March, 13 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action, 951-217-7285 cell, pmartin@peace-action.org
Gabe Murphy, Peace Action, 510-501-3345 cell, gmurphy@peaceaction.org
Senate Votes Again for Ending U.S. Role in Yemen War
WASHINGTON
In response to the Senate passing S.J.Res. 7, legislation directing the president to withdraw U.S. support for the Saudi/UAE-led war in Yemen, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:
"This Senate vote moves us one step closer to ending U.S. support for the catastrophic war in Yemen, a war that makes America complicit in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. For nearly four years, U.S. support for the war in Yemen has embodied a side of American foreign policy that answers to foreign-backed lobbyists and arms industry profit motives before strategic and security interests and the Constitution. Congressional authority over war was designed to avoid the type of situation that's been unfolding in Yemen, where unauthorized U.S. military support began without public debate or scrutiny, and continues despite its deleterious impact on the people of Yemen and on U.S. national security interests. The Senate's vote to end the U.S. role in Yemen is also a vote to re-democratize our nation's foreign policy.
"High-level diplomats have confirmed that the work by Senators Lee (R-UT), Murphy (D-CT) and Sanders (I-VT) to force congressional votes to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition have positively impacted negotiations to end the war. Ending U.S. support will put even more pressure on Saudi Arabia and the UAE to change their tactics and finally negotiate an end to the war.
"Sadly, Republican leadership in Congress has used a series of procedural gimmicks to repeatedly delay congressional action to end the U.S. role in Yemen, condemning more innocent Yemenis to death as U.S. support continues to prolong the war. Most recently, Senate leadership was able to block a vote on similar legislation passed by the House in February because of an amendment included in the House version that was unrelated to the underlying resolution. Now that the new Senate has passed the resolution, the House needs to pass the same clean version of the resolution to finally send it to the president's desk."
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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The current situation in northern Gaza has been called "apocalyptic" by leading humanitarian groups in recent days, with women and children making up the majority of the hundreds of people killed, and Israel imposing a near-total blockade on humanitarian aid.
Now, said Catherine Russell, executive director of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), "the entire Palestinian population in North Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and the ongoing bombardments."
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