{"id":10058,"date":"2018-10-24T19:58:22","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T02:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=10058"},"modified":"2018-10-24T20:07:20","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T03:07:20","slug":"congress-must-end-u-s-military-aid-to-saudi-war-in-yemen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/10\/24\/congress-must-end-u-s-military-aid-to-saudi-war-in-yemen\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Must End U.S. Military Aid to Saudi War in Yemen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"field-wrapper-attribution\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-date field--type-datestamp field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\"><span class=\"pb-timestamp\"><span class=\"date-display-single\">October 23, 2018\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/opinion\/article\/Congress-must-end-U-S-military-aid-to-Saudi-war-13319536.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">San Francisco Chronicle<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-subtitle field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<h4>Today\u2019s leaders owe it to all those who have sacrificed for a fairer world to bring an end to the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-authors\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"grouping-prefix\">by\u00a0<span class=\"pb-byline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/ro-khanna\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ro Khanna<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"shr_canvas2\" class=\"shareaholic-canvas shareaholic-ui shareaholic-resolved-canvas ng-scope\" data-app-id=\"6840209\" data-app-id-name=\"views_article_above_content\" data-app=\"share_buttons\" data-title=\"Congress Must End U.S. Military Aid to Saudi War in Yemen\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2018\/10\/23\/congress-must-end-us-military-aid-saudi-war-yemen\" data-summary=\"\">\n<div class=\"ng-scope shareaholic-share_buttons\" translate=\"no\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-container shareaholic-ui shr-no-print shareaholic-flat shareaholic- shareaholic-block shareaholic-horizontal shareaholic-mini\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-wrapper shareaholic-ui\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-animation-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-heading shareaholic-custom\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"ng-scope\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-button-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/views-article\/kids_3.jpeg?itok=qfSsgKVT\" alt=\"The United Nations childrens agency said Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, that Yemen\u2019s economic crisis and the relentless violence at a key Red Sea port city risks leaving millions of children and families without food, clean water and sanitation.(Photo: Hani Mohammed \/ Associated Press August 2018)\" width=\"955\" height=\"500\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-main-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p class=\"media-meta\"><em><span class=\"media-meta-caption-inner\">The United Nations childrens agency said Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, that Yemen\u2019s economic crisis and the relentless violence at a key Red Sea port city risks leaving millions of children and families without food, clean water and sanitation.<\/span>(Photo: Hani Mohammed \/ Associated Press August 2018)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<p>Every ghastly new detail we learn about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi suggests that this was a premeditated murder, carried out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/\">at the direction of the highest level<\/a>\u00a0of the Saudi dictatorship. The cascading revelations rival the gore of horror films, from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2018\/investigations\/khashoggi-saudi-suspects\/\">15 Saudis\u00a0<\/a>who flew into Turkey, lying in wait for Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, to the bone-saw-equipped forensics specialist who reportedly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/11\/world\/europe\/turkey-audio-video-khashoggi.html?module=Uisil\">dismembered Khashoggi\u2019s body\u00a0<\/a>wearing headphones and recommending that others listen to music as well.<\/p>\n<p>Just weeks before, Khashoggi had publicly pleaded with the de facto ruler of the Saudi regime, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to curb his propensity for violence. Khashoggi\u2019s September\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/global-opinions\/wp\/2018\/09\/11\/saudi-arabias-crown-prince-must-restore-dignity-to-his-country-by-ending-yemens-cruel-war\/?utm_term=.d309c1af74bc\">column<\/a>\u00a0for the Washington Post was headlined \u201cSaudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince must restore dignity to his country \u2014 by ending Yemen\u2019s cruel war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCruel\u201d is, if anything, an understatement. Since 2015, the Saudis have launched an estimated\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/aug\/16\/yemen-school-bus-bombing-one-of-50-strikes-on-civilian-vehicles-this-year\">18,000 air strikes\u00a0<\/a>on Yemen, attacking hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, funerals, markets and even farms. The Saudis also imposed a blockade on food, fuel and medicine from freely entering the country in what can only be described as a deliberate effort to starve the civilian population into submission. Buried by the news of Khashoggi\u2019s slaying was a grim new warning by Lise Grande, the U.N.\u2019s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen: The nation could experience the world\u2019s worst famine in 100 years, with 12 million to 13 million innocent civilians at risk of dying from the lack of food within months.