OMNI YEMEN WATCH #3, FEBRUARY 3, 2024

OMNI

YEMEN WATCH #3, FEBRUARY 3, 2024

Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology

http://omnicenter.org/donate/

What’s at Stake: The most heinous crime is by those who perpetrate a war followed closely by those who do not try to stop it.  This Anthology of essays opposes the US/Saudi invasion of Yemen and any historical model that sustains and deepens US warmaking sciolism.(What’s at stake in regard to technology:  Smart phone reading requires brief texts and prioritizes snippets, when the subject of this anthology requires analysis.  Substantial texts make it impossible to employ small, hand-held screens.).

CONTENTS

Code Pink.  “Yemen Explained.”

Johnstone.  Biden’s “absurd justification.”

Olluri.  Yemeni “Peace Process Sham.”

Abt.  “Double Standards.”
DeCamp.  Yemen War Powers Resolution. 
Conley. “Thousands of Children Killed by Saudi/US coalition. . . .”
UN Brief.  Expand Yemen Truce.
Kelly.  “No Starvation for Oil.”
Frame.  Missiles to Saudi Arabia, Biden Breaks Promise.
Prashad.  Nightmare War.
Baron and Evans-Frantz.  Grassroots Pressure Biden.
UN Wire.  “…Child Malnutrition in Yemen.”     “Airstrike in Yemen….”

NADG.  “Drone Strikes Set Fire to Saudi Arabian oil Hub.”
Prashad.  “How Can Sweden Be a Peace Broker….?”

UN Wire.  US, UK, France Complicit in “Yemen War Crimes.”
Just Foreign Policy.  “…Bernie and Avaaz on Ending the Yemen War!”

TEXTS

While the US & Israel flagrantly violate the UN Genocide Convention to commit mass murder and starve 2.3 million people in Gaza, the Ansar Alla movement in Yemen blockades Red Sea shipments to Israel to uphold its treaty obligation to prevent further genocide.   For this, the Biden administration–in an illegal circumvention of Congress-has bombed over 60 targets in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, sending two aircraft carrier battle groups, guided missile destroyers, submarines and warplanes to the region.

Despite the US strikes, Yemenis say the blockade will continue in solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

Join CODEPINK Congress for Yemen Explained as we learn about Yemen, one of the most impoverished countries in the world under constant US assault.  Chat with peacemakers and experts Tuesday, February 6 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET:

Shireen Al-Adeimi is an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University. Since 2015, she has played an active role in raising awareness about the Saudi-led war on her country of birth, Yemen, and works to encourage political action to end U.S. support. She is a non-resident fellow at Quincy Institute.
Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation. Dr. Jumaan earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC., her Masters in Public Health from Emory University, Atlanta, GA, and her BA in Biology from Mills College, Oakland, CA. Dr Jumaan has over 30 years of experience in public health, including work in Yemen with UN agencies.

RSVP now!

“The Biden administration’s absurd justification for its Yemen war.”  Caitlin A. Johnstone.  Mronline.org (1-28-24).

By Caitlin A. Johnstone (Posted Jan 27, 2024)

Originally published: Caitlin A Johnstone Blog  on January 22, 2024 (more by Caitlin A Johnstone Blog)  | 

Imperialism, Inequality, State Repression, WarAmericas, Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, United States, YemenNewswire“Operation Poseidon Archer”, Biden administration, President Joe Biden

On Monday the U.S. launched its eighth wave of airstrikes in its new war against Yemeni forces, which it has now formally titled “Operation Poseidon Archer”. The strikes are aimed at breaking a Red Sea shipping blockade which the de facto authorities in Yemen have implemented to pressure Israel and its allies into ceasing the genocidal onslaught in Gaza.

Andi Olluri.  “The Yemeni ‘Peace Process’ is a Sham Though You Wouldn’t Know That From Watching U.S. News or Reading Foreign Affairs.”  CovertAction Magazine (4-17-23). 

Media and intellectual elites continue to add spin to dignify a criminal war of aggression that has resulted in unconscionable suffering among the Yemeni people.     READ MORE →

US HUMAN RIGHTS DOUBLE STANDARDS

Felix Abt.  Yemen War Continues Beyond Media Spotlight.

CovertAction on Jan 11, 2023 04:17 pm
 

The Washington Post even gives positive spin by suggesting that the war has improved gender equality in devastated country.

“An unexpected result of Yemen’s war: More men are cooking and cleaning,” The Washington Post reported in 2016 on the social and cultural impact of the war in Yemen. The seemingly good side of this U.S.-sponsored genocide: gender equality!

