Biden Must End US Support for Saudi Arabia’s War in Yemen

By scng.com Editorial Board

President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to end United States involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. He should follow through on that promise.

In doing so, he would be undoing one of the biggest foreign policy blunders and human rights catastrophes backed by President Barack Obama and perpetuated by President Donald Trump.

Since Saudi Arabia intervened in an already messy civil war in Yemen in 2015, the US has provided logistical and intelligence support, as well as selling arms to Saudi Arabia. This has gone on despite Saudi Arabia’s extensive track record of bombing civilian targets in Yemen, including hospitals and schools. By aiding Saudi Arabia, the United States is complicit in the senseless killing of innocent people.

In 2016, the Saudi-led coalition bombed a funeral in Yemen, killing over 100 people and injuring hundreds more. In 2018, a US-made bomb was dropped on a school bus in Yemen, killing 40 children. Famine and a cholera outbreak have only furthered the suffering of the people of Yemen.

For his part, Donald Trump has enthusiastically supported the Saudis, vetoing efforts by Congress to end US involvement.

In championing one arms deal in 2018, Trump said, “It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development and much additional wealth for the United States.”

Yes, Donald Trump has been more than happy to contribute to the death and suffering of Yemenis if it means enriching weapons companies.

Just this last week, the Trump administration approved the $290 million sale of more weapons to the Saudis.

Yes, while the nation continues to grapple with rising COVID deaths and should be focusing on vaccine distribution, Trump made sure to support Saudi atrocities in Yemen.

While both Obama and Trump own the tragedy in Yemen, Biden has an opportunity to change course.

“I would make it very clear we were not going to, in fact, sell more weapons to them, we were going to … make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are,” he said in a Democratic debate. We urge him to follow through on these words and swiftly end US support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.