This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge
Prior to the Oct. 2 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of a Saudi assassination squad — which the CIA believes was on direct orders of crown prince MbS himself — a tiny segment of the American public had likely never heard of the deep Pentagon role in executing the Saudi war on Yemen, which has raged since 2015.
But after Khashoggi’s brutal slaying, the mainstream media suddenly “discovered” what the U.N. has called the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. The handful of Senators who’ve long fought to end the U.S. role in the war, however, might now be thinking better late than never as on Wednesday in a hugely important 63-37 victory, the Senate agreed to finally move forward with a full floor debate over the legality of America’s involvement in the conflict.
Amazing news: The Senate just voted 63-37 in support of a bill to end the US-Saudi war on Yemen.
This Sanders/Murphy/Lee resolution would force a withdrawal of US support for this unauthorized war, which created Earth's largest humanitarian crisis and pushed millions into famine pic.twitter.com/hCXYaZOmmy
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) November 28, 2018
Crucially, Congress never actually authorized the US joining the war, which is the prime legal challenge the Senate will consider, and this could have huge repercussions in other unauthorized combat theaters such as Syria, where the Pentagon maintains thousands of troops occupying an area of eastern Syria that’s about the size of Croatia, despite Congress never voting to take such action in another UN-member’s sovereign territory.
The legal challenge that the Senate will now move forward to consider is built around the War Powers Resolution (WPR), which was designed to prevent the president from unilaterally placing US troops in harm’s way, and the post-9/11 AUMF (the 17-year old authorization for use of military force) — which every administration since 2001 has invoked to defend their military adventurism abroad.
Prior to the vote, Secretaries of State and Defense Mike Pompeo and James Mattis argued in a closed-door session against severing ties with the Saudis in the midst of the Yemen campaign. Predictably, the reasons centered around the “necessity” of combating Iran and the “stability” that Saudi Arabia supposedly brings to the region.
Perhaps most interesting was Pompeo’s hinting that Riyadh could turn to Moscow should the U.S. extricate itself from its military partnership with the Saudis.
He suggested the Saudis could seek the Russian S-400 missile system or even sign nuclear cooperation deals with Beijing and Moscow. Pompeo said if Washington turns its back on Saudi leadership, “the alternative is co-optation by China and Russia.”
Iran’s regime has no interest in easing Yemeni suffering; the mullahs don’t even care for ordinary Iranians. Saudi Arabia has invested billions to relieve suffering in #Yemen. Iran has invested zero.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 28, 2018
However, clearly the briefing failed, as senators like Chris Coons (D-DE) Bob Menendez (D-NJ) came out of the session declaring they were now opposed to the war. A number of senators either outright opposed to ending the war or previously on the fence had changed their minds in the midst of Wednesday’s briefings.
Meanwhile a new report published by a government watchdog group called the Centre for International Policy (CIP) has identified a handful of Senators seeking to halt the resolution who took money from pro-Saudi lobbyists in 2017.
Predictably, they voted against advancing the resolution.
According to Al-Jazeera:
At least five of the 37 Republican Senators who voted against advancing a resolution limiting the United States’s involvement in the war in Yemen have received campaign contributions from pro-Saudi lobbying groups.
Roy Blunt, John Boozman, Richard Burr, Mike Crapo and Tim Scott all received financial contributions from firms representing Saudi interests between 2016 and 2017, according to a recent investigation by the Centre for International Policy (CIP).
One of those senators received close to $20,000 from the Saudis. The report continues:
Blunt, one of the two Senators from Missouri, received at least $19,200 in campaign contributions from firms representing Saudi Arabia in 2017, the CIP said, with Boozman, Burr, Crapo and Scott, representing Arkansas, North Carolina, Idaho and South Carolina respectively, receiving contributions ranging from $1,000-$2,500 between 2016 and 2017.
Both the mounting public outrage over U.S. support to Saudi military operations which have killed tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians, and the surge of momentum of Senate support to the bill means its likely to pass, though there’s a high likelihood it will ultimately stall in the House of Representatives, where recent efforts to invoke the War Powers Act challenging the legality of the war were derailed. President Trump has threatened to veto the resolution should it eventually pass.
With all the upset and outrage being expressed and resulting reporting and investigations going on, apparently Jamal Khashoggi was the most important journalist and one of the most important people in the world.
It goes way beyond that. We have our troops in many places that civilians will never hear about. Back in the seventies I was an air force staff Sargent working in Iran. We went there without uniforms or anything that would give us away as americans. We worked at the terahan airport delivering F14 Tomcats to the Iranian air force and proving training on them. Always wondered if anything had happened, if we would just dissappear with no acknowledgment of what happened.
I guess I have to ask why is the US air force giving training on a US Navy aircraft? I too was an air force staff Sargent.
I remember them shipping F5’s to Iran. I worked on a lot of different USAF aircraft, virtually all mainline deployed aircraft, I was also a Depot level technician, a difficult duty station to get as you have to be recommended. I never saw or even had a chance to train on an F14. Very curious.
this is where ‘true colors’ will come shining through. If we cater to any power in the Middle East, it will come at a cost to the regular American. In wealth, lives, time and focus… when all those are needed here @ home. To fall prey to threat “the Sauds will buy from some other country” or “we need them to act as a buffer to Iran”…. or any other tripe is proof that they cannot be trusted; nor, have ever been our allies. It’s all money. I reckon the currently revered orange gollum will support this bill.
Yeah but whats the word in Crimea?
Given how fast war can be executed today, there needs to be a war powers act. However before committing our forces long term Congress needs to pass a law declaring a war, like the constitution instructs.
The BS Democrats have pulled from Korea through today’s conflicts, just kills and maims people and is a waste. A waste because it is subject to the whim of an LBJ, Obama, or some other like minded filth to throw away all that our military sacrifices gained. Wasted just for some political gain of the Democrat party.
No government whether democratic, republic, or monarchy, cares what happens to its people. It’s all about power and wealth. A real ideal ruler puts the people and country first. You’re not going to see this today. It’s not just Democrats, it’s Republicans too. They really don’t care about the waste of human life in wars as long as they get their selfish needs met.
It’s time to move on Iran directly, remove the mullahs, and establish a new secular republic there. Then we can quit pussyfooting around with these brush fires all over the globe. 🙂
President Nixon, a Republican, divided The USA ?? into regions which made us part of global Communism. Agenda for the twenty-first Century is neither Democratic nor Republican. These are NWO wars for the creation of a crisis that begs for a solution. The shadow knows. The shadow government is worldwide and working to improve their control over the rest of humanity. These wars are a means to an end; totalitarian communism on a global scale.
These wars create refugees to genocide White Countries throughout the world. White peoples are culturally altruistic and eager to help others. But they won’t be able to help anyone if they don’t preserve themselves first. Migration of large numbers of people from different cultures with different beliefs just cause friction. The close proximity of people of different races leads to relationships and race mixing leads to white genocide. Call it supremacy if you like, but the white race has been the greatest race and a blessing to the world. If white people are bred out the remaining people will be slaves without the ingenuity to unshackle their chains.
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Suffice to say the corruption is staggering but not unexpected. There is a whole bunch of words used in the military that absolutely should NOT be used when referring to our government, our Congress, and in many cases our senior military leadership. They are Loyalty, ethics, duty, respect, SELFLESS service, honor, integrity, personal courage.
They all talk a good game, but these things are nowhere to be found amongst them. Every swinging one of them engages in SELF SERVICE first. You all have no idea how comfy and cozy the senior NCOs and Officers have it on top of their lavish pensions and perks. Beyond your wildest dreams meanwhile the lower enlisted ranks, start out sucking it, and finish it out sucking it worse…AND that’s after they get wrung out in divorces while in the service….you don’t know personal pain until you have lived that abuse both by the outgoing spouse and then the military ON YOU to surrender EVERYTHING to the outgoing wifestitute.
USSA —> Globo-Thug for Hire(Down-payment $20,000)
Is it just me or is there someone else out there that thinks like I do.
I COULD GIVE A RAT’S ASS WHAAT ONE MUSLIME DOES TO ANOTHER, BECASUE THEY WILL KILL A CHRISTIAN IN A HEART BEAT.
Sgt.
Trump admires the Saudi system of punishment and continues to pander to the thugs. It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire American political systems desire for smashing common sense while murdering people of the world at will. This is not a representative government of the people but first and foremost a bloodthirsty cabal of nonhuman madmen posing as caring individuals. The gig is up government creeps, nobody trusts your lies anymore. Like Pelosi, what a nasty beotch.
Well said, aljamo. Spot-on comment!
Communists are generally muslim sympathizers. That’s why barry soetoro and his secretary of state/cia were aiding the enemy with vast amounts of weaponry.
Christians have to realize that everyone who is not a Christian is an enemy to Yahweh. Evangelism is the attempt to facilitate persuasion peacefully. When it fails, and it does most of the time, we don’t battle them, but stay wary.
What does Jesus warn in Matthew 24? Many will betray Christians and some Christians will become aspostate and betray even their own family members. That was what Jesus said would happen as a sign of the end before the Rapture.
Are there any politicians in America/UK who are not in the employ of the shekel or the Riyal?