Sanders to push bill blocking US support for Saudi war on Yemen
4 Min Read
Senator Bernie Sanders put forward a resolution on the US' backing of the Saudi-led coalition's war on Yemen, aiming to pass a War Powers Act.
-
US Senator Bernie Sanders speaks as he joins a protest with transport workers in London, Britain August 31, 2022 (Reuters)
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders will be putting forward a resolution to block the United States from supporting the Saudi-led coalition of aggression's war on Yemen, the Congressman told The Intercept on Monday.
The move comes as supporters of the War Powers Act, a 1973 resolution that limits a US president's ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad, argue that such a resolution passing the Senate floor as the body is a month away from having a third of its members replaced would be the equivalent of Washington informing Riyadh that it does not support it in any bid to start an escalation with its southern neighbors.
Back in April, Saudi Arabia reached an armistice agreement with Yemen, and the deal has been extended several times. Though the agreement has expired, the two parties maintained the existing peace between them. Capitol Hill is hoping to let its allies know that they may not attack Yemen.
This also comes as relations have turned sour between Saudi Arabia and the United States after the former rebuffed requests from Washington about an increase in its oil production after OPEC+ saw the kingdom, among other nations, vastly reducing their oil production.
The War Powers Act is a resolution that is classified as "privileged" in the Senate, meaning that whoever wants it enacted - in this case the sponsor is Senator Bernie Sanders - can bring it to the Senate floor without the need for it to be approved by upper house's leadership once a certain amount of time passes. Enough time has now passed for Sanders' resolution.
Sanders also told The Intercept that he believes he has enough votes for the resolution to pass the Senate floor and be sent to the House of Representatives. A bipartisan 2019 version of this Act was passed in 2019, though it was vetoed by then-President Donald Trump.
The bill, before being finalized, received the support of Senators Bob Menendez, the chair fo the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, and Lisa Murkowski, though they noted that they hadn't seen a draft of the latest version of the bill and that they would not guarantee voting in support of it if Sanders brings it to the Senate floor.
Menendez has previously called for the United States to stop pumping money and arms into the Saudi-led war on Yemen. Not just that; he stressed that his country should be halting all aspects of cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including security cooperation, beyond what was necessary to protect US interests.
The oil production cut, as well as Saudi Arabia's refusal to stand by Washington when it comes to the Ukraine war, has pushed several Biden administration officials to censure Riyadh - and even threaten it.
US President Joe Biden threatened Saudi Arabia with "consequences" after a coalition led by Riyadh agreed with Russia to cut output, saying he was "not going to get into what I'd consider and what I have in mind. But there will be - there will be consequences."
Biden would not specify which choices were being evaluated, although the White House had previously stated that Biden was reassessing connections between allies.
"I think the president's been very clear that this is a relationship that we need to continue to re-evaluate, that we need to be willing to revisit," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
Since Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite threatening to make the Kingdom an international "pariah" following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the OPEC move was generally viewed as a diplomatic slap in the face.
"The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend US personnel and interests," Menendez said previously.
"As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not greenlight any cooperation with Riyadh until the kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine."
The house will be holding a vote on the issue on Tuesday, with outgoing Representative Peter DeFazio as the bill's sponsor, though it needs the support of Representative Jim McGovern to get through the Rules Committee. However, McGovern is a co-sponsor, as well as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff.
