Punish the criminal Saudi regime by ending military support for their Yemen war
Petition to Congress:
Saudi Arabia is no friend of the United States or our values. Their leaders ordered a hit squad to kidnap, drug, strangle, and dismember a US-based journalist in 2018. Their most recent decision to slash oil production despite a personal request by Pres. Biden is helping to prop up the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting in 200,000 military casualties and untold civilians. This must end. We may not be able to hold the Saudi crown prince personally responsible for his crimes, but we can hold the country he rules politically responsible by ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen that has killed more than 200,000 people — by having Congress pass the Yemen War Powers Resolution.
On Thursday, we learned the Biden administration recommended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (“MBS”) not be criminally charged for the unbelievably brutal kidnapping, drugging, suffocation, and dismembering1 of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi because of a technicality: MBS is the country’s de facto leader and may be legally immune from prosecution.2
The Saudi leader’s policies are just as lethal as his personal orders. His country is helping Russia fund its war in Ukraine by cutting oil production, which raises oil prices, enriches Russia, and extends that war while maximizing the toll on men, women, and children.3
While the U.S. may not be able to hold the Saudis accountable in a court of law, Congress can hold Saudi Arabia politically accountable by passing a law to cut off U.S. military support for their unconscionable war in Yemen, a war that has killed more than 200,000 people.4
Sign the petition: Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution to end US support for the Saudis and their war in Yemen!
So long as the U.S. sends billions of dollars in weaponry and military contracts with Saudi Arabia, we are giving the Saudis, and their leaders, a free pass while they actively perpetuate one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians have died, many from hunger, lack of healthcare, and unsafe water, and 2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition.4
Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman should be an international pariah. President Biden has vowed as much.2 But only Congress has the lawmaking authority to hit the Saudis where it hurts — and make it stick for years to come.
Sign the petition: We demand Congress send a message to the Saudis — enough is enough — by passing the Yemen War Powers Resolution!
Sources:
- BCC, “Jamal Khashoggi: All you need to know about Saudi journalist's death,” February 24, 2021; and Jamal Khashoggi strangled as soon as he entered consulate, prosecutor confirms,” October 31, 2018.
- AP News, “US moves to shield Saudi crown prince in journalist killing,” November 18, 2022.
- NPR, “The White House accuses Saudi Arabia of aiding Russia and coercing OPEC oil producers,” October 13, 2022; and Bloomberg, “How the World Is Paying for Putin's War in Ukraine,” June 1, 2022.
- World Food Programme, “Yemen emergency,” November, 2022.
- BBC News, “Ukraine war: US estimates 200,000 military casualties on all sides,” November 10, 2022.