Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: A senior European Union official hinted that 'Israel' would be held accountable for violating international law in Gaza
Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida: The losses incurred by the occupation today in Khan Younis and Jabalia are an extension of a series of top-tier operations
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: The invading Israeli force is digging a trench and erecting earthen berms, amid detected activity suggesting preparations to install espionage equipment
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli force breaches the "technical fence" in the Wazzani area
Israeli media: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Government Media Office: Starved citizens are tempted to head to American-Israeli centers and then are deliberately shot
Gaza Government Media Office: The toll at US-Israeli aid distribution centers is as follows: 110 martyred, 583 wounded, and 9 missing
Gaza Government Media Office: 8 starved civilians were killed and 61 others were injured by the gunfire of Israeli occupation forces and an American security company in Rafah
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Three martyrs, injured in Israeli drone strike on phone charging station west of Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Four martyrs, dozens of injured as IOF open fire on civilians near GHF facility west of Rafah, southern Gaza.

Can Congress end US involvement in Yemen's war as WH strives to rekindle relations with Saudi Arabia?

  • Naseh Shaker Naseh Shaker
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 10 Jun 2022 16:25
  • 15 Shares
9 Min Read

Congress has introduced a bill invoking War Powers Resolution amid skepticism it will be passed as a previous attempt was vetoed by Trump.

  • x
  • Can Congress end US involvement in Yemen's war as WH strives to rekindle relations with Saudi Arabia?
    Can Congress end US involvement in Yemen's war as WH strives to rekindle relations with Saudi Arabia?

Ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia in a push to lower oil prices, a bipartisan group of nearly 50 members of Congress has introduced a legislation on June 1 to invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution (WPR) to end unauthorized US military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s brutal war in Yemen. 

In early 2019, majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate for the first time in history invoked the WPR to end US involvement in the Yemen war, but Saudi Arabia relied on former President Donald Trump’s veto.

This time, some Yemenis are so skeptical of this move and don't think the resolution is going to pass after they saw Sen. Chris Murphy -who was one of those who led the resolution to invoke WPR in 2019-  voting in favor of a $650 million missile sale to Saudi Arabia in December.

"Yemen should not trust Biden. He still supports the Saudis, provides them weapons and little opposition to their war in Yemen," J Michael Springmann, former US diplomat to Saudi Arabia, told Al Mayadeen English. 

"Biden to my knowledge still sends American commandos into Yemen and likely gives the Kingdom intelligence assistance even though that has supposedly stopped," he added.

This year, the resolution is led in the House of Representatives by Peter DeFazio, Pramila Jayapal, Nancy Mace, and Adam Schiff. A companion version will be introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, in the Senate when the upper chamber reconvenes.

It is reported that this new resolution would put an end to US military participation in offensive air strikes that are operationally essential to the Saudi-led military aggression against Yemen since March 2015.

This resolution has the endorsement of more than 100 organizations, which are urging members of Congress this week to support it. “This is more essential than ever to maintain momentum for the fragile two-month truce and to prevent backsliding by blocking US support for any renewed hostilities,” their letter, shared with The Intercept, says.

US-Saudi relations

On June 6, the White House defended US President Joe Biden plan to visit Saudi Arabia despite US intelligence confirming crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) had ordered the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“This trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia — when it comes — would be in the context of significant deliverables for the American people in the Middle East region,” Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary, told reporters.

“If he determines that it’s in the interest of the United States to engage with a foreign leader and that such an engagement can deliver results, then he’ll do so,” Jean-Pierre added.

A two-month truce between Ansar Allah and the Saudi coalition, which went into force on April 2nd, has been extended on June 2nd for another two months. It will expire on the 2nd of August. 

Biden welcomed the extension of the truce in a statement. "The parties to the conflict have now extended this truce for another two months, and it’s important that we work from here to make it permanent."

"Ending the war in Yemen has been a priority of my administration," Biden said. "Our diplomacy will not rest until a permanent settlement is in place." 

However, Biden stressed that as he continues to support diplomacy "to de-escalate tensions" in the Middle East, he said the US "is also focused intensively on deterring threats to our friends and partners.  Our friends can rely on the United States as the security partner of choice."

"[Biden] doesn't really care about the Yemeni people," US retired Lt. Col. Bill Astore, ex-professor of history at the US Air Force Academy (USAF) told Al Mayadeen English. "He cares about maintaining good relations with the Saudis."

"US-Saudi relations are governed by the American need to keep oil flowing & use of the Kingdom as a stabilizing (!) force in the region," said Springmann, pointing out that the US fears "democratic movements in the region as well as those governments which may not toe the US political line."

The Washington Post has published a joint analysis that reveals "for the first time that the United States supported the majority of air force squadrons involved in the Saudi coalition’s years-old air campaign."

Related News

News from Nowhere: The death of trust

What the deep strike on Russia reveals about NATO strategy and Trump’s diplomatic deadlock

In response to the Post's accusations of possible war crimes committed in Yemen using US weapons, Army Maj. Rob Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman said “America’s alliances and partnerships are our greatest asset, and so we are committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our key partners in the Middle East."

Also, State Department spokesman Ned Price told The Post that “Both [Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates] face significant threat to their territories,” noting that the Ansar Allah national resistance movement had launched hundreds of cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia in just the last year. “We are committed to continuing to strengthen those countries’ defenses,” Price said.

Springmann told Al Mayadeen English that "All Biden has to do is order the withdrawal of US forces in Yemen & end arms deals to the Saudis."

"Congress doesn’t need to be involved [in ending US involvement in the Yemen war].  Blocking Saudi travel to the US & refusal to send them spare military parts and ending trade with the Kingdom would end the war," Springmann added.

"Yemen war forgotten"

Scott Bennett, former State Department Counterterrorism Analyst and US Army Psychological Warfare Officer, said "none of Joe Biden’s attention is fixed on Yemen, nor is he willing to intervene against the Saudi Arabian Kingdom, out of fear that it will further drive Saudi Arabia into closer relations with Russia."

Asked if invoking the War Powers Resolution is an attempt from Democrats to cover Biden's scandal of not ending the war in Yemen as promised, Bennett said "the War Powers Resolution is the beginning of a power grab by democrats who are anticipating a severe loss in the mid-term elections."

"Therefore the Democrats are actively planning ways to initiate a Martial Law type takeover of the American election most likely using 'domestic terrorism' as an excuse," Bennett told Al Mayadeen English. "Essentially Yemen’s war has been forgotten by the Biden regime, out of political calculations that Saudi Arabia will further abandon the US dollar if Biden antagonizes them."

Bennett added that the US is "responsible for a large degree of the abuses and war crimes that Saudi Arabia has initiated against Yemen, and indeed an international criminal case would be warranted."

"The US has provided drone surveillance, targeting, training of pilots, and of course weapons to the Saudi Arabians in their genocide against the Yemeni people," noted Bennett.

'US won't sanction KSA for aggression against Yemen'

According to the latest report by the New York Times citing a US Government Accountability Office report, it stated that the State Department and the Defense Department "have failed to assess civilian casualties caused by a Saudi-led coalition in the catastrophic war in Yemen and the use of American-made weapons in the killings." 

The report that has not been released publicly,  focused on the Saudi alliance deadly strikes in Yemen carried out "using combat jets and munitions that have been supplied and maintained largely by American companies with the approval of the State Department and the Pentagon," according to the NYT.

"The US government refuses to take responsibility for its own war crimes, so it certainly isn't going to admit to responsibility or culpability for Saudi crimes," retired Lt. Col. Bill Astore, ex-professor of history at the US Air Force Academy told Al Mayadeen English in an email interview.

The Saudi coalition started to bomb Yemen in March 26 while Biden was vice president of Barak Obama. The US backed the Saudi war with all military and political support and used its media to cover up atrocities against civilians in Yemen.

According to Springmann, The War Powers Resolution/Act was designed to stop presidential misadventures by requiring the president to consult with Congress before committing American forces to combat. 

"If the president does, he must consult with Congress within 48 hours. He then has 60 days to end the conflict and remove the soldiers," Springmann told Al Mayadeen English in a Skype interview.

"In the past, Congress has not opposed violations of the Resolution. Or if it has, it has failed. I see little chance of Congress demanding that Biden get out of Yemen & end support of any kind for the Saudis," added Springmann. 

There are too many weapons makers scattered throughout congressional districts bringing jobs & political contributions, said Springmann.

"Moreover, the US media reports that the Ansar Allah are rebels backed by extremist Iran. The same media support Biden’s proxy war with Russia using the Ukraine," Springmann noted.

In time the US is sanctioning Russia for the war in Ukraine, the US is supporting fully Saudi aggression against Yemen.

"The US is sanctioning Russia because America wants to destroy Russia politically, economically, militarily & culturally," Springmann told Al Mayadeen English. 

"The US won’t do this to the Saudis because it wants their support on the peninsula working with Israel & the GCC to 'keep order' and block Iranian influence. This includes Saudi help with dismembering Syria & keeping Iraq weak & divided," Springmann added.

"The US sees Russia as a rival and an enemy.  The US sees Saudi Arabia as an ally and a friend," said US retired Lt. Col. Astore. "Put differently, the US economy owes much to the petrodollar and the Saudi appetite for expensive American-made weaponry."

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • Congress
  • Saudi Aggression on Yemen
  • Sanaa
  • Washington
  • Mohammed Bin Salman
  • Yemen
  • Saudi Arabia
  • white house
  • MBS
Naseh Shaker

Naseh Shaker

Journalist based in Sana'a, Yemen

Most Read

All
It may well be due to the longstanding relationship between MI6 and HTS, via Inter Mediate, that Britain was the first Western country to recognise their assumption of government in Syria. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

  • Opinion
  • 31 May 2025
The two countries need to sit down and resolve the crisis with maturity, to consider carefully that they could be being manipulated to be easily dominated. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Algeria and Mali, divided and almost conquered

  • Opinion
  • 25 May 2025
Trump and Biden both pretended to be fighting Netanyahu

Trump and Biden both pretended to be fighting Netanyahu

  • Analysis
  • 28 May 2025
Eurovision: NATO Psychological Warfare Tool

Eurovision: NATO Psychological Warfare Tool

  • Analysis
  • 24 May 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

More from this writer

All
Yemen's largest hospital resumes kidney transplant operations after years of suspension

Yemen's largest hospital resumes kidney transplant operations after years of suspension

Death of 10 leukemia-stricken children put spotlight on US-Saudi blockade on Yemen

Death of 10 leukemia-stricken children put the spotlight on US-Saudi blockade on Yemen

Remembering deadly funeral hall bombing in Yemen

Remembering the deadly funeral hall bombing in Yemen

Yemen's armed forces give oil companies ultimatum after truce ends without extension

Yemen's armed forces give oil companies ultimatum after truce ends without extension

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS