US Officials Review Policies on Yemen as Civil War Rages On
In recent days, U.S. government officials reviewed the nation’s policy towards the ongoing Yemeni Civil War which has seen continuous clashes and has been growing more violent over the last several weeks. On September 9, 2018, a combination of fighting and airstrikes resulted in the deaths of over 84 civilians. The Saudi Coalition and the Houthis Rebels are fighting over what type of government they want ruling the region – republic or parliamentary – and who will be in power. The latest attack, the Houthis claim, comes as a reactionto the United Nations’ refusal to provide them help for their injured supporters. The Houthis had requested that the UN provide a plan to take care of their wounded and bring them to Oman as well as allowing their delegates to return to Sanaa, the Yemeni capitol.
The war in Yemen has been raging continuously since March of 2015. The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting off Houthi forces once loyal to the late Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president who was eventually forced out of office and assassinated in December of 2017. Saleh was attempting to create a new constitution in an effort to please both parties involved in the conflict when his car was hit with an RPG at a vehicle checkpoint outside the city of Sanaa.
Secretary Pompeo is currentlyassessing whether or not Yemen has violated any agreements with the United States. Section 1290 of the National Defense Authorization (NDA) states if anyone violates arms control the United States will act upon them. In this case it means that the U.S. would stop refueling coalition planes and would end operations assisting the Yemeni government. The conclusion of Pompeo’s review confirmedthat Yemen are in compliance with NDA regulations, and that the Yemeni government is doing everything possible to help its people and minimize civilian casualties. Support for the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government is a part of the overall U.S. strategic plan in the Middle East region that seeks to impedeIran’s influenceon the Arabian Peninsula and bring stability to the war-torn region.
Ending the Yemen Civil War is a national security priority as Yemenis an operational staging point for al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, a group that still poses a significant threat to the United States and many of its regional and European allies. Further, the conflict not only endangers the security of our allies but also threatens access to oil supplies vital to the West.
