of America would later provide support to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes against Yemen. Most of their targets have been civilian targets. As a result of Saudi Arabia’s military intervention, the people of Yemen are facing a famine which many speculate could be the worst in 100 years. Human rights organizations have labeled the crisis in Yemen to be the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history.
In 2014, a group of Houthi rebels stormed Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, and attacked the Yemeni government. The conflict only lasted a few days. It was called to an end when the Revolutionary Committee negotiated to cease the violence with Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the President of Yemen. The Revolutionary Committee and the Green People’s Congress, Hadi’s political party, established a new government in Sana’a, and Hadi resigned from office. This gave control of Yemen to Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, cousin of the Houthi movement’s leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi. After Hadi resigned, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi began to enact his duties as President. National Geographic’s Joshua Hammer notes that the Houthis have been at odds with the Yemeni Government ever since 2004. He writes, “They [the Houthis] were demanding more autonomy for their northern enclave, which is one of the poorest and most neglected corners of Yemen” (Hammer). In 2011, the Arab Spring had spread to Yemen which helped the Houthis regain their influence in Yemen. That would explain why the Houthis decided to invade the capital and overthrow Hadi. Hammer also points out that the Houthis are Shia Muslims while Hadi and the Yemeni Government were Sunni Muslims, and that those factions of Islam have been at odds for decades. Hadi was placed under house arrest by the Revolutionary Committee until Hadi escaped to his hometown of Aden, Yemen. In Aden, Hadi rescinded his resignation as President of Yemen and denounced the Houthi takeover. That prompted the Houthis to claim Aden, and they did so successfully. Hadi then fled to Saudi Arabia to seek help from the Saudi Royal family.
After the Houthi takeover, President Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia to seek help reasserting his power in Yemen, and Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud agreed to help Hadi. On March 24th of 2015, with rumors that Saudi Arabia might invade Yemen, Houthi commander, Ali al-Shami, made the strategic decision to invade Mecca and proceed to invade Riyadh and stop there instead of Mecca. The Houthi rebels have battled and defeated Al Qaeda throughout Yemen, and Al Qaeda is backed by Saudi Arabia, so it was the logical conclusion made by al-Shami that the Saudis would be involved. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates along with other Arab states, with the help of the United States, had begun a military intervention operation in Yemen against the Houthis. King Salman of Saudi Arabia declared the Saudi Royal Air Force would have complete control of Yemen’s air space. The Saudi-led coalition has repeatedly authorized drone strikes on Yemen and has killed countless civilians. Abdul Malik al-Houthi made televised speeches criticizing the Saudi intervention and airstrikes. Saudi pilots have bombed weddings, hospitals, and schools, and recently killed 31 people, including 22 children, on a school bus. Despite all the criticism Saudi Arabia has faced for its actions, the Saudis continue its intervention in Yemen.
After Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen, the Saudis implemented a land, sea, and air blockade on Yemen. As a result of the Saudi blockade on Yemen, there has been widespread famine throughout Yemen. The United Nations has raised concerns that this could be the worst man-made famine in decades. The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) warned that 12 million people are expected to face the worst famine in 100 years in mere months. Of course fighting around the vital port of Hodeidah continues. As of 2016, over 17 million Yemeni civilians, which includes over 3.3 million Yemeni children and pregnant women, are at risk of suffering from acute malnutrition. So far, 50,000 Yemeni children have died and an unknown number of adults have died. At least 130 Yemen children die a day and, for adults, the ratio is unknown. The BBC reports, “At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,563 injured in the conflict, according to the UN. Thousands of more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease, and poor health” (BBC). There have been reports that the Saudis have deliberately targeted farms, ports, fishing boats, food storages, food factories, and other businesses in Yemen. As of 2018, 146 Yemeni fishermen have been killed by Saudi airstrikes in the Red Sea. In October of 2016, Yemen faced a cholera outbreak as another result of Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen. The outbreak began to decline in February of 2017 and resurged in April of 2017 after the sewer system in Sana’ stopped working. The Saudi blockade has made it merely impossible for the people of Yemen to get adequate care. As a result, 2,310 people have died from cholera. There have been 612,703 confirmed cases of cholera, and 1,055,788 suspected cases of cholera.
In March of 2015, President Barack Obama agreed to help the Saudi-led coalition in the War in Yemen. The United States had a military presence prior to 2015 under the guise of fighting Al Queada. Obama was ordering drone strikes in Yemen prior to the Saudi-led war beginning. After 2015, President Obama agreed to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and provide some military support to Saudi Arabia. In late 2016, when reports of US-made weapons were being used in Saudi bombing campaigns that killed civilians, President Obama banned the sale of laser-guided missiles and bombs but continued to sell Saudi Arabia other weapons. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump lifted Obama’s ban on bombs and increased support for Saudi Arabia in the War in Yemen. Since Trump had taken office the US has increased its sales of helicopters to Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen to help maintain the Saudi blockade. In November of 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-D), Senator Chris Murphy (D), Senator Mike Lee (R), and Representative Ro Khanna (D) sponsored legislation to condemn Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen, but that legislation did not pass. Ro Khanna had introduced a second resolution, in which Khanna invoked the 1973 War Powers Act which declared that Congress did not authorize US involvement in Yemen, and Khanna demanded that President Trump withdraw support. Khanna’s resolution will not affect US forces fighting Al Qaeda. The United States’ mainstream media has largely ignored the Yemen War because it’s “bad for ratings.”
Khanna’s move comes shortly after a Saudi pilot dropped an American-made bomb on a Yemeni school bus. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, received widespread criticism from human rights groups to continue supporting Saudi Arabia. Pompeo said that Saudi Arabia was taking measures to reduce civilian casualties. The Young Turks’ Ken Klippenstein had reported that the Pentagon had authorized US pilots to train Saudi pilots in Yemen. Klippenstein proceeded to explain that “The Pentagon’s solicitation for training Saudi pilots … was posted on August 23, two weeks after the school bus bombing, the procurement records show. What’s more, the training will be for warplanes including the F-15 fighter jet, which the Saudis are using in Yemen” (Klippenstein). With the recent death of American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, US relations with Saudi Arabia have been on thin ice. The Intercept’s Alex Emmons reports that numerous representatives and senators have now supported Khanna’s new resolution that opposed his previous resolution. One of those representatives is House Minority Whip, Steny Hoyer. Emmons proceeded to explain that “Last year, Hoyer whipped votes against the measure and cut a deal that watered it down — a move that seems unlikely now given Khashoggi’s killing” (Emmons). Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a companion bill in the Senate to Khanna’s resolution. President Donald Trump vetoed Sanders and Khanna’s resolution, and the resolution did not have enough Congressional support to override Trump’s veto. For now, the war in Yemen rages on and the US continues to help Saudi Arabia.
It appears that the Yemen War has no end in sight as long as US foreign policy remains favorable towards militarism and Saudi Arabia. Right now it appears that both candidates in the 2020 US Presidential Election are supporters of the War in Yemen. The Republican candidate, President Donald Trump, vetoed Senator Bernie Sanders’ resolution to end US involvement in the war and has increased military involvement in Yemen. The Democratic candidate, Vice-President Joe Biden, was part of the presidential administration that decided to intervene in Yemen on behalf of Saudi Arabia and to aid and abet Saudi Arabia’s slaughter campaigns. Unless Congress can pass a veto-proof resolution regarding Yemen or the next president decides to end US involvement in Yemen, the war will rage on.
