I try not to let carefully created images have their way with me. If it weren't for those earrings....
It's so sad that this cruel assault on innocent kids is happening, starving hundreds of thousands and killing probably 85,000 of them!
It is so much worse because USA is complicit in it! Are we becoming desensitized? -In 1992, AFTER losing to Bill Clinton, GHW Bush sent military to put down militants in Somalia, saving perhaps a million or so lives. Clinton deftly ended the carnage in Balkans.
It's a modest relief that Mr. Kristof is writing about it as he had on so many other manmade disasters. And now US Congress is making significant attempts to end this carnage.
MBS is behind this atrocity. Unlike, or as, in Syria or Myanmar, we could have prevented this carnage without much difficulty.
I hope this is a wake up call for us. The Congress and the public with the help of brave journalists will act more promptly in future to quell these sort of disasters all around the world. What's the use of our huge military with an annual spending of three quarters of a $trillion, if we can't commit that to humanitarian endeavors?
Although people take it for granted that president Obama was great & president Trump is corrupt & useless, Trump bombed Syria twice. Recently, one tweet & one public statement of him may have prevented an impending genocide in Idlib province -watch Amanpour & Co aired on Nov 16-18. Whereas, much of the carnage in Syria and some in Iraq was a direct result of Obama's inaction - read Roger Cohen's & others' columns on this.
2
Saw the heart-rending photo and read Kristof's article last night online, and was moved. So grateful for the kind of work he does. He and his photographer risked their lives for this photo! Today in the paper, the photo is small and at the bottom of the page. Why??? Kristof's article should have appeared at the TOP of the page and the heart-rending photo should have been MUCH bigger. The other 2 op-eds on the page were meh—one of those op-eds should have been skipped to give more space for Kristof's work, placed at the top of the page.
2
I have served briefly as a war correspondent during the Bangladesh-Pakistan war in 1971. And that was enough, seeing bodies of women raped and killed in trenches by Pakistani soldiers. In that war too, America bet on the wrong side.
But the picture of Abrar is unbearable for my aging eyes. Her heart keeps beating, and I wonder whether she can "feel" any longer the pain of suffering and the spasms of hunger. In which black hole in the universe does the collective pain of humankind flow into?
Have we entered a world where conscience is irrelevant? Does our sense of pragmatism, individual and national, enough to obliterate all moral values?
The extravagance of Christmas, the obscenity of diamond- encrusted weddings in Mumbai, the priceless bottle of Scotch or Bourbon! Can we pause for a moment to think what we can do for the likes of Abrar before she/they are gone? Is there no way for our collective outrage to be channeled into a tsunami that will sweep away human cruelty - even for few years at a time?
Thank you for your extraordinary coverage of the near-forgotten.
8
Shame on us. How many people has the United States killed.
Shame, shame.
1
It’s sad seeing this terror with humans. Shame !!
1
Is it just my faulty memory, or have all of the pictures of starving children in Yemen been of female children?
If so, there may be 2 problems in Yemen: a shortage of food and a diversion of food in short supply away from girls.
Presumably, increasing food availability in Yemen can ease the overall starvation problem; but what if the increased supplies are given disproportionately to "more valuable" males?
4
We are complicit.
Some among us are profiting from the arms sales to other countries so they may bring death and destruction to others for what end?
The US is like a junkie, it just can’t quit the military industrial complex, too much money involved to stop the machine.
1
This lie starts with "our Yemen policy". It's either horribly naive or well funded, and the consistent chanting by the NY Times suggests the later.
Iran is encircling Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, in particular, is important for their plan to control the Bab al Mandab ... the straits controlling the Red Sea and all shipping into Europe. They already have a puppet state in Eritrea, and this was to be their economic move to control both oil and shipping into Europe.
The Saudis, while a flawed ally, are in a fight for the continued existence of their nation. The Iranians have already conquered an arc from Lebanon through Syria and Iraq, and are aggressively exterminating the Sunni from those areas.
@John how is iran encircling saudi arabia? KSA is allied with the US and Israel, iran does not stand a chance against KSA.
Be more clear by your definition of encircling saudi arabia. What you mean to say is, iran is becoming economically more powerful by being open to trade with europe, which benefits europeans as well. GASP those evil iranians!
Finally, your claim that they are agressively exterminating sunnis from those areas is jsut a flat out lie. Syria is majority sunni. The syrian army is majority sunni. How can sunnis be exterminated? Again, what you mean to say is , they are exterminationing jihadi salafist groups that are backed by jihadi salafist saudi arabia and its allies (israel, usa,turkey etc)
1
Indeed, if we let the Houthies take over the nation for Iran, there would be peace in Yemen. Actually we could let Iran's proxies take over every country they want to and there wouldn't be war there either. Then we could let Iran take over every country they want to and establish 'Peace' there too. I'm sorry civilians are dying but blame Iran, not the bumbling Saudis.
1
The Senate voted to end U.S. involvement in this war, 23 minutes later there was a deal to leave Houdaydah and open it to humanitarian aid. Obviously, the whole world is watching the U.S. Congress.
People in this comment column have been asking what they can do. Write or call your congressperson right now, and demand that the House take the bill up again. And again. And as often as needs to be done to get it through.
We can do this, the people need to wake up the People's House!
3
@ondelette
Absolutely! And if we can't get out of this minor involvement of our military, how can we ever hope to extract ourselves from a cash (and career) cow, like Afghanistan?
