[Steve]

The US isn’t just backing the Yemen war -

— it’s helping trap those forced to flee
This article was jointly produced by Foreign Policy In Focus and In These Times......



https://www.nexusnewsfeed.com/article/hu...-yemen-war

[Steve]

UK's Saudi weapons sales unlawful, Lords committee finds

Report finds UK arms ‘highly likely to be cause of significant civilian casualties in Yemen’



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/f...ttee-finds

[Steve]

UK’s secret war: British commandos wounded in Yemen -

A number of elite British commandos have sustained injuries in direct gunfights with Yemeni forces as part of what appears to be a secretive UK military campaign in Yemen, a new report says, adding a major twist to London’s involvement in Saudi Arabia’s deadly war against its impoverished southern neighbor.....

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/03/2...udi-Arabia

[Firestarter]

One child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen -

... & no one cares

In 2016, UNICEF already reported that every 10 minutes a child younger than 5 died of “preventable causes”.
Since then, many, many stories have been published that “more than 10,000” Yemenis died because of the war.

Let´s do the math. One child per 10 minutes, is more than 1000 per week. That´s more than 52,000 per year.
This means that more than 178,000 children under 5 died from 2016 till the end of this month (May 2019).
Since 2016, the humanitarian catastrophe has gotten even worse.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) has caluculated that on top of that from March 2015, till November 2018 between 75,000 and 80,000 direct casualties from the bombs have died.
With more than 3000 Yemenis dying per month as a direct result from the violence that makes between 103,000 to 108,000.

This makes a low estimate for the total number of dead Yemenis since March 2015, when the bombing campaign was started - 280,000.
This doesn’t include children older than 4 years.
I would be suprised as the total death toll is lower than 560,000.

The United Nations blatantly supports the genocide, by condemning the Houthis but not a single resolution against the war by the “coalition”, with arms from the US, France, UK, Netherlands and Germany amongst others.

There is even evidence on motive...
Yemen has an important strategic position and plans include an oil pipeline from Saudi Arabia.
Yemeni President from 1978-2012 Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted and later murdered because he always opposed this.

Saleh was replaced by the good big oil puppet Abd Rubbuh Mansour Hadi, who was “democratically elected” in elections where he was the only candidate for president.
The UN has condemned the Houthis in a resoultion for fighting against the so-called “internationally recognised” government of Hadi (never mind that he isn’t supported by the Yemen population): https://www.lawfulpath.com/forum/viewtop...t=40#p5855

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On 20 June, London’s Court of Appeal ruled that arms sales to the “coalition” are unlawful, as UK ministers have ignored war crimes in Yemen.
Court documents show that civilians were bombed soon after training sessions by British teachers. For example, 3 days after Britain provided training – from 27 July to 14 August 2015 – some 70 civilians were killed by airstrikes in Hodeidah.
On 25 June, it was reported that the U.K. government banned “new licenses” for arms exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt (including maintenance, military goods and technology contracts).

Existing licences seem to continue as usual...
Data from the Department for International Trade shows 295 extant export licences to Saudi Arabia, which means that arms exports from the UK will continue.

The UK government has authorised the sale of at least £4.7 billion ($6 billion) in arms to Saudi Arabia since March 2015.
That’s not even counting the “secret” Open Individual Export Licenses, which have not been suspended by the UK government. These open licences allow an unlimited number of arms to be exported in 5 years.

BAE Systems had 3 open licences to export Paveway bombs and Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles.
BAE Systems said:

We continue to support the UK government in providing equipment, support and training under government-to-government agreements between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The decision of the court does not mean that licenses to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended. CAAT did not ask for such an order and the court did not order it.

Arms manufacturers Raytheon, Leonardo and Rolls Royce were awarded nearly £3 million in tax money in 2018: https://theferret.scot/export-licence-ar...di-arabia/
(archived here: http://archive.is/m6kA3)

I’ve seen stories that the USA and Germany have also stopped some exports (in a similar fashion as the UK, so continuing supplying these psychopaths with bombs)...


On 11 May, it was reported that the Houthis began their witdhrawal from the port of Hodeidah, but the coalition continued their assault: https://www.mintpressnews.com/houthi-wit...ck/258468/


So as the Western media are desperately trying to blame the Houthis for the massive amounts of Yemenis dying from starvation and bombs, they can´t use this propaganda anymore (unless people are really so braindead that they believe anything the media will tell us...).


Obviously the terrorist United Nations isn´t afraid that people will find out that it is blatantly supporting this genocide...

The UN World Food Programme announced that it won´t supply any more food to Yemen’s starving capital, Sanaa, which is still controlled by the Houthis.

The reported reason is that those “horrible” Houthis don´t agree that Yemenis have to give personal identification data to the World Food Programme: https://www.rt.com/news/463351-yemen-sau...tric-data/

[Firestarter]

According to the International Red Cross, the coalition has bombed and completely destroyed a prison controlled by the Houthis, killing at least 100 people and injuring another 40.

