Local Editor
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., sounded off on the Obama Administration for its part in Saudi Arabia’s bombings in Yemen, telling CNN’s "The Lead With Jake Tapper" on Tuesday the U.S. participation in the "unauthorized" conflict is "helping to radicalize the population" against the U.S., and it has to stop.
An airstrike hit a Doctors Without Borders in northern Yemen on Monday, killing and wounding some 20 of the hospital staff and patients, the Associated Press reported. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen since March 2015.
"If you talk to the Yemenis, they will say this is a U.S. bombing campaign," Murphy told Tapper. "What is happening is we’re helping to radicalize the population against the United Sates in the conduct of this campaign.
"The result is that people on the ground think the Unites States is involved in a campaign killing thousands of civilians, and that is terrible for us right now."
Murphy told Tapper "it is wild to me that we’re not talking more about this in the United States," particularly since there has been no vote or measure in Congress about authorizing the U.S. participation in this conflict because it does not target al Qaida or ISIS.
"This war to many of us looks unauthorized," Murphy told CNN. "The Saudis need more bombs, but this is another example of a war being conducted by this administration without prior approval."
Murphy vows to help stop the U.S. participation in the Saudi attacks when Congress reconvenes in September, he told CNN.
"I’m talking with Democrats and Republicans about what it is to stop this latest round of arms sales," Murphy told CNN. "We can put a pause or halt on all of this, so they can at least stop bombing civil hospitals and schools - and we need to press them to be more responsible.
The Democratic senator ripped the relative hypocrisy of Obama’s foreign policy.
"We hear from the Obama Administration criticism - and rightly so - that Syrians and Russians are targeting civilian locations in Syria right now; Bashar al Assad and the Russian army are targeting hospitals and civilian locations," he said. "We are doing [this] to a degree with a question able ally in Yemen."
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
About 10,000 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