2
Thank you, Mr. Kristof. Again.
We are complicit. What must an American Air Force pilot feel about being used to support the intentional killing of children?
Trump's idea of being "tough" has consistently been about his willingness to let others suffer. I doubt he is tough enough to go without a meal for a few days.
Famine, war and refugees will be the status quo of our world because of our short sightedness in addressing climate change. The US will be blamed as suffering is visited mostly on children and poor, powerless people because of our actions and inactions. There will be an order of magnitude of additional pictures like Abrar's.
4
This picture is an indictment of the USA. Saudi Arabia would not have dared to do this crime without US guarantees.
3
Many thanks for all your efforts. God bless you.
Thank you for your appearance on TV today with Katy Tur to discuss this gut wrenching, heartbreaking story. I continue to tear up when I look back at the picture in The Times of the deceased Amal Hussain, someone I talked about with a friend just last night.
I wish to condemn the action of Speaker Paul Ryan for silencing the freedom of speech of the House of Representatives by adding a provision to - of all things - a "farm bill" that prohibits debate in the House on this war. Something is very sick and wrong about that. He also makes a total mockery of "Congress shall make no law ... abridging freedom of speech". One would hope that the House is one place where freedom of speech is Never silenced.
There you go again, Paul - you continue to astound me, revealing more of the worst in some American's hearts.
And so the deaths of innocent children will continue...
End the war now.
8
@NeverSurrender
Paul Ryan -a major victim of Ayn Rand = all of Americans victims of Ayn Rand - coutesy of Paul Ryan. What damage has afflicted us!
2
It's horrible, but is this not a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran? So unless the Saudis are willing to just give up, I don't think the war will end unless you can bring Iran and the Saudis to the table to settle it.
The U.S. could stop supplying the Saudis, but then we'd have to accept that that could likely lead to the defeat of the Saudi-backed side there. And then the Saudis might say fine, we understand the limits of your alliance with us. We will be taking meetings with the Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans now. We will also stop helping you stymie your enemies.
The U.S. has to figure out how to use its influence and leverage to bring the war to an end - not just walk away because we don't like it.
@DaffyDave no we have our interests at stake here as well, particularly our assets in yemen. This is a geopolitical war for control
1
@DaffyDave
Dave - Thank you for supplying something other than virtue to this comment thread. It's refreshing.
Perhaps we should end our own shameful wars first?
The USA gets to attack any nation that attacks us or is directly threatening to attack us.
The USA must otherwise seek UN approval for any military actions in any other nation, to follow international law and stop breaking our constitutional mandates and notions of liberty, national self-determination and fair play.
3
America foreign policy is a shame!!and I font believe will change. Republicans and Democrats continue doing the same old same. Obviously nobody reads history. Money is priority for America. Policies favor big military industrial corporations ,financial institutions,and corrupt politicians serving only their billionaires donors. ,Even Trump said he can’t let go the business with the Saudis. Knowing that the top people criminals The hypocrisy of this nation is out of control. Even when Trump goes, things will not change. It’s disgusting seen the families with children , elderly suffering, because in some place in America, or other area around the globe, a group of wealthy people are gambling for their own profit , in the mean time hundreds of civilians dying . HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
4
As appalling as this photo is and the attendant facts, I am surprised that people are reacting so viscerally, as they did to the bleeding child in Syria's photo. War creates famines and hurts and maims civilians, especially modern warfare, increasingly so. Are people so unaware of the situation that it takes one specific photo to draw attention?
And this is not genocide. There is no effort to kill every one of a group. There is obviously depraved indifference and I think this constitutes murder, but it is not genocide. To use that term mitigates its true meaning when it does occur. Mass starvation and murder are quite bad enough.
8
@Ilene Bilenky the definition of genocide" the deliberate killing of a group of people or nation". What is happening in yemen constitites a genocide.
8
Seeing comparatively few comments and recommends on this, I'm guessing many people didn't click on this because we feel powerless to stop it and sick about what is happening. But in seeing both this column, where starving children are created by arms manufacturers, and the column about how big oil has lobbied for the fuel efficiency rollbacks, makes it abundantly clear how much of these problems are rooted in our military-industrial complex and their insatiable thirst for profit and power. We the people have much less say than we should. How can we make this stop when our elected leaders are beholden to corporations and refuse to stand up to them?
2
Speaker Ryan just blocked the pending bill as a favor to the Trumps money grabbing ,this should go into his resume as he seeks a lobbying job and the media should highlight it . Disgusting the GOP is always backing the money grubbers.
3
If Democrats are smart (e.g., Pelosi), they will use Trump's "non-negotiables" as wedge issues to drive him ever more crazy. Such issues are: his Wall, arms sales to the Saudis, support for Russia, the trade war with China, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Obamacare.
He lacks the capacity to give up on the Wall or killing Obamacare because they were campaign promises (he doesn't care about his supporters, just that *he* wants them). Tax cuts were also a tacit campaign promise. His ego won't allow him to let go with China, in his efforts to "help" US workers by way of his bizarre economic "theories." And Trump has been bought off so much by the Saudis and Russia (the infamous MBS/Putin virtual "high five" at the G20) that he can never recover on those fronts. He will say nothing bad about Putin and refuses to admit, despite overwhelming evidence, that MBS had Jamal Khashoggi murdered.
