As salaamu alaykum, Indiana —
Nearly 8 years of virtually-constant bombing. Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians killed. Two million children suffering from acute malnutrition.¹
That's the reality of U.S. participation in the brutal Saudi-led war in Yemen.
When it's paired with a blockade preventing food, fuel and medical supplies from reaching the Yemeni people, it adds up to what the UN has called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Joe Biden promised to end U.S. support for the disastrous war in Yemen. But more than a year in, the administration is still dragging its feet to keep that promise.²
But we don't have to wait for Joe Biden to keep his campaign promise to end it — Congress can pass a Yemen War Powers Resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the war in Yemen.
A War Powers Resolution has just been introduced in Congress by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Nancy Mace (SC-01), and Adam Schiff (CA-28) along with 85 cosponsors and we need to put pressure on lawmakers to support its passage.³
UN estimates say that the war has killed 377,000 people as of the end of last year, whether directly through bombing or indirectly through hunger and disease. Seventy percent of those deaths are children, with a Yemeni child reportedly dying every 75 seconds.⁴
The U.S. could stop supporting this nightmare any time.
That's why we've been working for nearly five years with other partners on efforts to end U.S. military involvement in the war in Yemen — and in 2019, played a part in one of the most successful War Powers Congressional votes.⁵
Biden might not have kept his promise on Yemen, but he's not kept it quietly — and Congressional action might put the administration in a position where Biden either has to keep his promise or pay a heavy political price.
This is winnable, Indiana. A Congressional War Powers Resolution on Yemen, once it passes, will do so in a very different political context than similar efforts that were led under Trump.
Now it's up to us to take action and fight for the children of Yemen and call for an end to the unauthorized U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Thank you for all you do.
In solidarity,
Yasmine Taeb
Legislative and Political Director
MPower Action
Sources:
1. "Yemen Faces 'Unimaginable Suffering' as U.S.-Backed Saudi War Enters Eighth Year," Common Dreams, March 24, 2022.
2. "Biden's about-turn on Saudi war in Yemen," Financial Times, June 27, 2022.
3. "Congress Launches a New Bipartisan Effort to End the War in Yemen," The Intercept, June 1, 2022.
4. "Gas Price Politics and Genocide Collide in Yemen," The Intercept, February 11, 2022.
5. "Congress passes historic resolution to end U.S. support for Saudi-led war in Yemen," Vox, April 4, 2019.
MPower Action is the political lobbying arm of MPower Change, a grassroots movement of diverse Muslim communities working together to build social, spiritual, racial, and economic justice for all people.
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