Topics in the News: Yemen
Joe Biden on Yemen:
(Homeland Security Apr 28, 2021)
Most lethal terrorist threat: white supremacist terrorism
In 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has evolved way beyond Afghanistan. We have to remain vigilant against the threats to the United States wherever they come from. Al-Qaida and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia,
other places in Africa, in the Middle East and beyond. And we won't ignore what our intelligence agency has determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: white supremacy's terrorism.
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Source: 2021 State of the Union address
Joe Biden on Yemen:
(War & Peace Feb 4, 2021)
Support UN-imposed ceasefire in Yemen
Defense Secretary Austin will be leading a Global Posture Review of our forces so that our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities. While this review is taking place, we're stepping up our
diplomacy to end the war in Yemen--a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I've asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels, and
restore long-dormant peace talks. To underscore our commitment, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks,
UAV strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries. We're going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people.
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Source: Manchester Ink Link on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Pope Francis on Yemen:
(War & Peace Dec 25, 2020)
Peace and reconciliation in Mideast, Africa, and Asia
Francis delivered his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world), calling for global unity and help for nations suffering from conflicts and humanitarian crises.He called for peace and reconciliation in Syria, Yemen, Libya,
Nagorno-Karabakh, South Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon and Iraq, which he is due to visit in early March.
He also asked to comfort those suffering from humanitarian crises or natural disasters in Burkina Fasso, Mali, Niger, the Philippines and Vietnam.
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Source: Reuters on yahoo.com, "Urbi et Orbi"
John Hickenlooper on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Oct 10, 2020)
Supports cutting off military support to Saudi Arabia
Q: Block arms sales to Saudi Arabia over Yemen war and allegations about journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death?John Hickenlooper: Yes. Supports cutting off military support. "I don't think supporting the Saudi campaign in Yemen is a great idea."
Corey Gardner: No. Voted against blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia in June 2019.
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Source: CampusElect on 2020 Colorado Senate race
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jan 14, 2020)
Great disasters of our time--Vietnam & Iraq--based on lies
SANDERS [to Joe Biden]: In 2002, when the Congress was debating whether or not we invade Iraq, I said that would be a disaster, Joe and I listened to what Dick Cheney and George Bush had to say. I thought they were lying. Joe saw it differently. Last
year, I helped pass a War Powers Act resolution, which said that the war in Yemen was unconstitutional because Congress had not authorized it. We got a majority vote in the Senate & House. Unfortunately, Trump vetoed that and that horrific war continues.
V.P. Joe BIDEN: I said 13 years ago it was a mistake to trust that they weren't going to go to war, to stop what we thought to be Iraq's attempt to get a nuclear weapon.
SANDERS: We have to face as a nation is that the two great foreign policy
disasters of our lifetimes were the war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq. Both of those wars were based on lies. And right now, what I fear is we have a president who is lying again and could drag us into a war that is even worse than the war in Iraq.
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Source: 7th Democrat primary debate, on eve of Iowa caucus
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jan 14, 2020)
Passed bipartisan War Powers Act to stop Yemen war
SANDERS: When Congress was debating whether or not we go into a war in Iraq, I said that would be a disaster. I helped pass a War Powers Act resolution, working with a conservative Republican, Mike Lee of Utah, which said that the war in Yemen, led by
Saudi Arabia, was unconstitutional because Congress had not authorized it. We got a majority vote in the Senate. We got a majority vote in the House. Unfortunately, Bush vetoed that and that horrific war continues.
V.P. Joe BIDEN: I said 13 years ago it was a mistake to give the president the authority to go to war if, in fact, he couldn't get inspectors into Iraq to stop what--thought to be the attempt to get a nuclear weapon.
It was a mistake, and I acknowledged that. But the man who also argued against that war, Barack Obama, picked me to be his vice president. And once we were elected, he asked me to end that war.
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Source: 7th Democrat primary debate, on eve of Iowa caucus
Cory Booker on Yemen:
(War & Peace Sep 4, 2019)
War & Peace
We made & delivered bombs that are being dropped on Yemen
Let's talk about military because a UN report just came out talking about what's going on in Yemen and America's role in this. We are ramping up militarization in this country in ways that not only violate our Constitution but violate our morals and we
massive investments thinking we can solve problems with military interventions that often cause problems. Hello Iraq War. Hello Yemen.We need to start to understand that this incredible amount of resources we're pouring into our military.
