Senate Condemns Saudi Crown Prince and Votes to End U.S. Involvement in Yemen War

The Senate on Thursday delivered a historic resolution to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen and condemn Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The measure was passed by a 56-41 vote. It was the first time that the Congress approved the withdrawal of U.S. troops from a foreign conflict under the 1973 War Powers Act.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the co-sponsor of the resolution along with Mike Lee (R-UT), said the action was a “historical moment” in which America signaled its intention to withdraw from “the worst humanitarian disaster on the face of the earth.”

“What the United States Senate said today, in a very loud way, is that we will not continue to have our military posture dictated by a despotic murderous regime in Saudi Arabia, a regime which does not respect democracy, does not respect human rights, a regime whose leader, nobody doubts, was involved in the horrific murder of a dissident journalist in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.”

The decision took place the same day as nations involved in the Yemen war participated in a United Nations-led peace negotiation in Sweden. During the talk, the U.S. special envoy on Yemen, Martin Griffiths, successfully pushed for an agreement to grant the U.N. control over the Hodeidah port, the most important port in Yemen and a major point of conflict between two sides. The meeting signified one of the few successful attempts the international community had made to de-escalate a dangerous military fight in the four-year-long war.

Mr. Griffiths is hoping to use the peace talks in Sweden as a launching pad for more substantive talks to resolve the war in Yemen, which the U.N. says is home to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Many see the U.N.-led agreement and the Senate vote as building upon the same anti-war momentum.

“The progress on the peace negotiations is not coincidental to this vote,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.). “The United States has said through the Senate that our support for the Saudi-led coalition is no longer open-ended. We expect our partners to be partners in peace.”

The Yemen resolution came two months after news broke out that former Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Since then, President Donald Trump tried to downplay both the gravity of the incident and the role that Saudi Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman played in the murder. Despite the CIA’s conclusion that Salman was aware of the scheme and was likely to have ordered the killing himself, the Trump administration was reluctant to punish Saudi Arabia due to the profitability of the long-time alliance between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

The Thursday resolution was a non-binding “war powers resolution” that urged Trump to withdraw American military support from Yemen. Personnel directly fighting Islamist extremists, however, were advised to stay in the country.

Senators unanimously approved the second part of the resolution regarding Salman’s role in the Khashoggi killing. They called upon the Trump administration to hold Salman responsible for his crime.

These votes may turn out to be merely symbolic because it is unlikely that the House will approve them. But they still have a significant impact on America’s Middle East strategies, specifically, its relationship with Saudi Arabia.

“The current relationship with Saudi Arabia is not working,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Asserting that the Crown Prince was “so toxic, so tainted, so flawed,” she claimed that “you’re never going to have a relationship with the United States Senate unless things change.”

A number of Republican senators joined forces with Democrats to support the resolution.

“What the Khashoggi event did was to demonstrate, hey, maybe this isn’t a regime that we should just be following that eagerly into battle,” said Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

Although the House may not pass the resolution and Trump is expected to veto it, Sanders is confident that things will start to look up once Democrats take over the House in January.

“It’s important to send a message,” Mr. Sanders told reporters. “My very strong expectation is that in January, with Democratic control over the House, it will succeed.”

Featured image via J. Scott Applewhite/AP