SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Support grows for Senate resolution on Yemen war Support grows for Yemen resolution after briefing by Trump officials on Khashoggi’s killing leaves senators frustrated
Senator Menendez speaks to the media after a closed briefing for senators about the latest developments related to the murder of Khashoggi [Joshua Roberts/Reuters]
Support is growing in the Senate for a resolution aimed at limiting US involvement in the war in Yemen.
The Senate voted 63-37 on Wednesday to advance the resolution, which, if passed, would end United States military support for the Saudi-led coalition in the war.
The advancement sets the stage for a possible final vote on the measure in coming days. The Trump administration has threatened to veto the resolution if it passes Congress.
Politicians are frustrated with the administration’s response to the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi and say the administration has not done enough to punish Saudi Arabia for its involvement.
Earlier on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the Senate in a closed-door briefing that weakening US-Saudi ties over the killing of Khashoggi would be a mistake.
“The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading US-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the US and its allies,” Pompeo wrote in a blog post shortly before Wednesday’s briefing for US senators.
Several senators, speaking to reporters after the briefing, said they were not satisfied with the administration’s stance on its support for Saudi Arabia in the war on Yemen, and called for Prince Mohammed to be held accountable for Khashoggi’s death.
Some who had opposed the Yemen resolution in an earlier vote now support it, including Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who said on Wednesday that “it’s time to send Saudi Arabia a message both on its violation of human rights and the incredible humanitarian catastrophe it’s creating.”
Pompeo called the vote “poorly timed” as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict were under way.
But Senator Bernie Sanders, who is sponsoring the bill, said the time to end the US involvement in the war is now.
“We have already seen 85,000 children starved to death, the UN tells us that millions of people are facing starvation, 10,000 new cholera cases are developing each week because there is no clean drinking water in the country,” Sanders said following the briefing.
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