We need to begin to not just bleed our economy trillions of dollars spent in wars overseas. [Investments that] will actually fuel our economy by creating a multiplier effect benefit in terms of economic growth, and in terms of jobs.
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Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Marianne Williamson on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Aug 16, 2019)
Stronger position on Saudi Arabia; end involvement in Yemen
The United States needs to take a much stronger position with regard to Saudi Arabia. We must stop US involvement in the war in Yemen.
We should reject all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We should press for an independent criminal investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi including any role that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have played.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Bill de Blasio on Yemen:
(War & Peace Aug 12, 2019)
Opposes U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen
De Blasio opposes U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Back in March, he applauded the Senate's passage of a resolution that would have ended U.S. support, calling the intervention "brutal and immoral." More broadly, he wants
Congress to more vigorously exercise its war powers. "As president I would want the Congress to authorize major military actions because getting away from that has made it bluntly too easy for these kind of interventions to occur."
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
Andrew Yang on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Aug 9, 2019)
Let our values lead us: no aid to Saudi Arabia against Yemen
The United States should be providing no aid to Saudi Arabia in its assault on Yemen. We must be pragmatic in our foreign policy in recognizing that we will often have to deal with countries that have bad values. We should also be sure to always let our
values lead us. A reset of the relationship with Saudi Arabia under this understanding would prevent us from getting involved in another conflict like the one in Yemen by centering our diplomacy around our values and ideals.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Pete Buttigieg on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Jul 30, 2019)
We must reset our relationship with Saudi Arabia
The United States must halt military support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. As president, I would suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the Yemen war. We need to increase our diplomatic efforts and work with our allies to
end the conflict itself, which has generated the world's worst humanitarian crisis and helped to spread extremism. We must reset our relationship with Saudi Arabia, so that our interests and values drive the relationship--not the other way around.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Seth Moulton on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Jul 30, 2019)
Need to push Saudis on human rights, not arm Yemen war
Saudi leadership is playing a double game of implementing some limited societal and economic reforms while, at the same time, cracking down on dissidents--including Jamaal Khashoggi, the journalist living in the United States who the
Saudis brutally murdered. In 2020 and beyond, we need to push the Saudis on human rights, stop giving them weapons to kill civilians in Yemen, and make the terms of our alliance conditional on their compliance.
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Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Beto O`Rourke on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jul 30, 2019)
End U.S. wars in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Syria
It's time to bring those servicemembers back home from Afghanistan, but also from Iraq, also from Yemen, and Somalia, and Libya, and Syria. There is no reason for us to be at war all over the world tonight. As president, I will end those wars, and we
will not start new wars. We will not send more U.S. servicemembers overseas to sacrifice their lives and to take the lives of others in our name. We can resolve these challenges peacefully and diplomatically.
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Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Marianne Williamson on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jul 28, 2019)
We're spending $350B supporting genocidal war against Yemen
Q: What should be America's role in the world?WILLIAMSON: Moral leadership. Our grandparents would be rolling over in their graves to see something like, for the sake of a $350 billion-dollar arms deal over the next ten years, we are giving aerial
support to a genocidal war that Saudi Arabia is waging against Yemen. I'm not saying that America was ever perfect, but there was a time on this planet when other nations, and Americans ourselves, saw that we at least tried to stand for de
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Source: CBS Face the Nation interviews in 2019
Joe Biden on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jul 11, 2019)
End "forever wars" in Afghanistan & Middle East
"The world's democracies look to America to stand for the values that unite us.--Donald Trump seems to be on the other team," Biden said during a foreign policy speech, hammering the president for "embracing dictators who appeal to his vanity" and
emboldening a worldwide rise of nationalism, xenophobia and isolationism. Biden promised to "end the forever wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East" and terminate U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war.
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Source: Seattle Times on 2019 Democratic primary
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jun 27, 2019)
Used War Powers Act to get US out of Saudi-Yemen war
Q [to Joe Biden]: You voted for the Iraq war. You have said you regret that vote. Why should voters trust your judgment when it comes to making a decision about war the next time?V.P. Joe BIDEN: I was responsible for getting 150,000 combat
troops out of Iraq. I also think we should not have combat troops in Afghanistan. It's long overdue. It should end.
Sen. Bernie SANDERS: One of the differences that Joe and I have in our record is Joe voted for that war,
I helped lead the opposition to that war, which was a total disaster. I helped lead the effort for the first time to utilize the War Powers Act to get the United States out of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, which is the most horrific
humanitarian disaster on Earth. Let me be very clear. I will do everything I can to prevent a war with Iran, which would be far worse than disastrous war with Iraq.
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Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Beto O`Rourke on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jun 14, 2019)
Deal with conflicts diplomatically or fight wars for years
I'm going to make sure that we end the wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Syria, and Somalia, and Yemen and Libya. We've got to find a way to peacefully, diplomatically convene other players and stakeholders in these regions to resolve otherwise
intractable problems or else let's expect to find ourselves at war 10, 15, 20 years from now. I will not put the life of an American service member on the line unless that is the option of last resort. There are other options available to us.
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Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments"
Donald Trump on Yemen:
(War & Peace Apr 17, 2019)
Vetoed resolution withdrawing support for Yemen war
Trump vetoed Congress's bipartisan resolution to withdraw US support from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, cementing American involvement in a deadly humanitarian crisis abroad. "This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional
authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future," Trump said in a memo to the Senate signaling his veto.The Constitution gives war declaration powers to Congress, not the president.
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Source: CNN.com on Trump Administration
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Apr 17, 2019)
Led bipartisan War Powers resolution against Yemen war
Trump vetoed Congress's bipartisan resolution to withdraw US support from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, cementing American involvement in a deadly humanitarian crisis abroad. "This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my
constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future," Trump said in a memo to the Senate signaling his veto.Passing the War Powers Resolution, an effort led by
Bernie Sanders and Mike Lee in the Senate and Ro Khanna in the House, took immense political capital. It was the result of progressive antiwar activism and a rare coalition of lawmakers to claw back war-approving authority from the president.
The final resolution passed in the Senate with the support of seven Republicans, and in the House with the support of 16 Republicans, including some of Trump's closest conservative allies.
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Source: CNN.com on Trump Administration
Marianne Williamson on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Apr 14, 2019)
Return moral principles to our foreign policy
I want the moral leadership of our State Department back. When you're willing to -- for the sake of a $100 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, go along with support for a genocidal war that we know has starved tens of thousands of Yemenis, when
Mike Pompeo says, "well, sometimes you can have strategic partnerships with people who do not share your values," no, you can't. It means you have sacrificed your values. I want the moral principles that should be central to American foreign policy back.
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Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
Mike Gravel on Yemen:
(War & Peace Apr 9, 2019)
End military aid to Saudi Arabia; no support for Yemen war
The US' relationship to Saudi Arabia is extraordinarily corrupt. For decades, the Saudi royal family has used oil money to influence American policy; from the prominence of "Bandar Bush" to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman claiming to have Jared
Kushner "in his pocket," our leaders have been serving Saudi interests for far too long. Saudi Arabia is a repressive dictatorship which regularly engages in torture and murder, as seen most recently in the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Its curtailment of
women's rights has been appalling.The United States government serves as a salesman of death around the globe. The only way to clamp down on the military-industrial complex, the greatest enemy of the American people, is a hard line against selling
weapons abroad.
The United States should: - End all aid to Saudi Arabia.
- End all material and logistical support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
- Prohibit American companies from selling arms abroad, including to non-state actors.
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Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeGravel.com
Tulsi Gabbard on Yemen:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
No regime change in Iran; no war in Yemen
- She unequivocally states her opposition to U.S. "regime change" interventions, as well as the New Cold War and arms race with Russia, and supports rejoining the Iran nuclear deal. She was also an original cosponsor of Representative Khanna's
Yemen War Powers bill.
- Gabbard voted at least twice (in 2015 and 2016) not to repeal the much-abused 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, and she voted three times not to limit the use of Pentagon slush funds.
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Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Cory Booker on Yemen:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
End intervention in Yemen & Iran, but not Israel
- Booker was one of the first five cosponsors of Sanders's Yemen War Powers bill, and he has an 86 percent Peace Action voting record.
- He cosponsored the Senate bill condemning the UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements in
2016.
- He was an original cosponsor of a bill to impose new sanctions on Iran in December 2013, before eventually voting for the nuclear agreement in 2015.
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Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Yemen:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
Withdraw from Yemen; Withdraw from Afghanistan
- Opposing runaway military spending, voting against 47 percent of military spending bills since 2013.
- Her Peace Action voting record is 80 percent, reduced mainly by the same hawkish votes on Iran as Sanders from 2011 to 2013.
-
Gillibrand was an early cosponsor of Sanders's Yemen War Powers bill. She has also supported a full withdrawal from Afghanistan since at least 2011, when she worked on a withdrawal bill with then Sen. Barbara Boxer and wrote a letter to
State Department Secretaries Robert Gates and Clinton, asking for a firm commitment that U.S. troops would be out "no later than 2014."
- Gillibrand cosponsored the Anti-Israel Boycott Act in 2017 but later withdrew her cosponsorship when pushed by
grassroots opponents and the ACLU, and she voted against S.1, which included similar provisions, in January 2019.
- She has spoken favorably of Trump's diplomacy with North Korea.
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Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Elizabeth Warren on Yemen:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
No intervention in Yemen; but intervention in Gaza OK
- Her Peace Action voting record is 84% and she was one of the first five Senators to cosponsor the Yemen War Powers bill in March 2018 [requiring Congressional authorization to arm the Saudis in Yemen].
- In 2014 she supported Israel's invasion
of Gaza that left more than 2,000 dead, and blamed the civilian casualties on Hamas.
- She opposed a bill to criminalize boycotting Israel and condemned Israel's use of deadly force against peaceful Gaza protesters in 2018.
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Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Feb 19, 2019)
End Syrian conflict; pull out U.S. troops
- Foreign Policy: Use diplomacy to end Syrian conflict. Pull out troops, but in different way from Trump. Cut U.S. support in the conflict in Yemen, hold the Saudi crown prince "accountable" for crimes.
- Sanders would pull U.S. troops from
Syria, but said he would do it in a different, less "erratic" way than Trump recently announced. He believes diplomacy with Russia and Iran can turn things around in Syria.
-
He also believes the president did not have the right to launch airstrikes against the Assad regime and that war powers must get more rigorous oversight and/or approval from Congress.
- A longtime anti-war activist, Sanders voted against the Iraq
war resolution in 2002.
- He regularly called for the U.S. to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
- In both Afghanistan and Syria, Sanders has said that he believes the U.S. should remain involved, though with no ground troop presence.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Yemen:
(War & Peace Feb 11, 2019)
Opposes US support for Saudi military action in Yemen
Harris opposes U.S. support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. She joined with 55 other senators to support a resolution to end all U.S. military actions in Yemen that aren't aimed at defeating al-Qaeda. Harris spelled out her reasoning
for opposing U.S. policy toward Yemen: "More than 10,000 people have been killed in this conflict that was not authorized by Congress. I believe we must reassert our constitutional authority to authorize war and conduct oversight."
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 candidates
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Feb 5, 2019)
Our Saudi allies give US-made weapons to Al Qaeda in Yemen
As important as it is to respond to what President Trump said [in the State of the Union speech], it is even more important to discuss what Trump refused to talk about --which happens to include some of the most important issues facing our country and
the world. How can the President say nothing about Yemen, where the worst humanitarian crisis in the world is currently taking place, brought on by a Saudi-led war that the United States is supporting? Just yesterday, a CNN report detailed how our
Saudi and Emirati allies have been giving U.S.-made weapons to Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Yemen, and have also fallen into the hands of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. This war is a disaster, which is why the Senate passed my resolution last
December calling on the president to end our support for it, and why colleagues in both the House and Senate re-introduced that legislation last week. Yet the president did not even mention it.
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Source: Progressive response to 2019 State of the Union speech
John Delaney on Yemen:
(War & Peace Feb 4, 2019)
Withdraw military aid from Saudi forces fighting in Yemen
- Foreign policy: Supports punishing Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
- Delaney strongly supports the Senate vote declaring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.
- Delaney has also praised the Senate's decision to withdraw military aid from Saudi forces fighting in Yemen.
- He has not spoken publicly about Trump's decision to withdraw American forces from Syria.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Cory Booker on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Feb 1, 2019)
Re-examine relationship with Saudi Arabia
- A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Booker has grown increasingly critical of the Trump administration's policy in Saudi Arabia, especially after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
-
Booker believes it's time to "re-examine" the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and previously voted against arms sales to the kingdom.
-
Booker has also criticized U.S. policy and airstrikes in Syria, and believes the 2001 military authorization passed by Congress after the 9/11 terror attacks should not be used to justify continued action in Syria.
-
Booker believes Trump's planned withdrawal of troops from Syria is "reckless and dangerous" but also voted against a Senate resolution that warned against a hasty withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jan 16, 2019)
End military aid to Saudi Arabia to attack Yemen
- Gillibrand co-sponsored legislation that would end U.S. support for the Saudi-led conflict in Yemen.
- She has written that Saudi Arabia is using American weapons to "terrorize Yemeni civilians."
- In regards to the murder of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi, Gillibrand wrote that the U.S. should hold "the Saudi government to account."
- It is not clear where she stands on whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman personally was responsible for the killing.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Tulsi Gabbard on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jan 14, 2019)
End US support for Saudi-led conflict in Yemen
- In general, Gabbard believes the U.S. should be less involved in foreign conflicts and have a smaller troop presence in many places around the world. She has specifically called on the U.S. military to pull out of Afghanistan.
- Gabbard also
opposes US military presence and action in Syria.
- The congresswoman believes U.S. action around the world often benefits extremists. She also has argued that Democrats and others should not back away from the term "Islamic extremists."
- Gabbard
has said the US is complicit in a humanitarian disaster by giving support to the Saudis, because they have cut off aid to large parts of the Yemeni population while battling rebels there.
- She also sent a controversial tweet that was highly critical
of Trump following news that the U.S. was standing by Saudi leadership despite intelligence implicating the kingdom's crown prince in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
- Gabbard believes Saudi Arabia is a hub of anti-Western extremism.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Yemen:
(War & Peace Nov 25, 2018)
Withdraw US support for Saudi-led war in Yemen
Q: You back a resolution for pulling back any kind of U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Do you see, given the scrutiny in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi new support for this bill?SANDERS: I do. When we brought this
up in March we ended up with 44 votes--only 5 Republicans. I think we now have a chance to get a majority of the Senate. I think people are looking at the horrific humanitarian disaster now taking place in Yemen. There was a recent report that over the
last number of years some 75,000 children have died of starvation. This is a country dealing with cholera, with a terrible level of famine. This war was never authorized by the US Congress in violation of our constitution. And you got the Khashoggi
incident which says that we have a Saudi government led by a despotic ruler who killed a political opponent in cold blood. Add that all together. I think the American people & Congress are now saying let us end our support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Rand Paul on Yemen:
(War & Peace Nov 18, 2018)
Cut off arms sales to Saudis; war in Yemen hurts US security
Q: The CIA has determined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. PAUL: That evidence is overwhelming and, no, I don't think we can sweep this under the rug.
Q: President Trump
imposed sanctions.
PAUL: The [Saudis] will see sanctions as weakness and if the President wants to act strongly he should cut off the arms sale not only because of the killing but until they stop indiscriminately bombing civilian populations.
Q: You're talking about in Yemen?
PAUL: Yes, in Yemen.
Q: Should this trigger some change in policy? The president says he's not going to hurt the economic benefits of arms sales.
PAUL: The arms sales don't make us safer.
When we sell arms to a foreign country, it should not ever be for jobs, it should be for our national security. The Saudis' involving us in their war in Yemen is not good for our national security. So we should quit arming the Saudis.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Rand Paul on Yemen:
(War & Peace Oct 21, 2018)
Yemen War is part of 1000-year civil war
Q: What about US involvement with the war in Yemen?PAUL: I think the war in Yemen actually increases our national risk. It makes us less secure in the Middle East. We should not be supplying the Saudis with bombs. They've been indiscriminately
killing civilians. Just last month, 50 schoolchildren were killed in the bombing of the school bus. They killed 150 people at a funeral possession. The Saudis have not been acting in a just fashion. Yemen's one of the poorest planets on the earth.
Millions of people there face starvation, over a million people had cholera and the Saudis continue to block their ports. I don't think that there's a national security reason for us to be involved in the war in Yemen. This is a thousand-year-old war in
the Middle East between Sunni and Shia, and Saudi Arabia is pitted up against Iran [Note: In Yemen, and the Saudis support the Sunni government, and the Iranians support the Shia Houthis].
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Donald Trump on Yemen:
(Immigration Mar 6, 2017)
Protect America by banning refugees from terrorist countries
The Trump administration today announced a new Muslim ban executive order entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry". [The original Jan. 2017 order reduces to 50,000 the annual number of refugees allowed from 7 Muslim countries, and
sets the number allowed from Syria to zero. After a court found that unconstitutional, the March 2017 order replaced the list of 7 countries with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, for 90 days]. The director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights
Project had this reaction:"The Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws. The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban
is not to have a Muslim ban. Instead, Pres. Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination. The changes the Trump administration has made completely undermine the bogus national security justifications the president has tried to hide behind.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: ACLU Fact-Check of Trump Administration promises & actions
John Kasich on Yemen:
(Foreign Policy Jan 15, 2015)
Criticizes Saudis for extremism in Sunni-Shia split
During the Fox Business Network debate in Charleston, the moderator asked John Kasich about Saudi Arabia's recent execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The Ohio governor is nearly alone in discussing Saudi Arabian support to
Sunni extremist groups in such a public forum.As Saudi Arabia has courted international controversy--by launching a bloody war in Yemen last year and embarking on a steep increase in executions for minor or political crimes--
the country has also ramped up its efforts to influence the American policy debate. Still, one of the main goals of Saudi outreach is to promote the idea that the country serves as a strong ally to U.S. efforts in
Syria, a point referenced by Kasich. The truth, however, is that Saudi shifted much of its military from striking ISIS targets in Syria to focus on the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
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Source: Lee Fang in The Intercept on 2016 Presidential hopefuls
Barack Obama on Yemen:
(War & Peace Jan 28, 2014)
Support rebels in Syria who oppose terrorism
While we have put al Qaeda's core leadership on a path to defeat, the threat has evolved, as al Qaeda affiliates and other extremists take root in different parts of the world.
In Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and Mali, we have to keep working with partners to disrupt and disable these networks. In Syria, we'll support the opposition that rejects the agenda of terrorist networks.
American diplomacy, backed by the threat of force, is why Syria's chemical weapons are being eliminated,
and we will continue to work with the international community to usher in the future the Syrian people deserve--a future free of dictatorship, terror and fear.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2014 State of the Union address
Hillary Clinton on Yemen:
(Homeland Security Nov 1, 2003)
I despise terrorism and the nihilism it represents
On Oct. 11, the USS Cole was attacked by terrorists in Yemen. The explosion killed 17 US sailors and ripped a hole in the destroyer’s hull. This attack, like the embassy bombings, was later traced to al Qaeda.I despise terrorism and the nihilism it
represents, and I was incredulous when the NY Republican Party and Lazio campaign insinuated that I was somehow involved with the terrorists who blew up the Cole. They made this charge in a TV ad and an automatic telephone message directed to NY voters
12 days before the election. The story they concocted was that I had received a donation from somebody who belonged to a group that they said supported terrorists--“the same kind of terrorism that killed our sailors on the USS Cole.” The phone script
told people to call me and tell me to “stop supporting terrorism.” This last-minute desperation tactic blew up, however, thanks to a vigorous response by my campaign and with help from former NYC mayor Ed Koch, who cut a TV commercial scolding Lazio.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Clinton, p.521-522
Page last updated: Mar 02, 2022
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