End U.S. support for Saudi war in Yemen

It’s heartening to read that Cedar Rapids has begun to do its part to help Ukrainian refugees, thereby alleviating some measure of the plight of displaced war victims. It’s even more important to prevent and end war in any way possible, and in fact there is something critical we can do to end the war in Yemen that is responsible for what the U.N. has described as the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe. The World Food Program estimates that half of the 2.3 million Yemeni children under 5 are at risk of acute malnutrition, with 400,000 at risk of dying if they don’t receive treatment.

The acute food shortage that is causing this situation is largely the result of a blockade of Yemeni ports enforced by Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. has been playing a critical role in supporting this through sales of fighter jets, spare parts, bombs, and intelligence-sharing. This is true in spite of President Biden’s campaign pledge to end U.S. participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and his announcement that the U.S. has ended its support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen.

A Yemen War Powers Resolution bill is being crafted in both the House and the Senate to hold our president to his commitment to end ALL U.S. support for the Yemen War, and I urge Sens. Grassley and Ernst along with Reps. Hinson, Miller-Meeks, Axne, and Feenstra to support these bills as they are introduced.

Anthony Robinson

Iowa City