In a fitting legacy for my friend Walter Jones, Jr. who passed away last week, the US House made history by voting in favor of H.J.Res. 37, a resolution “Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.” As George O’Neill wrote in the American Conservative magazine this week, the historic 248-177 victory for a bill demanding the end of the US participation in the nearly five year Saudi war of aggression “reflects how many hearts and minds were influenced by the late Congressman’s tireless efforts.”

Walter Jones did not care who controlled Congress. He was happy to join forces with any Member to end the senseless US global military empire, which sends thousands of young men and women off to patrol foreign borders, overthrow foreign governments, and needlessly put themselves at risk in missions that have nothing to do with the safety and security of the United States.

US participation in the Saudi war on Yemen is a classic example of the abuse of the US military that made Walter Jones most angry. When the Saudis decided in 2015 that they wanted their puppet to be Yemen’s president, they launched a brutal and inhuman war that many call the worst humanitarian disaster of our time. Millions face starvation as Saudi bombs and US sanctions combine to create a hell on earth that is unrelated in any way to US national security.

Why this ongoing support for Saudi death and destruction in Yemen? Washington’s neocons have successfully promoted the lie that the Saudi attack on Yemen is all about preventing Iran from gaining more strength in the Middle East. Ironically it was the neocon-backed US attack on Iraq in 2003 that provided the biggest boost for Iranian influence in the region. Now, after Iraq’s “liberation,” Baghdad’s ties to Tehran are closer than ever.

Meanwhile, who exactly are we supporting in Yemen? Even CNN, normally a big backer of US military actions overseas, has noticed something funny about US participation in the Saudi war on Yemen. As a CNN investigation found this month, “Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have transferred American-made weapons to al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen, in violation of their agreements with the United States.” Does that sound like we are on the side of the “good guys” in this battle? We are helping the Saudis arm al-Qaeda? Is this really a smart move?

So we should be encouraged that Walter Jones’ legacy is being honored in the House vote to end the US participation in the Yemen war. While US “humanitarian” aid is being used as a weapon for regime change in Venezuela, the warmongers in Washington have never lifted a finger to help those suffering from a real genocide in Yemen.

If the Yemen War Powers resolution passes the Senate, which is likely, Congress will have provoked the first veto from President Trump. Such a veto should not discourage us. Even the strongest army cannot stop an idea whose time has come. Ending senseless US wars is an idea whose time has come. We can thank Walter Jones for his role in making it so.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) just inked billions in deals to secure new weapons from top Pentagon contractor Raytheon a week after an Amnesty International investigation further implicated the Gulf nation in war crimes for transferring Western weapons to unaccountable militia groups, thereby deepening the humanitarian crisis and fueling carnage in war-ravaged Yemen.

“Emirati forces receive billions of dollars’ worth of arms from Western states and others, only to siphon them off to militias in Yemen that answer to no-one and are known to be committing war crimes.”
—Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty“The ongoing carnage against civilians in Yemen—including at the hands of the Saudi Arabia and UAE-led coalition and the militias it backs—should give serious pause to all states supplying arms,” said Patrick Wilcken, arms control and human rights researcher at Amnesty International. “Emirati forces receive billions of dollars’ worth of arms from Western states and others, only to siphon them off to militias in Yemen that answer to no-one and are known to be committing war crimes.”

The human rights group, which is calling for a stop to all arms transfers to the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition, also notes that the “the UAE has steered the ground offensive” in the conflict, which broke out in 2015 and has, by some estimates, killed over 60,000 Yemenis, uprooted millions, and left millions more on the brink of famine.

“American fingerprints are all over the air war in Yemen,” as the New York Timesrecently reported, noting the nation’s key arms sales and intelligence. But given the accusations of war crimes committed by all parties during the conflict, mounting civilian casualties, and devastated infrastructure, new legislation is hoping to halt U.S. support for the war. Raytheon International CEO John Harris, for his part, though, has brushed off criticism his industry is facing, telling CNBC this weekend, “we don’t make policy.”

Thus, the lucrative deals continue.

Agence France-Presse reported Monday:

The United Arab Emirates announced Monday it had signed deals worth more than $1.6 billion for the purchase of Patriot missile launchers from U.S. arms giant Raytheon, state media said.

The deals, inked on the second day of an international military exhibition in Abu Dhabi, come a day after the UAE announced it would buy $353 million worth of Patriot missiles from Raytheon.

Some $3.2 billion in deals have been signed between the oil-rich state and western companies at the expo, set to run through Thursday, state-run WAM news agency said.

