The Bloomberg editors comment on the U.N.-sponsored talks on Yemen that have begun in Geneva this week. Here they address the U.S. role in the war:

Does America want to be complicit in a humanitarian disaster that has endangered its own citizens in Yemen and abetted al-Qaeda? On the other hand, can the U.S. afford to further alienate Gulf allies already skittish about the prospect of a nuclear deal with Iran? Its best course is to more firmly remind its Gulf allies that they can’t sustain their air sorties without U.S. help and that such assistance rests on advancing their shared interests — especially the fight against al-Qaeda — not on killing more innocent Yemenis.

If anything should have made clear that the Saudis and the other coalition members don’t care about advancing shared interests, it has been the last two months of their bombing and starving Yemen. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been the main and probably the only beneficiary in all of this, but the Saudi-led coalition isn’t concerned about that. Just as the Saudis and other Gulf states decided some time ago that they would support Islamist and jihadist groups to fight Assad, their priority in attacking Yemen is to pummel the Houthis even if that means that AQAP reaps the rewards. The U.S. is helping these clients to wreck Yemen while they actively undermine U.S. security interests. Choosing to stop helping them do this shouldn’t be difficult for the administration, but it evidently decided months ago that it was more important to placate and enable reckless clients. The U.S. already is complicit in a humanitarian disaster in Yemen, and it will continue to be as long as it provides support to the Saudi war effort. The administration’s position seems to be the same as it was when the bombing began in March.

We can hope that the Geneva talks at least produce a longer cease-fire than the last very brief “pause,” but I wouldn’t expect it. The Secretary General has suggested arranging for the cease-fire to coincide with Ramadan, which begins in a few days. If it happened, it would be a very welcome respite for the civilian population in Yemen, but even with a cease-fire the humanitarian crisis daily grows worse as long as the blockade remains in place. Until the blockade of Yemen ends, some of the worst effects of the Saudi-led campaign will continue to be felt by millions of people.