Veterans For Peace, Chapter 161
Statement on Yemen
March, 2021
 

Thank you to President Biden for announcing an end to the United States' six years of aiding and abetting the Saudi coalition's devastating military attacks on Yemen. On February 4th, President Biden said "this war has to end" and called the suffering of the Yemeni people "unendurable." He said the US would no longer support Saudi offensive military attacks on Yemen, and ordered a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and a pause on arms sales to the UAE(United Arab Emirates). Since that announcement, his administration has rescinded the Trump administration's designation of the Houthi's as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and has initiated diplomatic talks with many of the parties involved. All of these changes are welcome, yet they highlight the awful tragedy of the past six years and also the desperate need for more immediate progress.

The victims of this six-year war have been largely Yemeni civilians. Yemen, population 30 million, was already the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula. To be clear, no player in this conflict has a clean record. The Houthi's have blocked access to humanitarian aid, enlisted child soldiers, and have terrorized civilians. But to also be clear, it was not the Houthi's that started this armed conflict. In March, 2015, Saudi Arabia , with US approval, intelligence, and logistic support, began dropping US bombs, putting an end to the negotiations that were on the table. There has never been congressional approval of our military role against the Houthi's, as required by the U.S. Constitution.

Sadly, we, the U.S., bear a great responsibility for the Yemen catastrophe. There are humanitarian disasters all over the world and the U.S. can't cure them all. But this disaster is human-made, and the U.S. has been complicit from day one. A US change in policy now cannot bring back the 100,000 Yemenis killed by US bombs dropped by Saudi F-15's, nor can it bring back to life the hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, who have starved to death in the last six years. But the U.S. can and must do more now, because the present situation is dire. Food and fuel in Yemen are scarce and terribly expensive. On February 12th, four UN organizations (Food & Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, World Food Program, and the World Health Organization) said that without an immediate increase in humanitarian aid, 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of 5 could die of starvation yet this year.

The U.S. must do no more harm in Yemen. Veterans For Peace urges that all pending arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE be cancelled, not just frozen or paused. We also urge that all US troops and military contractors be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. must work with the UN and other donor nations to increase humanitarian aid and then work inclusively with all parties to secure a cease fire and peace negotiations.

Lastly, this welcome change in policy by the Biden administration should be looked upon as low hanging fruit—this unproductive, senseless use of US power in the past six years has not increased our national security one iota. The reversal of US policy in Yemen can be the opportunity for a true reset of our policy toward the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Iran. We must encourage the Biden Administration to seek peace in Yemen. To do so, go to the websites, Whitehous.gov and State.gov and scroll to the bottom where the contact us link will allow you to send your message to the White House and the US State Department. And our US senators must be encouraged to support this welcome change in policy.

[First published in the Iowa City Press Citizen and the Cedar Rapid Gazette in the second week of March, 2021.]

Stand up for Peace! Fridays, New hours: 3:30 to 4:30 pm at the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Clinton Street on the University of Iowa Pentacrest Iowa City

Are you ready to show up for peace? Join us for an hour, or even just a few minutes, to voice your support for peace. We citizens must stand as a reminder that the military option is an unacceptable option. Come with your friends, your family, your neighbors, or just yourself — all are welcome.
 

 
Brief recap of Veterans For Peace Chapter #161 activities

 
Welcome to Veterans For Peace

Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.

Statement of Purpose

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others

• To increase public awareness of the costs of war
  
  
• To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
  
  
• To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
  
  
• To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
  
  
• To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
  

To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.
 

Rendered for inclusion on website

Veterans For Peace, Chapter 161
Statement on Yemen
March, 2021
 

Thank you to President Biden for announcing an end to the United States' six years of aiding and abetting the Saudi coalition's devastating military attacks on Yemen. On February 4th, President Biden said "this war has to end" and called the suffering of the Yemeni people "unendurable." He said the US would no longer support Saudi offensive military attacks on Yemen, and ordered a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and a pause on arms sales to the UAE(United Arab Emirates). Since that announcement, his administration has rescinded the Trump administration's designation of the Houthi's as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and has initiated diplomatic talks with many of the parties involved. All of these changes are welcome, yet they highlight the awful tragedy of the past six years and also the desperate need for more immediate progress.

The victims of this six-year war have been largely Yemeni civilians. Yemen, population 30 million, was already the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula. To be clear, no player in this conflict has a clean record. The Houthi's have blocked access to humanitarian aid, enlisted child soldiers, and have terrorized civilians. But to also be clear, it was not the Houthi's that started this armed conflict. In March, 2015, Saudi Arabia , with US approval, intelligence, and logistic support, began dropping US bombs, putting an end to the negotiations that were on the table. There has never been congressional approval of our military role against the Houthi's, as required by the U.S. Constitution.

Sadly, we, the U.S., bear a great responsibility for the Yemen catastrophe. There are humanitarian disasters all over the world and the U.S. can't cure them all. But this disaster is human-made, and the U.S. has been complicit from day one. A US change in policy now cannot bring back the 100,000 Yemenis killed by US bombs dropped by Saudi F-15's, nor can it bring back to life the hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, who have starved to death in the last six years. But the U.S. can and must do more now, because the present situation is dire. Food and fuel in Yemen are scarce and terribly expensive. On February 12th, four UN organizations (Food & Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, World Food Program, and the World Health Organization) said that without an immediate increase in humanitarian aid, 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of 5 could die of starvation yet this year.

The U.S. must do no more harm in Yemen. Veterans For Peace urges that all pending arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE be cancelled, not just frozen or paused. We also urge that all US troops and military contractors be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. must work with the UN and other donor nations to increase humanitarian aid and then work inclusively with all parties to secure a cease fire and peace negotiations.

Lastly, this welcome change in policy by the Biden administration should be looked upon as low hanging fruit—this unproductive, senseless use of US power in the past six years has not increased our national security one iota. The reversal of US policy in Yemen can be the opportunity for a true reset of our policy toward the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Iran. We must encourage the Biden Administration to seek peace in Yemen. To do so, go to the websites, Whitehous.gov and State.gov and scroll to the bottom where the contact us link will allow you to send your message to the White House and the US State Department. And our US senators must be encouraged to support this welcome change in policy.

[First published in the Iowa City Press Citizen and the Cedar Rapid Gazette in the second week of March, 2021.]

Veterans For Peace, Chapter 161

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