Democrats need to explain to Trump that he will never get his Wall, and we will cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Then demand funding for relief efforts in Yemen.
Trump will simply lose it (e.g., the meeting in the Oval Office with Pelosi and Schumer). Then let him own the government shutdown, to the point that the American people feel so much pain and so much disgust with Trump that they will be begging to get rid of him, no later than the next election, hopefully sooner.
6
That picture looks vaguely like some I saw years ago in the American Heritage magazine, of prisoners of the Union Army in a Confederate prison. We've come so far, and yet, we march in place . . .
2
That photo, terrifying and tragic as it is, has great value, if it is widely circulated. Research shows that we feel less empathy when we are exposed to the suffering of a larger number of people. Our empathy is stronger, when we can see the suffering of a single person. There can be no doubt that Abrar has been intensely suffering. And feeling empathy with her our mind can expand on it, and also give rise to responsibility to do something about the widespread suffering in Yemen. How I wish that a staff member in the White House would add to Mr. Trump's breakfast a large picture of Abrar. Perhaps, just perhaps, it would have an impact, even though she lives in what is probably in Mr. Trump's mind a worthless country.
1
How on earth can anyone justify this? How on earth can anyone allow this to happen? We need to stop and we need to help..NOW
2
This was Obama's war and legacy.
5
Ending this shameful Saudi-U.S. war against Yemenis is, of course, an urgent humanitarian task. Before we wash our hands of this institutionalized violence, why did it take three years for us to rise to the occasion, complacent otherwise...by looking the other way? This is similar to the Trump's denial of climate change and his malevolent intent to screw Mother Earth for these last two years, with our passivity on the matter...for as long as it didn't seem to affect us personally. Who are we?!
1
Nick, you have my vote, but what will this Congress do? As long as DT is in office, there isn't a dictator, a demagogue, an authoritarian monarchy that he doesn't like and cozy up to. The Ruiner in Chief is out to destroy any vestige of an America that reveres decency and human rights, let alone democratic principles. We are absolutely screwed with this horror show administration, and until Congress is thoroughly overturned from Republican control (the Senate) we will stay the course of moral degeneracy.
2
We think that supporting a Saudi Arabian initiative to achieve anything can possibly be ethically tolerable. We are just not going to learn.
The unclear and venal conflict in Yemen has no outcome that could reasonably constitute an 'exit plan' or victory. Is starving kids and depriving a generation of young people of healthy lives--- or life at all--part of a battle plan? Syria, Yemen, the list of horrors of state-sponsored monstrosities against civilians goes on and on. But one look at this picture of this young beautiful girl says loud and clear the political battles between rival factions in Iran, Saudi Arabi and Yemen are NOT remotely worth it. The US is complicit in this genocide against Yemeni civilians and our government and business leaders should step up and put pressure on the key players to stop the conflict.
must this government,not merely the Trumpians,but all too consistently so,continue to enable war crimes committed by our so called friends.i,e.the Saudis.We continue to building schools in
Afghanistan while our student achievement levels are spiraling downwards.Time to help Yemen not help demolish this once beautiful country,out of supporting the murderous regime of Saudi Arabia.By the way,they need us,not the other way around.
1
I have written both my Senators Feinstein and Harris, and told them I am ashamed that my country supports the terrible and tragic Yemen genocide. I have asked them to persist in stopping American support for the war against the people of Yemen. Both Senators had already taken strong positions against continued American support against Yemen. You too can insist that your Senators act to stop American support of the Yemen genocide.
3
In the 70s, the Saudis dumped oil onto the market to help the U.S. during what we were calling "the gas shortage." It was, of course, an oil shortage, and Saudi Arabia defied OPEC to come to the aid of the U.S. At least that's the way I recall it. No more gas lines, thank you Saudi Arabia. I don't know what was promised to them, but we have more than paid in kind whatever favor we owed. But since then, they have not been held accountable for many things. From 9/11 to Yemen, they've been getting away with murder.
3
I stand with every American who feels the shame for choosing strategy over human lives. Moral values are more important than strategy. Ultimately, permanent peace will be attained from moral righteousness, not from strategy.
1
Educate yourself on the issue and call your congressmember/Senator. I have relatively often over the last year, and have had substantive discussions with staff regarding the horrendous ethical and moral stance of my representatives in their refusal to condemn this Saudi & American-caused abomination.
But even if it feels like it doesn't get you anywhere, it can be more effective than you think in terms of shaping how they see their constituents' involvement and awareness of issues they hope are too nebulous for us to think about. Also, if you have the means to, donate to these and other, legitimate, charity organizations:
http://irusa.org/yemen/
https://help.rescue.org/donate
https://www.zakat.org/en/
Our representatives may be the only people who can really help stop this from happening, but we CAN all help, even by a tiny amount.
1
Kristof again awakens us to the world beyond our insipid holiday lives of shopping for nothing we need and stuffing our faces. The imbalance is appalling. I want to feed that girl and save her life. It's always the innocents who suffer while others grab power. Kristof is the best at raising the alarm, but fails short to direct us to specific action. Is the publishing of a horrific picture enough? I'm devoting my dinner hour to prayer.
I'm still waiting for our Nobel Peace Prize winning president, Mr. Obama, to get his head out of some bankers tuchus and speak out about this. Maybe he's embarrassed to address this issue because it was started under his watch and he ALSO sold $103 billion of weapons to the Saudis and helped to refuel their airplanes on their way to bomb civilians multiple times over and over. I don't expect Trump to do anything,. The man is beyond repair for human decency. But Obama? Our nice, smooth talking beloved Obama? Where the are you?