<\/p>\n<p>As early as 2015,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2015\/11\/23\/in-yemen-a-saudi-war-fought-with-u-s-help\/\">Foreign Policy magazine reported\u00a0<\/a>the Saudi coalition\u2019s \u201cdaily bombing campaign would not be possible without the constant presence of U.S. Air Force tanker planes refueling coalition jets.\u201d Yet there was never a debate or vote by the people\u2019s elected congressional representatives, as required by the Constitution, as to whether the U.S. military should participate in the Saudi government\u2019s genocidal war.<\/p>\n<p>As the architect of this hideous military strategy, Mohammed bin Salman reacted to Khashoggi\u2019s criticisms the way he knew best. MbS, as he\u2019s known, probably ordered the assassination of Khashoggi and then \u2014 just as the Saudi regime did after bombing a school bus filled with Yemeni children last month \u2014 issued\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/world\/2018\/10\/16\/17980520\/saudi-arabia-khashoggi-report-murder-consulate\">ever-shifting<\/a>\u00a0and contradictory lies, relying on the Trump administration\u2019s full backing and clumsy assistance in the cover-up.<\/p>\n<p>MbS\u2019 campaign of killing Yemenis and Saudis alike must come to an end. Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and I are leading dozens of our colleagues, including top House Democrats, in demanding answers from the Trump administration about its possible complicity in Khashoggi\u2019s killing. We also are working to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/405340-dems-plan-resolution-to-withdraw-us-forces-from-yemen-civil-war\">force a vote in Congress\u00a0<\/a>to decisively shut down unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi regime\u2019s gruesome war in Yemen within weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Partnering with Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent-Vermont, we aim to secure majorities in both chambers of Congress as soon as we return to Washington to direct the president to remove U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities in Yemen. We are invoking the War Powers Resolution with the aim of passing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/house-concurrent-resolution\/138\">House Congressional Resolution 138<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/senate-joint-resolution\/54\">Senate Joint Resolution 54.<\/a>\u00a0These resolutions have priority over other foreign policy considerations in the chambers, and the votes on them cannot be blocked by Republican leadership. Never before has such a feat been attempted in both houses of Congress at once \u2014 but the War Power Resolution allows members of Congress to force votes to end illegal U.S. military participation in this war. When we succeed, the Saudi campaign will inevitably collapse.<\/p>\n<p>If our moral compass is to guide our country after the butchering of Jamal Khashoggi, the incineration of thousands of Yemenis in U.S.-Saudi air strikes, and the quiet deaths of more than 100,000 Yemeni children who succumbed to war-triggered hunger and disease over the past two years, Congress must pass these resolutions.<\/p>\n<p>America\u2019s founders deliberately broke with the unchecked power enjoyed by Europe\u2019s monarchs by vesting Congress with the sole authority over the question of war and peace.<\/p>\n<p>By forcing long-overdue sunlight and public participation into the now-secret realm of war, these resolutions will help restore our republic and end America\u2019s complicity in such incomprehensibly immense human suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s leaders owe it to all those who have sacrificed for a fairer world to bring an end to the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9 2018 San Francisco Chronicle<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-fundraising\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-prompt clearfix\">\n<div class=\"cta-content-block-one\">\n<div class=\"card card-pink\">\n<div class=\"card-header\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-block\">\n<div class=\"donate-option-grid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-author-profile field--type-entityreference field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div id=\"cdreams-profile-12879\" class=\"cdreams-profile teaser author\">\n<div class=\"content clearfix grid-size-16\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-profile-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/ro-khanna\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_bio_small\/public\/authors\/screen_shot_2018-09-06_at_1.10.43_pm.png?itok=OMoQ3IPq\" alt=\"Ro Khanna\" width=\"65\" height=\"65\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-desc field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p><em>US Rep.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/ro-khanna\"><strong>Ro Khanna<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing California&#8217;s 17th District. Follow him on Twitter:\u00a0<a class=\"ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoKhanna\"><span class=\"username u-dir\">@RoKhanna<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 23, 2018\u00a0by San Francisco Chronicle Today\u2019s leaders owe it to all those who have sacrificed for a fairer world to bring an end to the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth by\u00a0Ro Khanna The United Nations childrens agency said Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, that Yemen\u2019s economic crisis and the relentless&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/10\/24\/congress-must-end-u-s-military-aid-to-saudi-war-in-yemen\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10058"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10060,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10058\/revisions\/10060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}