Will pressure on the Saudi crown prince impact the humanitarian crisis in Yemen?

[BeckyDem]

Oct 22, 2018 6:40 PM EDT

Jamal Khashoggi’s alleged murder has put a spotlight on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But it isn’t the first time. He also leads the coalition waging war in Yemen. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson smuggled herself into a rebel-held area this summer, encountering starving children. Nick Schifrin speaks with F. Gregory Gause of Texas A&M and Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute.

Read the Full Transcript

Judy Woodruff:

The apparent killing of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabian agents has roiled the Middle East like few events in recent years.

And the allegation of involvement by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has put his leadership role in the spotlight, but not for the first time.

Once again, here's Nick Schifrin.

Nick Schifrin:

Thirty-three-year-old Mohammed bin Salman has been praised as a reformer, but also vilified as impetuous and a human rights abuser.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/will-pressure-on-the-saudi-crown-prince-impact-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-yemen

[Odoreida]

1. It's not a "humanitarian crisis" ...

Save that description for people rendered homeless by hurricanes and the like.

It is a war of extermination in Yemen.

[BeckyDem]

2. Hopefully that won't happen: Congress must end U.S. military aid to Saudi war in Yemen

Congress must end U.S. military aid to Saudi war in Yemen

By Ro Khanna Oct. 20, 2018

Every ghastly new detail we learn about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi suggests that this was a premeditated murder, carried out at the direction of the highest level of the Saudi dictatorship. The cascading revelations rival the gore of horror films, from the 15 Saudis who flew into Turkey, lying in wait for Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, to the bone-saw-equipped forensics specialist who reportedly dismembered Khashoggi’s body wearing headphones and recommending that others listen to music as well.

Just weeks before, Khashoggi had publicly pleaded with the de facto ruler of the Saudi regime, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to curb his propensity for violence. Khashoggi’s September column for the Washington Post was headlined “Saudi Arabia’s crown prince must restore dignity to his country — by ending Yemen’s cruel war.”

“Cruel” is, if anything, an understatement. Since 2015, the Saudis have launched an estimated 18,000 air strikes on Yemen, attacking hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, funerals, markets and even farms. The Saudis also imposed a blockade on food, fuel and medicine from freely entering the country in what can only be described as a deliberate effort to starve the civilian population into submission. Buried by the news of Khashoggi’s slaying was a grim new warning by Lise Grande, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen: The nation could experience the world’s worst famine in 100 years, with 12 million to 13 million innocent civilians at risk of dying from the lack of food within months.

As early as 2015, Foreign Policy magazine reported the Saudi coalition’s “daily bombing campaign would not be possible without the constant presence of U.S. Air Force tanker planes refueling coalition jets.” Yet there was never a debate or vote by the people’s elected congressional representatives, as required by the Constitution, as to whether the U.S. military should participate in the Saudi government’s genocidal war.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/Congress-must-end-U-S-military-aid-to-Saudi-war-13319536.php