3
Yes this is a horror that must end. The big problem is Jared's bromance with MSB that he hopes will pay off big for him now and when Trump is out of office. The hundreds of millions that come from Saudi to the Trump family bankbooks must not be put in danger . Priorities for TRumps are money, money and more money just like the grifters they lack morals and could care less backing leader who murders and commits genocide .
1
Soft-faced world leaders sit in plush chairs and discuss war. What they need is to sit on the front line, in a trench, with a dead best friend, bullets flying, and bombs bursting... They'd soon find a solution.
2
The neo cons in Israel and America could care less about how many millions die as long as they can destroy Iran and eventually take over Russia, the country so many of them were thrown out of. How long must the world suffer, Americans foot the bill for continual war and Europeans foot the refugee bill so a few people can settle very old grievances
5
Americans are addicted to violence, at home and abroad,
That's why we allow criminals, children, the mentally ill, terrorists, and everyone in between, to easily acquire and use guns to commit mass murder.
That's why we throw body after body onto the trash heap of history, for nothing, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Well, at least we're not hypocrites. White, Christian, Pro-life America practices what it preaches.
4
War is not the answer. Never has been, never will be. In a democracy we, the people, must take responsibility for the immoral, illegal actions our government takes in our name.
3
i contributed to Yemen aid, although I am disabled and on a fixed income. I expect my government to extend aid to the alleviate the famine. so I just phoned WH comments to ask for immediate aid, but hat line has converted to the Shutdown Information Line. Both my Senate offices and Leader Schumer are on voicemail. Leader McConnell's took my message. My government has shut out its constituents from this decision and I am beyond outraged, but hopeful my small contribution will do some good.
4
In another story today, Americans are crowing about the brutality of the Assad regime.
Brutality is brutality. There is no distinction. Neither are there many countries truly innocent of such brutality. Due to hubris, though, America unleashed a lasting misery in the MENA region that will be long in the memory of the people living there. A shameful episode indeed.
2
Can anyone point to a time in the last 70 years that fighting (or funding) a proxy war was, in hindsight, the right thing for the United States to do? Maybe there are examples where this sacrifice of innocents resulted in an overwhelmingly better world for the all, but I'm hard-pressed to come up with one.
It is sickening that our geopolitical calculations (which are often flawed) result in our being complicit in such atrocities.
4
It is shameful for USA to support this war.
On one hand USA claims to be champion
of human rights and on the other hand it
either supports or engages in actions amounting
to abuse of human rights. It is the same approach as in Iraq under severe sanctions when 500,000children dies due to lack of medicine. Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under Clinton, shamelessly justified as the price for containing Saddam Hussein, no remorse or hint of compassion. We have tried variety of policies
on Iran since 1953 ranging from coup to
sanctions and threats of war, but none has
yielded the results to our satisfaction. Iran
is angry with USA for coup in 1953, capitulation
law( Americans can't be tried in Iran for any
crime), supporting the dictatorial and oppressive
regime of shah. Iran is a part of Shia-Sunni
conflict going on since 680AD. It tries to
support Shias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq,etc.
Saudis try to support Sunnis. Why USA is
getting involved and inflaming the conflict
further? unwittingly, mostly from ignorance,
Sunni regime ruling Iraq for centuries, was
overthrown in 2003 invasion by USA and NATO.
American dispensation paved the way for Shias
to come to power. Iran, which was kept out of Iraq, gained influence with religious cohorts
in power there. Confusingly, we tried to contain
Iran and yet facilitated its influence in Iraq. Do we
really know what we are doing in Middle East?
1
This seems like the kind of war that the United Nations was created and designed to help defuse. What are they doing? Does the UN do anything of real importance that the Red Cross cannot?
2
The war in Yemen is just one more unnecessary situation brought about by the human belief systems. How long must mankind stumble in its beliefs before it comes to see the inherent danger and destruction in all fixed beliefs? How long?
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a linguistic "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds would see the survival of a particular group of people or a belief as more important than the survival of all. When we finally understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
1
Thank you for speaking up and for traveling, Mr. Kristof. Not one person who supports these atrocious policies of cruel war and starvation for children deserves to celebrate any kind of joyous religious holiday, EVER.
Before the civil war started Yemen was at risk because the aquafers were being depleted in order to grow kat, and there was no way to stop it. Are we going to be responsible for that next?
2
There is simple solution to this problem: stop giving weapons to Saudis and start sending massive humanitarian aid to Yemen. Need American soldiers on ground in Yemen to help these kids and Yemenese, and not on Mexican border. Now first elect the leaders who will follow this plan, else all prayers/wishes/remorse are useless. There is a urgent need for action and prayers can wait.
Thanks Nick for bringing up this important issue again and again as we Americans have short memories.
2
I feel sick about this. But I also feel sick about Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans just don't seem to care about what happened with these wars. Americans are so concerned about a handful of maids and landscape workers trying to get jobs into the America, but they don't care about tens of thousands killed for no apparent reason. I feel sick.
4
All the guns used in this horrific nightmare were sold to the perpetrators via the United States. This is what our #1 export provides.
2
The Republicans just attached a rider to the must pass farm bill preventing changing our policy in Yemen.