The coalition claimed it targeted a “military compound” that “stores drones and missiles” and that the Houthis were masking it by “claiming it was a secret prison”
The Red Cross had visited the prison before, according to Franz Rauchenstein: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/s...men-prison


Meanwhile the arm sales to the coalition continue.

On 24 July, President Donald Trump vetoed 3 congressional resolutions aimed at blocking the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo had argued that threats from Iran are more than enough reason to approve the $8.1 billion arms sale to the 2 genocidal US allies in the Middle East.

The toothless US Congress spoke a lot of empty big words, but won´t do anything to stop the ongoing sale of weapons.
House foreign affairs committee chairman Eliot Engel said for example:

The president’s veto sends a grim message that America’s foreign policy is no longer rooted in our core values – namely a respect for human rights – and that he views Congress not as a co-equal branch of government, but an irritant to be avoided or ignored.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019...udi-arabia


Also the arms sales from the UK continue, only approving new sales to Saudi Arabia are blocked by the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

The British government has been given permission to appeal to the UK’s Supreme Court to overturn that ruling.
The Supreme Court rejected the Government’s application to lift the temporary block on new export licences. This means that the more than 50 outstanding and new applications can not be approved for the time being: https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/uk-ne...di-arabia/
(http://archive.is/syCT2)


Despite empty promises to lift it, the naval blockade of the port of Hodeidah port by the coalition has continued to this day.

The ongoing support for the war against Yemen effectively makes “aid” meaningless.

The stated priorities of US President Donald Trump, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to push arms deals, with the support of the United Nations, shows that the mass slaughter will continue (more than 1000 Yemeni kids dying every single week of starvation alone...): https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/commen...s-continue

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Some people thought that President Donald couldn’t do it but against the odds he looks to even outperform his predecessors in boosting the profits of the military industrial complex. Some members of US Congress couldn’t be happier as this has boosted the value of their investment portfolio…

Since 27 December 2019, when an American contractor was killed by in Iraq, the aerospace and defence sector has outperformed all other sectors in the S&P 500: “Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and L3 are each more than three standard deviations above their 50-day moving average”.

In the 2020 Defense appropriations bill, the subcommittee approved $1.85 billion for 18 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircrafts and spare parts from Lockheed Martin. The subcommittee also recommended $1.1 billion for 6 P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing.
Subcommittee member Sen. Roy Blunt owns $100,000 in Lockheed Martin stock.
Subcommittee members Dianne Feinstein, Susan Collins, and Jerry Moran own a combined $750,000 in Boeing stock.

House Oversight and Reform Committee Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerry Connolly owns $400,000 worth of stock in Leidos, which provides information technology services for the Defense Department for billions of dollars.

Following are the (other) US Representatives with $100,000 or more in defense stocks.

Steve Cohen - $415,000
Gerry Connolly - $400,000
Ro Khanna - $376,000
Greg Gianforte - $309,856
Debbie Dingell - $300,000

John Hoeven - $250,000
Phil Roe - $203,230
Fred Upton - $155,000
Bob Gibbs - $150,000
Joe Kennedy - $150,000
Kevin Hern - $150,000

Francis Rooney - $135,000
David Joyce - $100,000
David Price - $100,000
Thomas Suozzi - $100,000: https://prospect.org/power/the-members-o...-from-war/
(http://archive.is/E1Glm)


In September 2019, it was reported that the amazing Houthis had successfully launched an attack on the Saudi Aramco oil plants in Abqaiq and Khurais.

According to the “reputable” Reuters, earlier this month, in a confidential report by U.N. sanctions monitors it was concluded that the Houthis couldn’t have done this as they don’t believe that “those comparatively sophisticated weapons were developed and manufactured in Yemen”.

On 10 December, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that the United Nations was “unable to independently corroborate” that missiles and drones used in the attacks “are of Iranian origin”: https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-...NKBN1Z72VB


The United Nations Development Programme recently reported that the Coalition’s blockade against Yemen will exacerbate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and will also make Yemen poorest country in the world by 2022.

The coalition is further increasing its seizure and detention of ships carrying food and fuel into Yemen.
For 40 days, the Coalition has held 13 ships loaded with oil derivatives at sea, preventing them from entering the port of Hodeidah. The UN has already inspected and licensed the ships to be discharged in Hodeidah.

Fuel is needed to generate electricity for hospitals and also for transportation.
Fuel shortages will also lead to power cuts, plunging the Maternity and Childhood Hospital in Amran into darkness and making its life-saving machines inoperable: https://www.mintpressnews.com/yemen-reta...is/262285/


The following is a longer essay that gives some background information on the genocide of Yemen.
The destruction of Yemen was staged after it had made itself the pariah of big oil, after it nationalised its hydrocarbon sector in 2005, and seized oil assets from Hunt Oil and ExxonMobil affiliates.

In March 2015, the bombing campaign against Yemen was intensified to restore puppet President Hadi to power, with the support of the UN, US and UK.
The UN/US/UK-backed Saudi Arabia imposed its complete blockade over North Yemen after the Houthis took control of Sana’a. The land, air, and sea blockades restrict imports and exports, including food, medicine and fuel from entering the country.

