Oxfam’s Scott Paul reports on the conditions from Yemen, and urges Congress to repudiate U.S. support for the war:

The Yemenis I talked to just want the conflict to end so they can return to their homes, schools, and jobs in safety. But instead of working towards that peaceful resolution, unconditional US support to the coalition has bolstered the resolve of all sides to make gains on the battlefield instead of at the negotiating table. It has enhanced the position of the most uncompromising leaders involved in Yemen’s war and removed incentives to respect human rights [bold mine-DL].

Supporters of the war on Yemen often claim that ending U.S. involvement won’t bring an end to the war, but no one involved in humanitarian relief work in Yemen thinks that continued American backing for the Saudi coalition will do anything except prolong the conflict and the population’s suffering. The people that are in the position to understand the humanitarian crisis best all agree that the crisis can’t be stopped as long as the war continues, and they support efforts to withdraw U.S. support from the Saudi coalition because they see that support as one of the drivers of conflict.

Paul calls on the House to pass the antiwar resolution passed by the Senate earlier this month, and calls for halting arms sales to the Saudis and the UAE:

The House must now adopt the Yemen War Powers Resolution and bring this to the White House’s doorstep—at which point President Trump should sign it. Congress should also target a vital coalition interest: US arms. Saudi Arabia’s air campaign has eviscerated Yemen’s schools, hospitals, food production facilities, and more, but the Trump administration has shown no interest in ending arms sales, including the precision-guided aerial munitions responsible for much of the damage.

Senators Todd Young (R-IND) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have introduced legislation that would categorically suspend these munitions and conditionally suspend the sale of other arms to Saudi Arabia for a two-year period. The unconditional munitions suspension would end US complicity in a devastating and pointless air campaign, while the conditions attached to other arms sales signal Congress’ key demands regarding peace, the laws of war, and the need to prevent famine. Both types of arms transfer suspensions are critical and should be applied to Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well.

The Saudi coalition’s flagrant disregard for civilian lives and the use of U.S.-made weapons to commit numerous war crimes over the last four years should make our government wary of ever selling any weapons to these states again, but for now these measures are a good start. Our involvement in the war has been one of the problems and it remains a significant obstacle to finding a negotiated political solution to the war. Ending that involvement naturally won’t solve everything, but it will end our complicity and stop our enabling of an indefensible war that won’t end as long as we are helping to keep it going.