Friends Committee on National Legislation Issues Statement on Voting to End War in Yemen

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- The Friends Committee on National Legislation issued the following statement by Legislative Director on Middle East Policy Kate Gould:

"Today, 44 senators made history by supporting the first-ever vote on withdrawing U.S. armed forces from an unauthorized war. While the Senate missed this opportunity to end the war, it is a welcome development that 44 senators took an important step toward restoring congressional authority over decisions on war and peace, as required by the Constitution, and toward ending U.S. collusion in the famine-inducing Saudi-led war in Yemen.

"On the very same day the Saudi Crown Prince visited the White House and Capitol Hill, this historic vote sent a crystal clear message that U.S. complicity in the Saudi-led slaughter of Yemeni men, women, and children must end.

"It is fitting that this historic vote occurred on the 15th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a sobering reminder of the catastrophic consequences of the decision to go to war. Since that fateful day, it is staggering how rarely Congress has voted on or debated U.S. wars around the globe. The Sanders-Lee-Murphy legislation forced the Senate to both debate and vote on a war that the U.S. has waged in the shadows for three years.

"Despite Trump's White House and Saudi-funded lobbyists teaming up to run a full-court press on Capitol Hill, the momentum to end this war continues to build. Opponents of this legislation took to the floor today to argue in favor of ending this famine-inducing war, and justified their vote on the grounds of favoring action in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) over S.J. Res. 54. We look forward to working with SFRC leadership and members to ensure that meaningful action is taken, which the committee has failed to do for more than three years.

"Today's debate, as well as the courageous vote by 44 senators, is owed in no small part to the indomitable power of citizen activists in every state who generated tens of thousands of calls and emails to ensure Yemen topped every senator's agenda.

"The groundswell of grassroots activism to end this war is not going to let up until this illegal war ends, and U.S. pilots stop fueling U.S.-made bombers to rein down U.S.-made bombs on schools, hospitals and neighborhoods. The U.S. must stop literally fueling the deliberate killing and starvation of countless civilians in Yemen, and support a peaceful solution to end this crisis."