The U.S. Should Not Fund Saudi Arabia’s War On Yemen

Sen. Rand Paul

American-built planes with American bombs were used by the Saudis to bomb a funeral procession in Yemen. Over 100 people were killed, and 500 mourners were wounded. Active duty American pilots have been refueling the planes dropping bombs across Yemen.

Sounds like war to me.

But when did we declare war on Yemen? When did Congress vote to authorize military force in Yemen? Who is the enemy, and why are we fighting them?

Let’s be clear: war was NOT declared by Congress, as the Constitution requires. Congress never authorized American participation in a war in Yemen. And yet, here we are, involved in yet another Middle East war.

We have an unfortunate habit of arming foreign nations, only to discover that these supposed allies may be creating more enemies for America than they are killing.

Not only are we selling the bombs to Saudi Arabia that they are dropping on Yemen, the president’s first military act was to send a manned raid of Navy Seals into Yemen.

In a country where so many factions are fighting, it is nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe.

Thousands of civilians have been killed by Saudi bombings in Yemen. The blowback from these civilian deaths will be generations of hatred and likely more terrorism.

In recent years, there hasn’t been a military action taken in Yemen by Saudi Arabia that doesn’t have America’s fingerprints all over it.

As my colleague Senator Chris Murphy said last year, “If you talk to Yemenis, they will tell you that this is perceived inside Yemen as not a Saudi-led bombing campaign […] but as a U.S. bombing campaign or at best a U.S.-Saudi bombing campaign.”

Obviously, none of this enhances U.S. national security. But how many Americans are even aware that we are actively involved in a war in Yemen?