End U.S. military action in Yemen

What country is this?

' The poorest Arab country in the world.

' The most populous country on the Arabian Peninsula.

' More than 70 health care facilities have been destroyed by Saudi bombs.

' Twenty million of its people face starvation.

' Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have launched air and ground assaults on the population in the northern part of the country, using planes, missiles, bombs and guns from the U.S.

' The U.S. is providing intelligence and midair refueling to the Saudi coalition.

' The U.S. is engaged in military action there, using drones and special forces, often killing civilians. U.S. drone and plane bombing strikes was six times greater in 2017 than 2016.

' The U.N. has declared that this country is in the midst of the worst humanitarian disaster in the world, with armed conflict being the cause.

The question of 'what country is this” is easy to answer - Yemen. A more difficult question is: 'Why is the U.S. engaged in war there?” And why have so few of our elected representatives taken steps to stop it? Fifty members of the House of Representatives have signed H Con Res 81, which mandates an end to unauthorized U.S. military activities in Yemen. None of the Iowa delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives has signed it. Call your congressman's office and ask, 'Why not?” (Rep. Dave Loebsack, (202) 225-6576; Rep. Rod Blum, (202) 225-2911; Rep. David Young, (202) 225-5476; Rep. Steve King, (202) 225-4426)

Ed Flaherty

Iowa City