By Hanna Grissel
The country of Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle Eastern region. Yemen’s population stands around 25 million, according to statistics provided from the World Bank, a number drastically dropping because of the political crisis and the extreme financial disparities found in the country. A remarkable statistic from UNICEF declared that 40,000 children die in Yemen every year before their fifth birthday because of malnutrition, preventable disease, and conflict.
Some major reasons for the crisis are that water shortage is continuous, and on top of that, commercial imports make up 90 percent of Yemen’s food supply, according to Reuters, a situation that has been preyed upon by the Saudi regime.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia began a military-led coalition into war-torn Yemen. Saudi commenced the campaign with bombing and constructing blockades, preventing the entry of food, medicine, and fuel. The bombing campaigns have shown to be almost indiscriminate, attacking schools, hospitals, markets, historical sites, and places in which civilians live. According to Amnesty International, it has recorded 33 unlawful air strikes that seem to have targeted civilians rather than military personnel. All in all, the actions by the Saudis amount to war crimes.
These crimes have had a tremendous effect on Yemen, elevating a mounting humanitarian crisis to new levels, and as repugnant as it is, the U.S. backs the Saudis in the atrocities they carry out, even though nothing about the conflict before or after the Saudi intervention presented an imminent threat to the United States. So, why are we participating?
According to the Guardian, “Since 2010, the Obama administration authorized a record $60 billion in U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia. Since then, the administration has concluded deals for nearly $48 billion in weapons sales — triple the $16 billion in sales under the George W Bush administration.”
Not only are we dealing arms from our terroristic regime to another, we are providing intelligence for air strikes and even using our naval ships to carry out blockades.
Yet, simultaneously, the administration is providing upwards of $300 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen. Do U.S. officials believe that handing over some pocket change for aid eliminates the damage and genocide they are propelling?
Nonetheless, on Aug. 9, the State Department approved the sale of $1.15 billion in, you guessed it, more arms. The arms sale will include more than 100 tanks, hundreds of machines guns, ammunition, military assistance, and other equipment.
It’s clear our ongoing decision to participate is conscious of the impacts, and yet we continue to be an accomplice. Though we could already assume this by the numerous other genocides America is carrying out. The oligarchs continue to push the idea that supporting military arms corporations is more important than the sanctity of living bodies. The U.S. can pretend it aids the people of Yemen as long as it wants. The truth is the United States is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions in Yemen.