The new Amnesty report, “When Arms Go Astray,” shed light on what happens to at least some of the weapons the UAE receives from its Western partners:

While China, the USA, the U.K., France, and other European states have rightly been criticized for supplying arms to Coalition forces, and Iran has been implicated in sending arms to the Huthis, a new threat is emerging.

As the ground war evolves, weapons are not only being used by UAE forces in Yemen, but are also being passed on to completely unaccountable Coalition-allied militias, some of whom stand accused of war crimes.

The report also references a previous  publication (pdf) revealing that the UAE is training Yemeni militias who are running “black sites” where “a range of shocking abuses” takes place.

Given the scope of abuses and breadth of the catastrophe, some U.S. lawmakers have tried to rein in U.S. involvement. In a positive development, the House voted last week to end U.S. military support for the coalition’s ongoing war in Yemen.

The resolution was introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who declared following the vote that “we are closer than ever to ending our complicity in this humanitarian catastrophe.”

Eyes are now on the Senate, which could vote on its version within 30 days.  Among the co-sponsors of that measure is Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who seized upon a recent CNN investigation showing that Saudis have reportedly provided U.S. weapons to al-Qaeda forces in Yemen to add urgency to the vote.

“This investigation needs to be a wake-up call,” he said. “Congress should immediately pass our bipartisan War Powers Resolution to get us out of the war in Yemen that has gone horribly wrong, and we must stop selling weapons to help Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to perpetuate this disastrous war.”

Yemen suffered over 52 thousand attacks including airstrikes, naval bombardment, and artillery operations from the Saudi-led coalition in 2018. According to the Yemeni Army spokesman, this figure includes an average of 50 airstrikes per day.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the new year, Yemeni Army spokesman and brigadier-general Yahya Saree broke down the various attacks his nation faced over the past 12 months.

Attacks Against Yemen in 2018

In 2018, Yemen suffered 52,249 offensive attacks of various kinds across different provinces. This figure includes

• 15,353 airstrikes
• 244 raids using internationally banned cluster munitions
• 74 armed UAV raids
• 11 sound bombs
• 494 missile attacks from naval vessels

According to brigadier-general Saree, the US-backed Saudi coalition against Yemen has targeted his country with over 100 thousand airstrikes since launching its war in 2015. Saree explained that his army would provide an exact statistic in the coming days.

However, Yemen also boasted several successful military advancements and operations over the course of 2018.

In March, Yemen’s Missle Force revealed a new domestically produced short-range ballistic missile system dubbed Badr 1. Seven months later, Yemeni forces unveiled the advanced Badr 1P: a short-range smart ballistic missile system with an accuracy of three meters.

However, some of the Yemeni military’s most crucial advancements were the long-range unmanned drone systems: al-Samad 2 and al-Samad 3, named after the late Yemeni President of the Supreme Political Council who was assassinated by the US-backed coalition. Upon its revelation, Yemen’s Air Force used the drone to strike a Saudi Aramco facility.

Using their traditional and advanced military technology, Yemen’s Army and Popular Committees were able to repel over 1000 offensive attempts from Saudi-backed mercenaries.

Yemen’s sniper unit also boasted major success last year. Special Forces managed to carry out over 7000 sniping operations on various fronts — particularly beyond enemy lines in the provinces of Najran, Asir, and Jizan. These operations killed over 6,600 Saudi-backed forces including high-ranking leaders.

US-backed Saudi Coalition Violates Ceasefire Agreement Over 800 Times

According to Army spokesman brigadier-general Saree, the US-backed Saudi coalition had violated the agreed ceasefire over 800 times at the time of his statement. Saree said these violations included over 450 missiles and 75 instances of hovering coalition warplanes.

Army spokesman brigadier-general Saree said that these daily offensive operations during the ceasefire make it clear that the US-backed Saudi-led coalition is not interested in achieving peace and more interested in taking control of Hodeidah port by any means necessary.

The Saudi coalition also dropped countless airstrikes. 38 of those airstrikes took place in a single day across various provinces while peace negotiations were underway in Sweden.

Airstrikes killed at least 15 civilians since the peace negotiations began in early December — including seven women and three children. Meanwhile, 28 sustained injuries, eight of whom were children as well as five women.

The United States along with other western powers have provided virtually unlimited support to the Saudi coalition against Yemen in the form of troops, training, weapons, aircraft, and refueling said aircraft along with intelligence and logistical support for selecting airstrike targets.

This, along with the fact that the Saudis routinely target civilians, makes the United States and its Western allies complicit in war crimes. One such crime involved the targeting of a school bus full of children with double-tap airstrikes using precision-guided smart missiles.