Swordsmyth
09-15-2017, 01:30 AM
Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are rallying support for an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would condition U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia on American officials guaranteeing that Riyadh is following international humanitarian law, particularly on permitting the delivery of American-bought cranes to unload ships filled with food at a major Yemeni port.
But it remains unclear whether the Young-Murphy proposal will receive a vote on the Senate floor. That depends on two factors: how many lawmakers agree privately to support the idea if it is debated, which makes it more likely that the original co-sponsors will push hard for it; and how Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who leads the legislative process on the defense bill as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) react when pushed on the question of presenting the amendment.
It remains an uphill battle.
The Trump administration and many lawmakers, particularly those in the GOP, agree with the sentiments of Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who this week reiterated that he does not believe arms sales should be conditioned on human rights worries. (U.S. strategic concerns are of course another matter: Corker has put his own hold (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/top-gop-senator-challenges-trump-arms-deals-over-mideast-mismanagement_us_59513858e4b0da2c731d54a7) on approving weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates until they resolve a dispute with fellow U.S. partner nation Qatar.)
But the new bipartisan proposal of such a striking measure ― one that specifically targets ― shows how angry lawmakers have become about the coalition’s humanitarian impact on the Middle East’s poorest country.
Capitol Hill conversations about Yemen that used to focus primarily on the impact of U.S.-supported airstrikes now broadly cover the general devastation of the nation, which is also facing an unprecedented outbreak of cholera, according to Kate Gould of the anti-war advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Even members of Congress sympathetic to the Saudis’ arguments, especially the claim that they must be assertive in the region to counter Iran, now seem ready to pressure the coalition over its airstrikes. Known hawk Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has, through McCain, submitted an amendment to require new U.S. government reporting on how the war is being conducted ― a tacit acknowledgement of repeated allegations that the coalition is hitting civilian targets like funerals and hospitals, perhaps even on purpose.
More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-us-saudi-yemen-war_us_59b9b4eae4b0edff971920fb
But it remains unclear whether the Young-Murphy proposal will receive a vote on the Senate floor. That depends on two factors: how many lawmakers agree privately to support the idea if it is debated, which makes it more likely that the original co-sponsors will push hard for it; and how Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who leads the legislative process on the defense bill as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) react when pushed on the question of presenting the amendment.
It remains an uphill battle.
The Trump administration and many lawmakers, particularly those in the GOP, agree with the sentiments of Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who this week reiterated that he does not believe arms sales should be conditioned on human rights worries. (U.S. strategic concerns are of course another matter: Corker has put his own hold (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/top-gop-senator-challenges-trump-arms-deals-over-mideast-mismanagement_us_59513858e4b0da2c731d54a7) on approving weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates until they resolve a dispute with fellow U.S. partner nation Qatar.)
But the new bipartisan proposal of such a striking measure ― one that specifically targets ― shows how angry lawmakers have become about the coalition’s humanitarian impact on the Middle East’s poorest country.
Capitol Hill conversations about Yemen that used to focus primarily on the impact of U.S.-supported airstrikes now broadly cover the general devastation of the nation, which is also facing an unprecedented outbreak of cholera, according to Kate Gould of the anti-war advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Even members of Congress sympathetic to the Saudis’ arguments, especially the claim that they must be assertive in the region to counter Iran, now seem ready to pressure the coalition over its airstrikes. Known hawk Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has, through McCain, submitted an amendment to require new U.S. government reporting on how the war is being conducted ― a tacit acknowledgement of repeated allegations that the coalition is hitting civilian targets like funerals and hospitals, perhaps even on purpose.
More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-us-saudi-yemen-war_us_59b9b4eae4b0edff971920fb