RNA - As if the endless wars on Afghanistan and Syria were not enough, the United States is also directly involved in the ongoing Saudi-led war on Yemen.
Bottom Line Up Front:
- US Green Berets have been directly involved in supporting Saudi Arabia in its war with Yemen from day one.
- This comes despite testimony by General Joseph Votel, head of the Central Command, that ‘we’re not parties to this conflict.’
- Presence of the Green Berets indicates a substantial escalation of the acknowledged role for the US in the illegal conflict, as well as a direct contradiction of the public testimony of US ambassador to the United Nations Security Council.
- The situation in Yemen is now the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, as US culpability in the conflict only grows. But the criminal involvement has consequences:
The Pentagon regime is seeking private contractors to provide medical evacuation services to US ground troops operating inside Yemen. This solicitation began at the end of April, and seeks four fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft capable of providing services and having Ballistic Protection Systems. This comes amid recent revelations that the US has Green Berets operating along the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border, despite the Pentagon long maintaining their role in Yemen didn’t involve combat troops. In addition to these troops, the Pentagon is known to have Special Forces operating in Yemen against Ansarullah – framed as fighting Al-Qaeda.
The reliance on contractors for these services is controversial. The Pentagon has long handled time-sensitive things like evacuation of casualties. As US forces spread across more and more countries in large numbers, however, the Pentagon is finding itself short of capacity, and is looking to make this up with contractors.
In other words, in violation of International Law and UN Charter, the US is more deeply involved in the war on Yemen than the Trump White House has previously acknowledged. As we speak, thousands of US troops are being paid by Saudi Arabia to be positioned along the Saudi-Yemeni border to help locate and target missile sites inside Yemen. There is no information that US troops have crossed into Yemen. However, their operations along the border are a substantial escalation of the acknowledged role for the US, as well as a direct contradiction of the public testimony of US leaders to the world community.
Amid growing international concerns over the American culpability in Yemen, the US has continued to describe its support to Saudi Arabia as strictly non-combat assistance. But support for Saudi Arabia’s brutal air campaign is framed as humanitarian in nature, in that the US claims to be helping decrease civilian deaths by helping the Saudis improve their bombing tactics and targeting - accuracy of air strikes against civilian objects and vital logistical support. Again something non-existent in the war on Yemen as we see tens of civilian casualties on a daily basis.
According to Fars News Agancy, no doubt, the presence of US forces on the border with Yemen is just the latest indication that the US, despite Trump’s May 8 statements to the contrary when he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal - and the very tenuous legal authorization for support to the Saudi coalition - is a direct party in the Yemeni conflict and its humanitarian crisis, the worst in the 21st century.
Worse still, it appears for now that there is insufficient UN pressure to enact new restrictions; indeed, the US is increasing its already massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia. During the Obama administration, the US sold $155 billion in arms to Riyadh. In 2017 alone, Trump signed new contracts to sell approximately $110 billion in weapons and munitions to Riyadh, while the two have signed agreements on Saudi Arabia's purchase of over $300 billion of more "beautiful weapons".
All this and more raises both the prospect of inevitable mission creep and the US getting drawn further into the Yemeni quagmire. It also highlights that there is essentially no legal justification for such operations, as they have nothing to do with counter-terrorism efforts against Al-Qaeda, as stated in the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force that Trump has used to justify military campaigns in Afghanistan, Syria, and now Yemen.
And this is the same Trump that on his May 8 diplomatic show claimed Iran fuels conflicts across the Middle East and beyond. This is also the same Trump that claimed there have been enough suffering, death, and destruction, but great things can happen for the peace and stability that we all want in the Middle East. No he doesn’t want peace. By escalating the conflicts in Yemen and Syria through troop surge, by withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and paving the way for increasing tensions and confrontations, it should become clear by now that the ongoing suffering, death and destruction in the region has never been enough for the War Party in Washington. The bloodthirsty hordes want more.
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