By Hanna grissel
There’s an ill-recognized war taking place in Yemen, one that the Saudi-led coalition has been enmeshed in since early 2015.
Disagreements regarding regime changes and the subsequent political uprising against corruption led Iran-backed Houthi rebels to attempt a takeover prior to the Saudi involvement in Yemen.
It might not surprise you that the Obama administration has been backing its ally since nearly the beginning of the intervention. On top of that, it has also led air strikes against Al Queda in the region numerous times during the Obama presidency. Civilian deaths resulting from these strikes are still unknown.
What’s known is that according to the U.N., there are an average of 13 civilian casualties a day in Yemen, the majority of which are being brought upon by Saudi military operations.
Throughout the Saudi campaign in Yemen, the Obama administration has provided logistical and intelligence support. This support equates to refueling Saudi planes and gathering information on Houthi movement and strongholds. This support has lead to the death of thousands of civilians so far.
On top of this, according to the Washington Post, Obama has allowed the sale of $110 billion in arms to the Saudi monarchy. This is a monarchy that’s under intense scrutiny for indiscriminate bombings leading to the absurd number of civilians deaths and injuries. Not to mention, the administration has sold white phosphorus (a chemical agent that when making contact with skin can burn down to the bone) to the regime. A chemical that’s been proven to have been used on civilians in Yemen, an act that defies international law.
Simply, it’d be inaccurate to claim that the United States has any grounds to be embroiled in this conflict in the first place. And quite honestly, careless to contend that our involvement thus far is grounds enough to say we are at war in Yemen. And further, responsible for civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis that’s escalating there.
The U.S. involvement in Yemen is without question groundless unless you’re apt to consider colonialism grounds enough. Even after acknowledging the Saudi regime’s despicable behavior, and denouncing it, we have continued our support and even become more so involved.
An interesting play to say the least, after we’ve pointed fingers at Russian, Syrian, and Iranian forces for causing civilian deaths in Syria (while we, too, have committed some of our own unjust murders there).
Regardless of all this, the administration has involved itself in what could escalate to arise an unsanctioned offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The information thus far came Oct. 12, when the Pentagon gave a press release announcing it had shot missiles at three different Houthi rebel radar sites in Yemen, effectively destroying them. According to Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, “These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation.”
The U.S. military officials say these were a reaction to Houthi rebel warheads that were shot at the destroyer USS Mason for numerous days. Though what’s interesting is that Houthi military personnel denied the Pentagon’s claims and regarded the self-defense claim as “baseless.”
Who is to say if we will continue so called “self-defense strikes” on a nation in crisis? Nonetheless, this progression in involvement is worrisome at the least. Any support up to now is alarming, and we need to consider why the United States would enter a conflict such as this without regard for human life and how it does this without congressional approval.