The brutal bombing campaign and blockade has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis, with more than ten million Yemenis facing starvation. More than 50,000 child deaths from starvation were recorded in 2017 alone.
The human catastrophe becomes even worse as the “coalition” targets food and water supplies, and hospitals and medical supplies. Yemen relies on imports for 75% of its food, and the blockade has also cut off needed medicines.

The most direct reason for the war against Yemen appears to be the construction of a canal from the Arabian Sea to Yemen.
This canal would bypass the Hormuz Strait, Persian Gulf, and Bab al-Mandab strait into the Red Sea, which would allow increased shipment of Saudi oil. With this canal, they can avoid pricey negotiations with countries to allow their oil to pass.

Donald Trump appears to have profited from the Saudis…
In 2001, the Saudi government bought the entire 45th floor of the Trump World Tower for $4.5 million.
Between 2001 and 2016, the Saudis also paid Trump $5.7 million in various fees.
In 2018, it was reported that a visit from Saudi officials to the Trump International Hotel in New York City boosted its quarterly revenue by 13%, after 2 years of booking decline.
Between October 2016 and March 2017, a lobbying firm connected to the Saudi government paid $270,000 to the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC: http://archive.is/VS95e

[Firestarter]

I had already expected that they would claim a massive COVID-19 death toll for Yemen, where more than a thousand children die of starvation every week. Why not blame corona?
A total of 26 coronavirus cases and 6 deaths are reported in Yemen, with our wonderful media getting ready to blame COVID-19 for a “devastating outbreak”.
UN humanitarian aid coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande bizarrely claims that the COVID-19 pandemic spreads “faster and faster” (the massive death toll couldn’t per chance have anything to do with the lack of food or clean drinking water could it?).

In March, the Donald Trump administration announced a drastic cut in aide to Yemen to $73 million.
This month it was announced that the United States will provide an additional $225 million in emergency food aid for Yemen.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a press briefing that the assistance will go to a UN emergency food program in southern Yemen and to a reduced operation in northern Yemen.
Please do NOT pay attention to the fact that North Yemen is the most populated where the population is severely starved (South Yemen has relatively less food shortages): https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/origina...n-aid.html

[Firestarter]

Apparently everybody has better things to do than worry about more than 50,000 brown children dying a year...


With the genocide continuing, well-fed members of US Congress have introduced the Yemen War Powers Resolutions, that has also been entered into the US Senate.
If it would have passed it supposedly would bring an end to the US military support for the UAE / Saudi war against poor Yemen.
When a similar resolution was passed in 2019, it was vetoed by Trump.

Senile Joe didn't even need to veto it, as Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew his request to vote on the Yemen War Powers Resolution, "because" the Biden administration is "opposed" to the resolution and threatened a veto by Biden.
I don't understand why no other senator would pick this up, or how Bernie Sanders could decide which bills are or aren't voted on.

Many of the same Biden administration officials that in 2019 called on Congress to override Trump’s veto of the Yemen war powers resolution, are now against the current one, including Jake Sullivan, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Wendy Sherman, and Colin Kahl: https://theintercept.com/2022/12/13/bern...ite-house/


After a 6 months truce in Yemen, on October 2 the warring parties didn't extend it.

While the Saudis (or the Houthis that don't accept the Saudi puppet government of course) get most of the blame for the war against Yemen, the United Arab Emirates are often ignored.
The UAE is backing the Southern Transitional Council, fighting in southern Yemen for a new state with Aden as its capital.

Meanwhile the UAE army has started building a military airfield on the island of Abd al Quri, which is Yemeni territory.
Some Arab media have reported that Israel and the UAE are planning a joint intelligence center on the Yemeni island of Socotra to control the Yemeni airspace and maritime traffic in the Bab al-Mandeb Strai: https://journal-neo.org/2022/10/05/yemen...-unabated/


According to UN data, at the end of 2021 the blockade/war has caused 377,000 deaths (an underestimate of course), more than two-thirds of those younger than 5 years old.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported this month that 1 mother and 6 newborn Yemeni babies die every 2 hours (84 per day).
The Red Cross also warned that two-thirds of Yemen’s 30.5 million people lack access to basic healthcare (most of them wouldn't need medical care if they could eat!): https://www.rt.com/news/558711-yemen-hea...ies-dying/


Since I heard about the "truce" in the war against Yemen, I've been thinking that with Yemen importing 90% of its food, including 50% of its wheat in 2021 from Ukraine and Russia, they will continue to suffer starvation even when the blockade is stopped, with global food shortages and hyperinflation already happening.

Russia's UN Security Council representative Dmitry Polyansky said:

The extremely difficult socio-economic situation in Yemen remains a subject of particular concern. The degrading situation in the country can be described as a major humanitarian catastrophe. We reiterate the urgent need to remove all restrictions on the delivery of essential goods to Yemen. Food, medicine, and other items that Yemenis need must be available to them on a non-discriminatory basis.

https://journal-neo.org/2022/07/21/yemen...an-crisis/