The fact that Yemeni men, provided they have not yet been blown to pieces by American and European bombs, are taking the housework off their wives should please German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who pursues a “feminist foreign policy.”

Like her good acquaintance, billionaire speculator George Soros, she vehemently advocates human rights and democracy in all those countries that do not want to submit to American “security interests.” The lack of democracy and the serious human rights violations in Ukraine, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which are part of the U.S. sphere of influence, are therefore not part of their vigorous moral offensive.

Surprisingly, on December 16, 2022, U.S. mainstream media outlet MSNBC reported rather lonely from the dreary, uniform Western media desert: “Few people noticed, but the United States Senate came very close to ending America’s complicity in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen earlier this week. But the very same person who had vowed to end that war intervened and stopped the Senate from taking action—President Joe Biden. . . .”   Read in browser »

Dave DeCamp.  “Sanders withdraws Yemen War Powers Resolution vote over Biden opposition.”  Editor.   Mronline.org (12-17-22). 

Antiwar.com  (December 13, 2022).  (Posted Dec 16, 2022).

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Tuesday night withdrew his request to vote on the Yemen War Powers Resolution that would end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war and blockade on Yemen, citing White House opposition to the bill.

Sanders said on the Senate floor that he was informed ahead of the scheduled vote of the administration’s opposition to the legislation, meaning President Biden would veto the resolution. The Intercept reported earlier in the day that The White House was pressuring senators to vote against the bill, and Democrats came out in opposition to Sanders’ resolution earlier on Tuesday, including Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA).

Sanders’ justification for not holding the vote was that the administration claimed it would work with Congress on ending the war in Yemen. He said the White House wanted to “work with us on crafting language that would be mutually acceptable” and insisted if that didn’t happen, he would resume his efforts to end the war through a resolution.

But even if the White House really wants to engage with Congress on the issue, or if Sanders chooses to reintroduce the resolution, the plan will take time, which Yemenis don’t have. There has been a cessation in violence in Yemen, with no Saudi airstrikes since March, but there has been a recent uptick in fighting on the ground.

A ceasefire expired in October, and without a real peace deal, the war could flare up again at any time. The resolution could have ended U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition, including maintenance of its warplanes, which would effectively ground the Saudi air force. Even if Biden vetoed the resolution, its passage through Congress would have sent a message to the White House and Riyadh to work faster on a real end to the war.

While Democrats started to fold in their support for the resolution, Republican Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) both came out in favor of the legislation. In the House, a version of the resolution was also introduced that has gained 118 cosponsors, including 10 Republicans.

The U.S. first intervened to back the Saudi/UAE-led coalition in Yemen against the Houthis in 2015. A few months earlier, the Obama administration was sharing intelligence with the Houthis as part of the effort against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. After the Obama administration switched sides against the Houthis, the U.S.-backed coalition recruited al-Qaeda fighters, and U.S. arms ended up in the hands of the terror group.

According to UN estimates, by the end of 2021, at least 377,000 people had been killed in the war. MORE

Julia Conley. “UN Report Shows 11,000 Children Killed Or Maimed In This US-Backed War.” Thousands of children have been killed by Saudi/US coalition, hundreds of thousands more remain at risk from preventable causes.  Common Dreams. Popular Resistance.org (12-15-22).  After launching an urgent appeal for humanitarian aid for children in war-torn Yemen, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund on Monday released a report showing that more than 11,000 young people have been killed or injured in the U.S.-backed conflict, where a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out attacks since 2015. The true death toll of children is likely far higher, said the agency, commonly known as UNICEF, as millions face hunger and disease. "Thousands of children have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands more remain at risk of death from preventable... -more-

“Envoy pushes to expand Yemen truce as crisis escalates.”UN GLOBAL AFFAIRS, SMART BRIEF.  August 17, 2022. 

Hans Grundberg, United Nations envoy for Yemen, says he is ramping up efforts to expand a truce that has brought relative calm to the country since April 2, while Ghada Mudawi, acting director of operations and advocacy with the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, warns that civilian deaths and alarming economic conditions still persist. This week, UNICEF reported the number of displaced people in the country had reached 4.3 million,nearly half of whom are children.

 Full Story: The Associated Press (8/16),  Middle East Monitor (London) (8/15) 

Kathy Kelly.  “No Starvation for Oil.”   The Progressive Magazine.  TRANSCEND Media Service.  11 Jul 2022.  As President Joe Biden embarks on his trip to the Middle East, those of us back home must acknowledge the suffering the United States has caused in places like Yemen.    Read more...

