U.S. Senate admits his country’s crimes on Yemen

a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor about the importance of the Biden administration’s actions to end the war in Yemen and reset the U.S.-Gulf relationship. Murphy specifically praised the administration’s decision to withdraw from the military coalition in Yemen, pause arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and review the Trump administration’s misguided Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for the Houthis in Yemen. All of these actions together will help save civilian lives and rebalance our strategic partnership with the Gulf.

On ending U.S. support for the war in Yemen, Murphy said: “In every way, [the war in Yemen] has been a nightmare from a security perspective for the United States…But with the election and inauguration of President Biden, our participation in this national security cataclysm is coming to an end.”

Murphy continued: “The Biden administration has made several very important decisions that they have announced at the outset of their term in office. One, the plan to withdraw from the military coalition. Second, a decision to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE who are the primary participants in this coalition. UAE has dramatically scaled back their involvement, to their credit. The Saudis continue to fight this war on the ground and in the air.”

On resetting the U.S.-Gulf partnership, Murphy said: “Saudi Arabia is an important security partner for the United States. UAE is an important security partner for the United States….But it’s time for us to reset those relationships, to make clear that if our Gulf partners are going to participate in actions inside the region that are terrible for our security interests, then we can’t join them in those actions. A reset that includes an expectation that the Saudis and the Emiratis address what is a very disturbing downward trend in the ability of individuals inside those countries to have political space with which to contest grievances with the regimes. It’s time for us to make sure that our relationships with our Gulf allies are always consistent with U.S. national security endeavors.”

Source: Websites

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