Spare the
Children: The US/Saudi Arabian War on Yemen
6/27/18
In recent weeks we have seen a huge escalation of the war against
Yemen being waged by a coalition of forces that includes the United States,
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the UK and France. These forces have
waged a relentless war against Yemen, the poorest Arab country. There has
been continuous bombing of the country by Saudi Arabia, including hospitals,
schools, food supplies, neighborhoods, infrastructure and other civilian targets.
More than 14,600 civilians have been killed and injured and over three million
people have been internally displaced. The devastation has been so bad
that the country is now entirely dependent on outside aid as eight million
Yemenis face famine. The worst cholera epidemic ever has caused over 1
million cases and resulted in more than 2,200 deaths.
Demonstration
in Yemen against the US/Saudi/UAE war on their country
Even before the war began, this impoverished country imported 90%
of its food. The port of Hodeidah has been the primary entry point for
food and other aid and is now the target of a new offensive by the US/Saudi/UAE
coalition threatening mass starvation to get the Yemeni people to submit
to their will. The recent attack on Hodeidah has included massive
Saudi bombing of the port and a ground force that includes officers from the
UAE leading anti-Ansar Allah Yemenis along with mercenaries, many from
Sudan. This attempt to close the port of
Hodeidah should be seen as a war crime.
This is a genocidal war that could not continue one day without US
support. This support includes:
- US military equipment worth billions of dollars,
- US naval blockade of all Yemeni ports,
- US in-air refueling of Saudi bombers,
- US contractors loading bombs and maintaining Saudi
aircraft,
- US elite military advisors and commandos,
- US satellite reconnaissance,
- US drones carrying out targeted assassinations.
The corporate media claims that there is a civil war in Yemen between “Houthi
rebels” and the “legitimate government” of Yemen, but this lie is criminal in
light of the suffering of the Yemeni people. In 2012 the indigenous
Ansar Allah movement, which includes the Houthis, and other contending forces
in the country came to an agreement for Abed Rabbo
Mansur Hadi to be elected president for a two-year
term. In 2014, after breaking the agreement and losing all support, he
fled to Saudi Arabia and the Ansar Allah movement came to power as hundreds of
thousands marched in the streets in their support.
The Saudis claim the Houthis are proxies of Iran, their major enemy and
competitor in the region. In 2015, Saudi Arabia started its bombing of Yemen to
try and reinstate Hadi into power and crush a popular
movement. Their invasion was supported by some other Arab countries and
the US. It was the Obama administration that first gave the green light
to Saudi Arabia, and the Trump administration has continued the policy.
Without US military and diplomatic backing, the war on Yemen could not take
place. It rightfully should be called the US/Saudi Arabian war on Yemen.
Many in the US have been horrified by the arrests and separation of families at
the US border. This has laid bare the inhumanity of the US government and
has caused deserved outrage from the people of the US and the world. As
on the US border, children are the major victims of imperialist wars and
induced-poverty. The outrage and revulsion caused by the children’s
plight in the US forced some backtracking by the US government. The
humanitarian crisis in Yemen demands the same outpouring of compassion, anger,
and action by the US media and people and the international community for the
suffering children and civilians in Yemen as well. We can and must stop
this horror.
We demand:
End to US support for the war on Yemen and end to the fighting!
End the blockade and provide humanitarian aid to Yemen!
End all military aid to Saudi Arabia!