[BREAKING: U.S. to sell Saudi Arabia 280 Raytheon missiles.  Biden breaks his promise, Bernie and Ro try to stop the sale.  –Dick]

Amy Frame.  Win Without War.  Nov 6, 2021.
Dick: UNICEF recently reported a grim milestone in Yemen: 10,000 children have been killed or maimed as a result of the Saudi and Emirati-led war.   And yet President Biden — who ran on a commitment to END U.S. complicity in Yemen — just announced a $650 MILLION dollar sale of Raytheon-made missiles to Saudi Arabia. With this sale, Biden is breaking his promise to us and doing the exact OPPOSITE of what the UN and other experts tell us would avoid further devastation: fueling this war with more weapons.

For over *six* years now, the United States has given the green light to human rights abuses and suffering in Yemen by fueling fighter jets, providing intelligence and logistical support, and approving arms sales just like this one. 

Luckily, there’s a silver lining that can help us turn the tide. Rep. Ro Khanna and Senator Bernie Sanders have introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would​​ prohibit U.S. military support for the coalition’s war. It already passed the House and when the final NDAA makes it to President Biden, he’s all but guaranteed to sign it. That means just ONE thing is between us and the beginning of the end of U.S. complicity in Yemen: the Senate. And we’re hearing that they’ll vote in the coming days — leaving a tiny but critical window for us to ensure the Khanna-Sanders amendment makes it into the final bill that lands on President Biden’s desk. It’ll be an uphill battle, and we need you with us. 
We REFUSE to let hawks in the Senate blow up a bipartisan effort to end U.S. complicity in Yemen when we are so close. A donation of $15 ensures we have the cash on hand that we need to keep the lights on and the pressure up. Not everyone reading will give, and if you can, please consider donating now.

Vijay Prashad.  “Being a child in Yemen is the stuff of nightmares.” The Forty-Third Newsletter (2021).  . Mronline.org (10-30-21)

Originally published: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research  on October 28, 2021 (more by Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research)  | 

Culture, Human Rights, Inequality, WarYemenNewswireTricontinental Newsletter

Dear friends,
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates–along with other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)–began to bomb Yemen. These countries entered a conflict that had been ongoing for at least a year as a civil war escalated between the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the Ansar Allah movement of the Zaidi Shia, and al-Qaeda. The GCC–led by the Saudi monarchy–wanted to prevent any Shia political project, whether aligned with Iran or not, from taking power along Saudi Arabia’s border. The attack on Yemen can be described, therefore, as an attack by the Sunni monarchs against the possibility of what they feared would be a Shia political project coming to power on the Arabian Peninsula. . . .

Brian Garvey  “Ending the War in Yemen Means Overcoming Political Cowardice. “  CovertAction Magazine.  Jun 28, 2021.    

UN World Food Program says that “400,000 children may die in Yemen this year without urgent intervention”
The struggle to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen has run into another obstacle. This time it’s partisanship. But it isn’t Republican opposition blocking Joe Biden’s promise to end U.S. participation in the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. It’s the president’s own hesitancy to keep his word paired with the unwillingness of Democrats in Congress to cross a president from their own party. […]

Ellie Baron and Isaac Evans-Frantz.   “War in Yemen: Grassroots Mobilization Pressured Biden Administration to Pledge End of U.S. Involvement.”  Covert Action Magazine.  Mar 26, 2021.   Grassroots mobilization has led the Biden administration to pledge to end the war in Yemen; further activism is needed to make him follow through on his promise and to pressure Saudi Arabia to end its blockade. 
Six years ago, in the early hours of March 26, 2015, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States began a bombing campaign in Yemen...

The post War in Yemen: Grassroots Mobilization Pressured Biden Administration to Pledge End of U.S. Involvement appeared first on CovertAction Magazine.

UN WIRE (10-28-20)

OCHA sounds alarm over child malnutrition in Yemen

Approximately 98,000 children in Yemen are facing life-threatening malnutrition and over 500,000 more are seriously malnourished, a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says. "If the war doesn't end now, we are nearing an irreversible situation and risk losing an entire generation of Yemen's young children," says UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande.    Full Story: Reuters (10/27) 

Airstrike in Yemen leaves 9 children dead, more wounded.  UN WIRE (8-10-20)

Another round of airstrikes in Yemen left as many as nine children dead and wounded seven children and two women, the United Nations reports. The attack is the third in a month with a significant number of child casualties.

