Larry's Warning.

We better listen. 

 

Garland Summarizes It Well...

 ... Garland summarized situation with Yemen extremely well. 

He is spot on with description of narcissism in D.C. a desire to look "strong". Now, recall this I wrote 7 years ago:

As strange as it may sound, it was the continental warfare of WWII that the United States did not experience on its own soil, and the lack of experiencing any invasion by a peer foreign power, that failed to provide it with the historic glue, which was responsible to a large degree for the formation of modern nations. This may have played in favor of America’s post-WWII greatness, but it also bore the seeds of the American myth’s destruction with it. Those seeds, overlooked by a non-inquisitive American political and intellectual class in the 20th and 21st centuries, were pivotal in reinforcing stereotypes and clichés which, otherwise, they would have rejected as not having a solid grounding in real life. 

You cannot explain this to an average American politician or top brass--they have no idea what it means to fight for your land. So, US is doing what it does best--bomb countries without air-defense and air forces. Well, what can I say--we'll have to wait and see where this whole thing goes toward.

Some Signs Of Life or Just Another Ploy?

Fact is, people like Tulsi Gabbard and Daniel Larison should be credited with this: 

The US House of Representatives has voted in favor of ending US involvement in the war in Yemen, but the bill is expected to be vetoed by President Donald Trump as the White House cites “serious constitutional concerns.”The House voted 247-175 in favor of the resolution to direct Trump to end US military involvement in the war within 30 days and to end support for the Saudi-led coalition that it has been backing.

Trump will veto this most likely and then there is another small twist to all that:

Congress is “no longer going to ignore its constitutional obligations when it comes to foreign policy,” said Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, adding that the war in Yemen, now in its fifth year, “demands moral leadership.”

My issue is this:

Article I of the Constitution enumerates several of Congress’s foreign affairs powers, including those to “regulate commerce with foreign nations,” “declare war,” “raise and support armies,” “provide and maintain a navy,” and “make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.” The Constitution also makes two of the president’s foreign affairs powers—making treaties and appointing diplomats—dependent on Senate approval. 

But here is this constitutional conundrum, I omit here the impetus of Saudis greatly publicized slaughter of opposition journalist Khashoggi, in this matter: US Congress can not make treaties but it can and it did, in fact, it de-fanged Trump. Remember?

Public Law No: 115-44 (08/02/2017) Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act

So, as I wrote in 2017: 

But as of now--it is as good time as any to get pop-corn out and see, sometimes with pain, sometimes with amusement, how a bunch of morons in some Congress in D.C. just created America's worst case scenario with Russia and China all but becoming a full fledged allies (once Power of Siberia is launched in 2019, Europe can go to hell), with Iran now, inevitably, moving closer to this alliance. Talk about shooting oneself in a foot--but that was my position from the inception of this blog: the level of ignorance about outside world in D.C. is unbelievable and is clear and present danger to real American interests in staying much relevant and important major power in emerging new world geopolitical and economic order.  

Trump is really NOT in control of US Foreign Policy and a single occasion on which US Congress raised its voice allegedly for moral reasons, doesn't change situation with US foreign policy being ultimately controlled by neocons both in executive and legislative branches. While Saudi's genocidal war against Yemen must stop, this all is as far as it goes. American political machine and, especially, its foreign policy establishment are broken and I don't see how this could be fixed.

I Would Love To Celebrate North American World Cup 2026, But I Can Not.

Both Bernhard of Moon of Alabama and Daniel Larison of The American Conservative to their highest human credit are ringing in all bells to attract attention to a possible famine and genocide which Saudi Arabia, with the help of UK and US, is about to unleash by attacking Hodeidah--the only port-city which provides delivery of food to Houthis. 

Here is Larison:

The Saudi coalition has waged their war on Yemen with flagrant disregard for the lives of the civilian population, and with the attack on Hodeidah they are doing the same thing on a larger scale. The U.N. and aid agencies have all warned against this attack because of the horrific consequences that will follow, and as usual the coalition governments have ignored those warnings and pressed ahead anyway. The U.S. has been a major enabler of the coalition’s war effort for the last three years, but instead of using its leverage with the coalition to prevent this atrocity the Trump administration is going along with and actively helping the attack. The Saudi coalition has been imposing collective punishment on the people of Yemen for three years in their bid to starve the country into surrender, and by attacking the port that the vast majority the population relies on for their food, fuel, and medicine they are intensifying their efforts to strangle Yemen to death. We are witnessing a massive crime being committed against the people of Yemen, and once again the U.S. is aiding and abetting the governments responsible for it.

It is important to understand that the Saudi coalition would not have made it this far without U.S. military assistance. The U.S. is not simply an indifferent bystander. Our government is an active participant and belligerent in this shameful and atrocious war. Hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Yemenis may die in the coming weeks and months because our government values good relations with reckless despots much more than it values their lives.

I have nothing to add here, other than this atrocity being a direct and completely justified case for R2P and by the Right to Protect I don't mean a casuistic cynical imperial action which American interventionists are so fond of, especially when bombing with impunity innocents. I mean literally--a protection of population of Houthis from deliberately induced famine by a Saudi regime of head-choppers and sponsors of terrorism, who also happened to be America's "dear allies". Obviously, very little could be done to stop this atrocity at this time, but documenting it becomes a very important task.  As well as keeping it visible in media.