Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Trump administration 'continuing support for Saudi-led operation against Yemen to protect US arms sales'

"Stunned Silence and Selective Reading: Trump's UN Address
[...]
The essence of the Trump doctrine, if such a phrase can be applied to the impoverished, self-absorbed and mean-spirited view of America’s place in the world he enunciated, is that “strong, sovereign nations” are the basis for a stable international order. Different values and cultures can coexist, apparently—a sentiment that might come as a surprise to Kim Jong-un. Whatever else we might say about Kim, there’s no doubt he’s keen on preserving national sovereignty.

What Trump and other nationalists fail to consider is that the privileging of national sovereignty that is baked into the UN’s operating principles is potentially a problem rather than an asset. We have seen how competing national interests continually paralyse the Security Council: there is little willingness to compromise sacrosanct national interests and loyalties, and little sense of the collective good.

Perhaps we should not be surprised about such underlying geopolitical realties. Whether we can afford them in a deeply interconnected international order where our fates are mutually determined is another question. For all its well-known problems and inadequacies, the UN is one of the few venues designed to encourage and facilitate cooperation and collective problem solving."

VIDEO

State Department says it has urged all parties in the conflict to avoid harming civilians in Yemen

Andrew Buncombe
Washington DC @AndrewBuncombe
Thursday 20 September 2018 17:19

[...]

The Wall Street Journal report .. https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-u-s-diplomat-backed-continuing-support-for-saudi-war-in-yemen-over-objections-of-staff-1537441200 , based on a leaked classified email and sources familiar with the deal, said Mr Pompeo “overruled concerns from most of the state department specialists involved in the debate who were worried about the rising civilian death toll in Yemen”. It said Mr Pompeo, a former Director of CIA, decided to side with his legislative affairs team that warned of the potential threat to the proposed arms sales.

Among those groups he reportedly sided against were his department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said Washington should halt military aid as continuing it would not help the approach of Saudi Arabia and the UAE “civilian casualties or human protections”.

[...]

The UK is also providing logistical and intelligence support and British prime minister Theresa May has ignored demands to block the sale of UK-manufactured munitions being used in the operation, amid mounting concerns about civilian casualties. In August, at least 43 people were killed in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike struck a school bus in the Houthi controlled area of Dahyan.

Activists said the latest revelations underscored the need for the US and UK to halt their support for the coalition, which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-us-saudi-arabia-yemen-mike-pompeo-arms-sales-gulf-allies-a8547566.html

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Most Britons oppose Saudi Arabia arms sales amid Yemen bombing

Most Britons oppose Saudi Arabia arms sales amid Yemen bombing https://t.co/w8qI5aFLso

— The Independent (@Independent) September 11, 2018

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Fight against famine is being lost in Yemen, United Nations humanitarian chief warns

'We may now be approaching a tipping point, beyond which it will be impossible to prevent massive loss of life,' Mark Lowcock warns

Edith M Lederer
Saturday 22 September 2018 01:06

The fight against famine is being lost in Yemen, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief has warned.

Mark Lowcock called the situation “bleak” and told the Security Council it had “deteriorated in an alarming way in recent weeks”.

“We may now be approaching a tipping point, beyond which it will be impossible to prevent massive loss of life as a result of widespread famine across the country,” he said. “We are already seeing pockets of famine-like conditions, including cases where people are eating leaves.”

The middle eastern country is already facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with 75 per cent of its 29 million people in need of assistance.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-famine-united-nations-starvation-mark-lowcock-on-the-brink-a8549541.html

See also:

JimLur, Trump’s sanctions against Iran are a clear breach of international law
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=143445446

Donald Trump, Gunrunner for Hire
by William Hartung Aug. 16, 2018
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=142946957

conix, Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
"Iran Admits To Facilitating 9/11 Terror Attacks"
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=141419988
.. in that one also ..
Argument
Donald Trump Has Unleashed the Saudi Arabia We Always Wanted — and Feared
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put the Middle East on a collision course. And the White House will own the consequences.
By Aaron David Miller, Richard Sokolsky | November 10, 2017, 2:20 PM
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/11/10/donald-trump-has-unleashed-the-saudi-arabia-we-always-wanted-and-feared/