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Senate vote ‘signals US support for Yemen war effort’
[ARABNEWS] A US Senate vote against a resolution on Yemen’s civil war signaled that Washington would continue to back Arab coalition military operations there, former US officials told Arab News on Wednesday.On Tuesday, the Senate voted 55-44 to drop the resolution, which was aimed at halting US support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, saying that such backing was not authorized by Congress and had led to widespread suffering. According to the former officials, the vote signaled that politicians are worried about Yemeni civilian deaths, but that Riyadh can expect continued US support with targeting and the midair refueling of its warplanes in Yemen. "I don’t think the congressional action will change the degree of America’s involvement, if only because (US Defense Secretary) Jim Mattis will convince them in private not to," Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon official, told Arab News. "Ongoing resolutions such as this cannot entirely be ignored, and given the Crown prince’s inclination (to ultimately extricate Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... from the war), this is just another push in the same direction." Nabeel Khoury, an Atlantic Council scholar and former State Department official, said the vote indicated concern among politicians about the war, but not that Congress was "forcing the hand of the administration" to halt military support in Yemen. But politicians were likely to continue raising the issue and have indicated a "strong expression of sympathy with Yemen  ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...and concern over the US involvement in that war," Khoury said. The vote came on the same day that US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...  Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....at the White House for talks about the Iran-backed Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... rebels fighting in Yemen and other regional security threats. A White House statement said they "discussed the threat the Houthis pose to the region, assisted by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps." They also addressed the humanitarian crisis and the need for a political solution. Posted by: Fred 2018-03-22 |
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