Trump vetoes bill to end US involvement in Yemen War

President Donald Trump has vetoed a Congress Bill for putting an end to the military assistance of the United States in the Saudi Arabia led to war in Yemen. The US Congress has voted for the first time in a break with the President for invoking the War Powers Resolution to try and put a stop to US involvement in the Yemen conflict. The Bill was vetoed by President Trump and there were not enough votes to overrule his veto.

In a statement made to the Congress, he said, “This resolution is unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future”.

The approval of the House for the Resolution had come earlier in the month on a 247-175 vote. The vote in the Senate last month was 54-46. There is an apparent unease in the Congress over his overwhelming support to the Saudi Arabia as the President is trying for further isolation of Iran which is a regional rival.

Many lawmakers also criticised the President for not suitably condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He was a known critic of the Kingdom. It was in last October when Khashoggi had visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and never came back. It was later reported that both the Intelligence Agencies and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman was complicit n the killing of Khashoggi. David Miliband, the CEO and President of the International Rescue Committee said about the veto that it is an “effective green light for the war strategy that has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis to continue. Yemen is at a breaking point with 10 million people on the brink of famine. There are as many as 100 civilian casualties per week, and Yemenis are more likely to be killed at home than in any other structure”.

The US plays a vital role in the conflict as it provides around billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi-led coalition which is fighting against the Houthi rebels which are backed by Iran. Ever since 2015, US has been instrumental in providing the aerial refuelling of jets, reconnaissance, targeting and intelligence information to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their campaign against the rebels who had unseated the elected government in Yemen.