1
Can we take the soldiers who are "guarding" our border and give them a holiday break, then let them do mercy missions in Yemen - distribute clean water, food and medicine?
40
@Mary Allied food drops WW2 helped the starving in Nazi occupied countries. Wwe have forgotten how to win hearts and minds.
7
It's an awful situation. The humanitarian instinct is to follow what compassion dictates and tell the Saudis to end this mess or the US will cease its relationship with the Kingdom.
What will that do besides make the US feel righteous and just? What impact on Saudi policy might that have? Perhaps not what those most interested in the conflict might want.
The Saudi's view this war as a proxy conflict with Iran, and will likely pursue it regardless of US support since they view the Iranians as an existential threat.
If the US pulls all support, it loses all it's influence with the Kingdom, which may simply escalate the conflict to be even more barbaric in an attempt to end the stalemate.
Moreover, the US and Europe have strategic interests in keeping the Persian Gulf open to trade and maintaining the flow of oil. While the US is increasingly becoming energy independent, Europe is not and will rely on the Middle East supply of oil to keep the lights on and engines running.
If the US were to cut its relationship with the Kingdom where would that leave this strategic interest? Would the Saudis retaliate by trying to use their influence to get the 5th fleet evicted from Bahrain? How would the rest of the region view American guarantees of security to them? Probably poorly.
This may lead them to become increasingly reliant on internal balancing which could lead to a Middle Eastern arms race. Would they look to other powers for guarantees, maybe China?
Its all bad news.
1
She deserves more than our "hopes and prayers." She deserves our help.
5
It's time to think critically about the constant hardline rhetoric against Iran. What purpose is it serving, who does it benefit? Certainly not Abrar.
The Trump administration can hardly pretend to be on the moral high ground when they still zealously support the House of Saud.
The same rhetoric was used against Iraq, and we know how that ended. We can't let this continue.
3
Nicholas, i have been with this story since the Times published pictures of the starving children a few weeks ago. I understood immediately my tax dollars are responsible for the children and babies starving to death. I forwarded said story to my family members, and friends. What depresses me and angers me is Trump's wanting to be friends with the Crown Prince. Jared Kushner is already close friends with the CP. What i can do is vote and hopefully help a more compassionate, intelligent person to be POTUS. Oh, how i wish it could once again be Mr. Obama. Perhaps Michelle Obama. I am almost finished with her book, BECOMING, and she has always wanted to, did, and does care for children. She is a quick learner she would make an excellent president. Doctors Without Borders is in Yemen and anybody who reads this could send a check as i have done.
Thank you for your work and may God bless you and may He help us all to grow, evolve into a more empathy filled species which would benefit us ALL and this planet.
2
How can anyone see this picture of a starving girl and not feel anger toward those who could end the suffering? For too long, we have engaged in countless human rights violations under the guise of combating any one of several excuses, the rise of communism ( Korea and Vietnam), terrorism (Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and now, Yemen), not to mention our numerous adventures into the affairs of Central and South America.
This has to end.
4
I look at the picture of Abrar Ibrahim and feel hopeless rage, frustration, and shame. Our country for far too many years has been engaged in a partnership with a country which foments terrorism and has the toughest Sharia laws in the Middle East. Why? Oil? Keeping Iran at bay from attacking Israel? How exactly does Saudi Arabia differ from Iran? Saudi Arabia is technically a monarchy, but at heart it is in reality a theocracy, with Wahhabism (which teaches violence and belligerence toward others including this country ) as the core of its schools' standard curriculum.
Not only have we partnered with the Saudis in the war on Yemen, but our presence in the Middle East for eons has led to the flood of refugees all of Europe has had to absorb. We are fomenters of misery and death. Yet we continue to "stay the course", no matter the human cost. I do not want to hear all the "big picture" pap we have been fed all these years. Oil and big business are at the heart of it, and that is the bottom line. We bear a large responsibility for all this suffering. How do we stop it?
4
@Diana "How do we stop it?" We can start by all of us embracing Global warming and simplify our own lives. Turning down the temps we keep our houses a degree or two, and driving a bit less, consuming less, etc, and if we All take measures to do these small things, it would add up, big time....i would think, i would hope so.
1
Saudi Arabia has become a rogue regime and needs to be treated like one - severe sanctions across the board. When Trump and Kushner get out of jail they'll be free to conspire with authoritarians on their own time and dime.
2
Interesting that this piece barely mentions Iran, or Iran's role in conflict across the mideast. Neither do the comments.
1
@Walsh what is irans role? Before you say ooo they support the houthi rebels...actually learn about the demographics in yemen and who the fighters are and why they are fighting. Irans role in this is non existent.
3
Shame on Donald Trump, the republicans, and the democrats who support this inhumane tragedy!
2
Heart breaking . Not started by Trump. It was Obama
4
The richest, allegedly Christian, nation on earth is abetting this atrocity. All I can say is: "And Jesus wept."
3
Irrespective of the administration we are indeed complicit. This child and many like her look like victims of a WW2 concentration camp. Have we really become as in humane as the Nazis?
2
What goes round comes around. The Saudis including the so called royals; princes and princesses will get their own pill in time. The foreign atrocities of this regime in Jeddah; from Pakistan to 9/11; to Lebanon and Egypt; to Bahrain and Indonesia; to Iraq and Syria; to Qatar and killing fields of Yemen deserve punishment. UNSC needs to take a stand.
