Resolution calls for withdrawal of U.S. forces from conflict in Yemen

A bipartisan resolution introduced in the Senate on Wednesday calls for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from conflict in Yemen between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis movement that emerged there in the 1990s.

The Obama Administration deployed U.S. military forces to Yemen in 2015 without congressional authorization to provide “logistical and intelligence support” to the Saudis. Defense Secretary James Mattis recently confirmed that U.S. forces continue to provide refueling, targeting guidance and intelligence assistance to the Saudis today.

The bill, which was introduced by U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Bernie Sander (I-VT), could force Congress to vote on withdrawing U.S. forces from an unauthorized war for the first time ever.

“Thousands and thousands of innocent civilians inside Yemen today are dying, and the United States is complicit,” Murphy said. “This horror is caused in part by our decision to facilitate a bombing campaign that is murdering children, and to endorse a Saudi strategy inside Yemen that is deliberately using disease and starvation and the withdrawal of humanitarian support as a tactic. There is no legal authorization for the United States to be part of a war inside Yemen, and Congress cannot continue to be silent.”

It has been reported that a Yemeni child under the age of 5 dies of preventable causes every 10 minutes because of the conflict. Additionally, 15 million Yemenis do not have access to clean water and 17 million are at risk of starvation. Overall, more than 10,000 civilians have died and more than 40,000 have been injured over the course of this war.

“We believe that, as Congress has not declared war or authorized military force in this conflict, the United States involvement in Yemen is unconstitutional and unauthorized, and U.S. military support of the Saudi coalition must end,” Sanders said. “That is why today we are introducing a joint resolution pursuant to the 1973 War Powers Resolution calling for an end to U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen.”

The resolution, Lee added, gives Congress authority to re-assert its power over foreign policy decision-making.