 Full Story: Deccan Herald (India)/The Associated Press (8/8) 

Drone strikes set fire to Saudi oil hub, field.  NADG (9-15-19).

https://www.arkansasonline.com › news › sep › drone-strikes-set-fire-to-sa...

15 hours ago - Drone attacks claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, ...

PEACEKEEPING AND SECURITY  UN Wire (9-4-19)

Report cites US, UK, France for complicity in Yemen war crimes

Efforts by the US, the United Kingdom and France to arm and support a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen could make those countries complicit in war crimes since the coalition has used civilian starvation as a tactic of war, according to a report by a panel of United Nations experts. Investigators have compiled a list of potential war criminals on both sides of the conflict.  The Guardian (London) (9/3),  Reuters (9/3) 

“Good news from Bernie & Avaaz on ending the Yemen war!”  Just Foreign Policy info@justforeignpolicy.org via mail.salsalabs.net 

9-2-19  Spread some good news about ending the Yemen war. 
Dear Dick,

In deference to the Labor Day holiday, I’m only going to share good news with you today about our campaign to end the Yemen war on the Pentagon contractor funding bill [the so-called “National Defense Authorization Act,” or “NDAA”.]

First of all, the campaign group Avaaz – which claims 51 million members worldwide – sent out a call alert targeting Democratic leaders Jack Reed, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Smith, demanding that ALL amendments to end the Yemen war that passed the House are included in the “veto proof” NDAA that is sent to Trump, ending Saudi-UAE arms deals AND getting the Pentagon out of unconstitutional direct participation in the war – a reference to the Smith-Khanna-Schiff-Jayapal Yemen War Powers Amendment. 

Second: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – which is very influential among Congressional Republicans - sent a letter Friday to Inhofe, Reed, Smith, and Thornberry on the NDAA conference negotiations, urging them to "reject partisan provisions that would reduce the ability of the Department of Defense to support U.S. national security interests while remaining competitive at home and abroad." The good news for ending the Yemen war on NDAA is that the Chamber letter did NOT mention the House-passed amendments to end the Yemen war, thereby conceding that the House-passed amendments to end the Yemen war are NOT  “partisan provisions that would reduce the ability of the Department of Defense to support U.S. national security interests while remaining competitive at home and abroad."

Third: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, sponsor of the Sanders-Lee-Murphy Yemen War Powers Resolution to end the war that Congress passed with every Democrat in Congress voting yes, tweeted: 

“U.S. bombs, logistical support, and intelligence for the Saudi dictatorship's airstrikes make us complicit in this nightmare. Congress has declared this war unconstitutional. We must now stand up to Trump and defund all U.S. involvement in these horrors.” 

It could be claimed that I just reneged on the “only good news” promise because Bernie’s tweet references an AP article in the New York Times about the latest spectacular Saudi regime atrocity in Yemen. But here’s the Viktor Frankl half-full way of looking at it: these U.S.-backed Saudi regime atrocities in Yemen have been commonplace since Obama & Biden unconstitutionally started the war in March 2015. If we prevail in ending the Saudi regime’s war in Yemen on NDAA, this could be the last such U.S.-backed Saudi regime atrocity in Yemen. 

Here’s four easy things you can do to help: 

1. Share Bernie’s tweet.  2. Vote in the poll.   3. Share this post. 

4. Urge Nancy Pelosi to end the Yemen war on NDAA by signing our petition at MoveOn. [Instead, contact Bernie and or any compassionate politician.  –D]
Thanks for all you do to help U.S. foreign policy become more just,

Robert Naiman,  \Just Foreign Policy  If you think our work is important, please make a donation to support it. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate

OMNI YEMEN WATCH #1, November 18, 2018  https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2018/11/yemen-watch-omni-center.html https://omnicenter.org/donate/ 
TABLE of CONTENTS
Introduction
The anthology is arranged in 2 Parts with 4 Topics
Part I Forces of Aggression
   Saudi/US War Against Yemen
   US Mainstream Media in support
Part II Opposition to the Invasion
   Resistance to the War
   Is Our Policy Changing?

OMNI YEMEN WATCH #2, MAY 25, 2019

https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2019/08/yemen-newsletter-may-25-2019.html

Contents

War Makers: War Profiteers, Kane

Related:

    Stop War with Iran, Chomsky

War Power USA Gov: Congress v. Executive, Miles, WWW

Bernie Sanders v. Trump’s Yemen Veto

[What can you do?]

MSNBC Underreports Yemen War

Examples of Public Struggle to End the War

     Genocide Scholars, Sam Totten

     WWW and Letters to Congress

Revelation 3:16: