Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is one of the few Republicans willing to lead on an ‘American First’ foreign policy. For that reason, he is getting ready to introduce new legislation that would end US-backing of Saudi atrocities in Yemen.
Lee is going to join Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to introduce a new bill after the last one was killed due to procedural issues. Previously, the House had passed a bill ending U.S. involvement in Yemen by a 248-177 margin. Lee has reached across the aisle to continue the momentum against senseless overseas interventionism.
“The U.S. Senate will have an opportunity to vote to end our unauthorized and unconstitutional involvement in the war in Yemen,” Lee said.
“It is critical that we disentangle ourselves from a war that has killed thousands of Yemen civilians, undermined our credibility, and reportedly allowed U.S.-made weapons to fall into the hands of radical Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda, ISIS, and Iran,” Lee added.
According to Geopolitics Alert, the Saudis are committing barbaric war crimes that are being effectively subsidized by the US government. Over 10,000 Yemenis have been brutally murdered by air strikes or military operations since 2015. A stunning 7 million Yemenis face famine, and a cholera outbreak exacerbated by sanctions on medical supplies has caused thousands of deaths as well.
The pictures out of Yemen are so gruesome that they are hard to believe:
In #Yemen: 462,000 children face immediate risk of #death from severe acute #malnutrition https://t.co/lyJxljNuuQ #Together4Yemen pic.twitter.com/ZChpfa7Xwa
— NRC MiddleEast (@NRC_MiddleEast) March 28, 2017
.@MSF: The reality of war in #Yemen, violence, fear, displacement & hunger, effects on people. #YemenCrisis pic.twitter.com/9NcBB3gTAT
— MSF Yemen (@msf_yemen) March 7, 2017
To be clear, the US should not back the Iran-affiliated Houthi rebels of Yemen either. They should stay out of the conflict completely unless they want to invite hatred of the United States that will last for generations. Let the Saudis commit war crimes on their own dollar and their own time if they must. Sen. Lee deserves a great deal of admiration for leading on this effort.