No Script

Please Wait...

Al-Ahed Telegram

Senators Ask US Saudi Support in Yemen

Senators Ask US Saudi Support in Yemen
folder_openUnited States access_time5 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

United States senators could soon vote on ending military support for the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and War Secretary Jim Mattis have been summoned to testify before senators Wednesday at a closed-door briefing.

The top administration officials will be grilled as Congress decides how far- if at all- the US should go in punishing longtime ally Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Much of the senators decision-making will depend on what they hear from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and War Jim Mattis in the closed briefing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was set Wednesday to defend America's increasingly controversial support for Riyadh in the war in neighboring Yemen, telling lawmakers the brutal conflict would only worsen without US involvement.

"The suffering in Yemen grieves me, but if the United States of America was not involved in Yemen, it would be a hell of a lot worse," Pompeo was to say, according to prepared remarks from the briefing.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists “some kind of response” is demanded from the US over the gulf state’s role in Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd.

Recently, CIA reports confirmed suspicions that the Saudi crown prince was likely involved in the murder, although Trump has repeatedly denied the intelligence agency's credibility.

“What obviously happened, as basically certified by the CIA, is completely abhorrent to everything the United States holds dear and stands for in the world,” McConnell said Tuesday. “We’re discussing what the appropriate response would be.”

US support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen, where Saudi aggression has ravaged the country and led to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history, will be on the line for possible cuts as senators mull punishment options.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments