IPFS

Washington's War on Yemen

Written by Subject: WAR: About that War

Washington's War on Yemen

by Stephen Lendman

Obama waged naked aggression on Yemen throughout his tenure, along with bombing half a dozen other countries illegally, exceeding the worst of George Bush.

He's a constitutional lawyer. In 2008, he admitted presidents don't "have power under the Constitution (and international law) to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

None existed throughout his time in office. Every country America attacked since WW II posed no threat to the nation's security. Yet endless US wars of aggression rage in multiple theaters.

Yemen is Obama's war, partnered with Saudi Arabia, other Gulf States and Israel, orchestrating terror-bombing, choosing targets to strike, committing slow-motion genocide against millions of affected Yemenis.

What's ongoing is largely unreported, 24 million people at risk ignored, thousands dying from war, related violence, preventable diseases and starvation.

Official numbers way undercount reality on the ground. Media scoundrels ignore Washington's responsibility for appalling carnage, an entire population at risk.

On May 2, Press TV reported US special forces "arrived in Yemen (on April 25) to fight alongside Emirati forces" on the phony pretext of combating Al-Qaeda terrorists - created and supported by Washington.

On May 6, the Pentagon for the first time publicly admitted US combat troops are operating in Yemen. US warplanes are terror-bombing targets along with Riyadh's aerial campaign.

Claiming its operations are separate from war on Houthis belies Washington's aim to defeat them and re-install its former Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi puppet regime.

Despite over a year of intense conflict, Houthi resistance remains resilient. It's unclear how many US combat troops were deployed so far or if something much larger is planned.

A US naval Amphibious Ready Group is positioned offshore, including the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Is a larger invasion coming, backed by naval and air power?

Is greater US war than ever about to be initiated against an already devastated country, the region's poorest in normal times, its people victimized by US imperial lawlessness.

Millions of Yemenis are trapped by war, desperate for help and refuge, over 80% of the population in dire need for humanitarian aid in short supply or unavailable for many.

Endless war continues - perhaps for years as long as Washington rejects peace. To no avail, Amnesty International called on Washington and Britain to halt the "reckless" deliveries of "arms for use in" waging war, civilians harmed most.

They're "flooding the region with arms," said AI, including cluster munitions and other banned weapons. On May 4, Human Rights Watch accused all sides of war crimes.

It blamed Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries for "indiscriminate airstrikes against residential neighborhoods, markets, and other civilian structures," massacring defenseless Yemenis in cold blood.

UN-backed peace talks in Kuwait since April 21 accomplished nothing, unlikely to ahead because Washington wants endless wars throughout the region and beyond.

It's a national sickness, an addiction, an incurable disease threatening humanity's survival.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

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