Don't Arm a New War in Yemen: Vote YES on S.J.Res.216!

Stop $5 Billion in U.S. Bombs for a New War in Yemen

Yemen has plunged back into all-out war, and our government wants to rush Saudi Arabia $5 billion in bombs to fight it – including 5,000 2,000-pound bombs – while American analysts help pick the targets. Any senator can force a vote to block this sale, and if enough of us demand it right now, we can stop these bombs before they fall on Yemeni families.

Yemen's Saudi-backed government has launched a campaign to retake the entire country from the Houthis. Riyadh's plans call for more than 100,000 Yemeni troops on the ground, with Saudi warplanes overhead.

The bombs for that air war would come from us. The administration has notified Congress of a sale to Saudi Arabia of more than 10,000 guidance kits, which turn unguided bombs into precision weapons. The sale also includes 5,000 500-pound bombs and 5,000 2,000-pound bombs.

And it's not just our bombs. It's our people. More than 200 U.S. intelligence and military analysts are working inside Saudi command centers, helping select targets, according to The New York Times. Congress never voted for any of it.

Here's what a new offensive means for the people of Yemen. More than 130,000 people have already fled their homes since September, most of them women and children, and some are running for the fourth time. Thousands more have risked the sea crossing to Djibouti, because a refugee camp in another country feels safer than home. 22 million Yemenis, more than half the country, already depend on aid to survive.

This year, the UN refugee agency has received about 18 cents of every dollar it needs in Yemen. The bomb sale is worth more than 25 times that agency's ENTIRE Yemen budget.

$5 billion for the bombs. 18 cents on the dollar for the families running from them.

We've seen where this leads. The last time Riyadh waged war in Yemen with American bombs and American help, its airstrikes hit a crowded market, a funeral hall, and a school bus full of children. Thousands of civilians were killed, and millions were pushed to the edge of famine.

Americans will pay for this war too. The fighting centers on the Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. With the Strait of Hormuz already a war zone, it's one of the last open routes for the world's oil and cargo. Turn it into a battlefield and ships detour around Africa, shipping costs climb, and the bill lands at your gas pump and grocery store. That means more dead civilians, more Americans in harm's way, and higher prices at home. Boeing, which builds the guidance kits, gets paid either way.

The Senate can stop this sale. Under the Arms Export Control Act, Congress can block a major foreign arms sale by passing a joint resolution of disapproval. S.J.Res.216, introduced by Sens. Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Bernie Sanders, would block this one. It's privileged, which means any senator can force a floor vote and put every member of the Senate on the record. What moves a senator is hearing from the people they work for, before these bombs ship, not after.

We call on every U.S. Senator to vote YES on S.J.Res.216 and block the $5 billion bomb sale to Saudi Arabia.

These bombs haven't shipped yet. Add your name now.

Image Credit: Ahmed Farwan via CC BY-SA 2.0.