1
What are the World Organisations like the UNO doing? If they are doing nothing, what is the earthlu use of them? .....NK Sir, you are showing that in America there are people who love humanity. For a people whose chief business is business, this is extraordinary. Thank you!
Is this article, with pictures, being read and shown in Tehran?
1
@turbot iran isnt the one purposefully blocking aid, its saudi arabia. Iran also isnt the nb one bombing civillians.
3
The only way these atrocities will stop is when American citizens own up to our foreign policy. This is horrific.
Americans just don't care what happens to other people. Yeah, build the wall. America First.
Disgusting.
90
Mr. Kristof and NY Times: please re-examine your justifications for showing these photographs. Abrar is not the first -- or even the second or third -- emaciated child shown on these pages in recent weeks and months. This is becoming a trend. I understand the good faith arguments for showing these pictures. The policies and actions (or inaction) that result in these atrocities should be changed; I'm on your side. I also understand that the photos serve as a call to action and they make "good" (i.e. outrageous) twitter and click bate. But without entering into the merits of your arguments or motives, I would ask only: is this a humane way to use Abrar's image? The photo is a metaphor for our failed policy; we get it. But Abrar is not a metaphor. She is a suffering little person. And showing her image to the clicking masses, in my view, approaches torture porn. This is disrespectful -- an affront to her -- yet another insult to her many injuries. If we want to make an argument against revenge porn or child porn, we don't republish the images to show how outrageous this material is as a moral or policy matter. We have other means, other metaphors, at our disposal to make these arguments. Use these other means. Putting her little rib cage in the top right corner of the website next to headlines about Theresa May, Michael Cohen and "Why Christmas is About Food" is a disgrace to her. Let her have what little grace, what little dignity remains. Don't take a picture.
2
This is the human toll of American Exceptionalism as practiced by our government during the 20th century in the Middle East
Now in the 21 century our glorious fearless military and warmongering corporations join hands w trumpian glory to cause this twelve year old her life.
Meditate on this photo.
Picture yourself a mother ministering to this child. More likely mama is dead already.
Thank u for this photo
In my life of 66 years I have seen similar photos
First ..... holocaust victims.... then Vietnamese children on fire from napalm
Then starving in Africa .....
Our fault America. Each of us can do much better than we are doing for our fellow humans
As Fred Roger said .......” look for the helpers”
Where r they for this country Yemen?
Btw ..... aggression against Yemen was permitted and assisted by our drones under
Obama military recommendation.
The Yemeni are a thorn in Saudi Arabia’s side.
Trump bought the lie and made matters for Yemeni worse. Hence children skeletal. All for oil and gold.
Maybe Betsy DeVos and her bro can send their yachts with medical personnel to help Yemeni .
We live in a very demented reality
4
What I'd like to know is what can be done to end the suffering, or at least move in that direction, that would not have the effect of surrendering the Bab-al-Mandab to Iran? I have no competence to assess whether any action could achieve either one of those without exacerbating the other. Mr. Kristof, you don't either, but you do have access to those who do have the needed competence. Could you speak to some of them and offer some solutions that don't just exacerbate another problem?
This is a human catastrophe and no one disagrees US policy and actions are implicated, but Mr. Kristoff owes his readers more description of the ways US is complicit or directly responsible. Is it our arms selling alone to Saudi Arabia or are US forces/materiel more directly responsible? The photos are powerful, but it’s a tangled story, Obama’s administration started it, and the Senate apparently supports it. Please inform us more.
Not seen by the observing eye is the stark physical pain that accompanies starvation. It is a pain unrelenting, all-encompassing and debilitating that sucks hope, energy and life force from a living being. Few humans on this planet will ever experience the physical pain of starvation that this precious girl is experiencing every minute of every day of her remaining tortured life. For that is what this is: torture of the worst sort visited upon innocent children who have no comprehension of the unmitigated evil that drives this torture.
This torture of innocent children is our collective shame. It should make us all break down and cry for the evil that humans are capable of every day.
3
Thanks, again, Nicholas Kristof, for pricking my conscience and that of the world. Your perspective, centering on real people and their suffering, is invaluable.
Truly horrific state of affairs. That said, the US has got to stop intervening in the Middle East....period. Regardless of the side, or the issue. The results simply never merit the blood and treasure we expend. In the case of Yemen, we should immediately stop giving the Saudis anything. If they want to buy something, they have the money to buy it anywhere and at any price, and they definitely will give no allegiance to the seller, East, West or in between. Next step would be increase funding to reputable NGOs who can start providing the needed relief. Of course, the wealthy Arab states in the region could already be doing this, but....
1
It is appropriate to see Abrar's suffering and question America's hand in her fate. This child will probably die as have thousands before her.
But why should we only examine our policy in Yemen? American policy, particularly but not exclusively in the Middle East has produced hundreds of thousands of Abrar's. And for what?
We are told that these children must suffer and die so that American interests can be protected. But what are those "interests" and who decides what they are?
It's certainly not the American people. Not a single politician ran for congress with a pledge to bring this war machine to account.
During one period CNN alone ran 126 stories about Stormy Daniels while running one about Yemen.
Even Kristoff's work was only authorized by his editors after a journalist was killed by the Saudi's. But during the three years of this conflict the Saudi's killed thousands, bombing hospitals, clinics and schools.
