The circumstances regarding Qatar have directed attention to the Persian Gulf, a region Americans would like to forget. President Trump rashly sided with Saudi Arabia when it severed relations with the country, which it accused of supporting terrorism and being cuddly with Iran. The Saudis are not clean, either. And they are involved in another distressing situation in the greater region.
Yemen has been beset by civil war. We will spare readers the details in part because it would take several pages of newsprint to describe all the players. There may be no good guys. Yemen qualifies as yet another example of the bad versus worse stakes that beset an arc stretching from North Africa’s Atlantic coast to India. Only Israel and perhaps Tunisia and Morocco stand out as exceptions to a miserable rule. Jordan may be the best of the rest.
Yemen flunks every test, yet we decline to take sides in its internal conflict. This much we know: Civilians and innocents will suffer. Saudi Arabia sides with the regime…. … Saudi intervention intensifies the suffering, however, while doing little to promote progress. A proposed sale of U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia would make matters worse. The weapons would be used against innocents.
Famine is possible, Oxfam warns. Famine in Yemen might define a Saudi goal. Oxfam stands with Doctors Without Borders among the admirable organizations that promote decency worldwide. It brings light to the dark places of the Earth. It opposes the arms sales. Bipartisan legislation would block them. The Times-Dispatch opposes the sales as well. The Senate could vote on them today.
Sen. Tim Kaine sits on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. He supports the Yemeni regime. We understand. We also believe, or want to believe, that the war against terrorism can be prosecuted without aligning the U.S. with repressive regimes that violate American principles. Saudi Arabia is not a force for good in Yemen. This is not an easy call. Yet we ultimately believe that peace can best be promoted by saying to all that enough is enough. The Senate’s rejection of the arms deal would send the Saudis a needed message.
Source: Richmond Times Dispatch, Edited by Website Team