And Americans made much of this carnage possible.
We sold them the planes, trained their pilots, provide air traffic control and airborne refueling.
Abrar's suffering is on our hands and our media and political leaders have largely ignored it.
In this religious season how can one honor one's faith and not question what the miss-leadship class of this country has done?
Why have we forgotten the tragic lessons of the Vietnam war? For all our talk about American values this picture of Abrar tells the true story of who we have become.
4
I think it is time for cable tv to start daily stories showing these children and telling the truth about how this war is starving the children there. until more people see this with their own eyes there will be no help for these poor children.
Our press turns itself inside out over a colleague's murder (hideous and gruesome as it was). Yet when it comes to the committing or supporting tragedies in Kunduz and Yemen -- not so much.
Thank you, Nick, for the reality check.
2
I truly wonder: how many Americans are able to weigh their own day-to-day monetary/personal challenges and still care about these poor children who face daily life and death struggles?
1
How much assistance is the United States giving Yemen?
With all our wealth for wars and the department of defense, can we afford to help these destitute people in Yemen?
Thank you Mr. Kristof for this column and your defense of the Yemeni people. What the Saudis are doing in Yemen should be publicly recognized as a crime against humanity and the US has no business helping those criminals .
"Saudi and American officials say that the enemy, the Houthi rebels who govern much of the country, are oppressive and are backed by Iran. That’s true. "
Are you implying that Saudis who have starved million and killed thousands of Yemenies and cut a journalist into pieces are not oppressive and cruel? Or the US that is keeping refugee children in cages is not cruel?
2
@fari either the author is ignorant of who al hadi is or is purposefully leaving out that this whole thing started because of al hadis authoritarian rule over the yemenis people. They had come to an agreement in 2014, which al hadi then backed out, hence why the houthis and its allies (i.e. the yemini people revolted). Al hadi was ousted by his own political party but reinstated by the US and saudi arabia
1
Thank you, Mr. Kristof, for keeping the light shining on Yemen.
I wonder why the New York Times does not mention that the failed policies concerning Yemen were put in place while Obama was President. Trump and the Republicans want to change those policies so of course that must be bad.
3
@Robert Winchester
Do you really care about the plight of these starving people or would you just rather try to make a political point? Where have you seen that Trump wants to change the policy? From what I have observed, he is unwilling to condemn the Saudis for anything, even the butchering of a Wa. Post reporter.
2
Could someone please tell me where decent, caring and compassionate people can send donations that will directly help these children. What private humanitarian efforts are on the ground and providing direct help to these children? That is what we need right now. Waiting for our elected representatives to do something is never going to happen.
I think it's long past time that our global initiatives need to change. This focus on insuring tranquility through oppressive diplomacy, secret operations and outright firepower has come too often at the expense of the general welfare.
There is no justice in the strength we are showing, not when we cause mass starvation.
6
End the war is not enough. What is our path back out again? You don't end a humanitarian crisis by simply abandoning the field. I'd like to hear a more concrete strategy for US withdrawal. I don't see how pulling funds from US military operations accomplishes anything when the country is already in crisis. The biggest problem with humanitarian aid is usually distribution. These families will still starve even if the US and Saudi Arabia military forces withdraw. What is the US plan to avert post-war famine?
I'm not sure we need to end US involvement in Yemen so much as change our mission there. Otherwise, we are all still complicit.
4
As I enter into my final days on this earth, I am certain I will not bear witness to the annals of history in the 21st century. I am certain, however, that this purported "greatest country on earth" will never be regarded as a beacon of light in a dark world.
9
Absolutely stomach-turning! God, what the hell are we doing???!!!
9
Let’s face it. Our elected officials don’t really give a damn about starving children in Yemen or anywhere else in the world for that matter. And the military industrial complex is in complete control of this country. So, as long as there are profits to be made, weapons will be sold and wars will continue to be waged in faraway places which means more innocent men, women and children will die horrific deaths. Isn’t that the American way?
13
Where do OUR interests end, and Yemenese interests begin? Shame on Paul Ryan for perpetuating U.S. support for this war.
8
Three years late Mr. Kirstof- that policy started in 2015
2
No offense, Mr. Kristof. But you don't have to be a NYT columnist on the ground in Yemen to know something is SERIOUSLY wrong there, especially since it's been going on for some time now.
Man-made human catastrophes on this massive scale don't happen overnight, and he ball on this madness should have dropped long ago.
That said, your heart-wrenching articles should first and foremost be addressed to this president and the narcoleptic Republican Senate that allows this to go on, because in the end they're the ones who are not only making this Saudi-led massacre possible, but are showing no signs of trying to stop it.
And as long as Donald Trump continues to make a profit off this genocide in the name of this country, there will be blood on all our hands whether we like it or not.
Most Americans don't like it.
Write to him.
6
@N. Smith dont forget this policy is obamas child, trump continues it. Its important to keep this fact in mind so because what tends to happen is, dems become anti war when a republican is in office and become silent when their president is a war monger (i.e see bush and obama presidencies as an example)
While it is noteworthy that for the first time, congress got up on its hind legs and asserted a war powers act protest, it ultimately failed because several Democrats voted with Republicans.
The Justice Democrats are leading they way on issues of both parties’ thirst for endless war. These progressive Democrats advocate for social justice, meaningful health care reform (not bandaids on the failed private insurance system) and the Green New Deal,
It’s time that the Democratic Party start reflecting the wants and needs of the people- not the corporations.
6
Surely there must be a way to get food to a starving population while keeping weapons out. It has been done before.ed
What will be the consequences for the world when Iran grows stronger and gains access to these ports, which are strategically located? She already has threatened to cut off all shipping through the straits of Hormuz; now she would also be able to control the red sea at the same time.
There is a better solution, and we must find it. Giving into Iranian interests is to forget her goals: Death to America and Death to Israel--in that order.
In the interest of fair and balanced reporting:
This started in 2015 - under Obama
31
@Gerhard
What do you mean by "this" specifically?
14
It doesn't matter who started it. If Obama were *still* president and these atrocities were still happening, it would be just as horrifying. Let's end it.
21
@Gerhard
I doubt that Abrar cares when it started, only that it needs to end and as the supposed "greatest" country in the world we need to do all we can to help.
15
This is a war crime and we are an active participant in this genocide. We can tell the Saudis today to stop blockading the ports and allow food in to these civilians but we don't. I just don't get it.
66
@FXQ I've read that the fragile economy of Yemen has been wrecked by the bombing and war and people don't have money for supplies that are available. The aggression has to stop, and our government has supplied the means for the aggression.
9
@FXQ It’s our battleships that are blocking the port.
4
Almost all of the terrorists responsible for 9/11 were Saudi Arabian, but the US partners with Saudi Arabia to starve THIS girl.
These war crimes defy comprehension, morality and reason.
#28lbs
12
Thank you for this article
5
The total death and destruction of the US war machine in the middle east since the profoundly stupid invasion of Iraq is staggering. I am glad that people are moved by the photos of starving children. I guess most of the innocent men women and children we dismiss as "collateral damage" to our foolish goals haven't received the sympathy we offer here because they were blown to bits by Bush's "shock and awe" or Obama's drone-based hellfire missiles. Very strange how Americans passively tolerate the atrocities of their government.
9
I see this photo and think about all the Christians fighting for the "right to life".
Where are they now?
I don't hear you...............
16
I deeply fear that children like Abrir, who, even if she finds a way to survive, will never live a “normal” life. Her complete lack of nutrition has, perhaps, already undermined the growth processes in her brain and the rest of her wasted body. It’s doubtful that her life span will find 20, eight long years from now.
When I think of the Trump administration’s policies toward the Royal House of Saud—host and parasite respectively—I cannot help but connect the American president and his son-in-law as morally complicit not only in the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi but in the holocaust that is now Yemen. Is profiteering from a corrupt desert feudal lordship worth the forfeiture of every decent human impulse?
And it also seems that the president wants to continue to use Iran as a foreign policy cudgel to please Mohammed bin Salman and, by extension, Bibi. We are a fast becoming what the Saudis are: the exporters of terror (never forget the Saudi-heavy composition of the 9/11 invaders and killers). We looked the other way and paid off the Saudis because we “needed their oil” or some such rubbish.
I hope that the Trump administration’s Cabinet members and the Republican Senate have a chance to look at what Abrir is and what, under a muscular America that would almost force the Saudis to beg the Yemenis’ forgiveness, she could have been.
I’ll never forgive Donald Trump or Jared Kushner or SecState Michael Pompeo for this. They are all greedy and evil.
Abrir is just a child.
10
@Red Sox, '04, '07, '13, ‘18, i hope you include obama in that list since this policy is his baby...
Thank you Mr.NICHOLAS KRISTOF, you are the only one writing about this YEMEN war who is American-backed Saudi Arabia's war, Saudi Arabia is birth place of Islam and Yemen is a muslim country and Saudi's killing Yemen's and starving them, and they killed an American newspaper person in Turkey and Trump's son of law Jared Kushner is body body with those killers and Israel killing Palestinians same way, Gin Kushner and BIBI are body body, and than Trump wants build a wall for 5 billion dollars stiop killers ans murderers get in from Mexico , how abour the murderers living in our country, l am a muslim but Saudi Arabia is the one worst country in our world, but Trump and his family has businnes conceections there shame on us
5
FYI, if you click on the link that says “85,000 children may have died,” it takes you to a Save the Children fact page with ways to donate. Wish that had been more obvious.
3
A litigation-occupied leader's mind may not be able to focus on this story or the photo?!
2
I am not sure that Iran is worse than Saudi Arabia.
7
@Mike Pink definitely not, and the fact that the author says this shows he is cowtailing to the US foreign policy that has created this.
My heart bleeds for Abrar. My conscience bleeds for our country.
70
The Family man and good Christian Paul Ryan ended any debate of Yemen in the house for the rest of the year. If this is not a Cowardly act I don't know what is. Hope if you see this image, it is engrained in your head and torments you for the rest of your life Mr. Ryan
12
Shame on Trump and Obama.
8
How many U.S. jobs and how much money from Saudi arms deals does it take to justify this torture of innocents, Mr. President? And where is the moral outrage from our Congress? For how long do we continue turn a blind eye to this suffering we are complicit in creating? The 40 red Christmas trees which adorn the White House in the face of this tragedy is disgraceful. Shame on the President and shame on us!
10
Americans must press for urgent help for the Yemeni people, starting with political solutions like stopping aid and support to the odious saudis and then leading an emergency humanitarian campaign with food and medical care.
Who would not support that?
Could The NY Times please present detailed info about relief efforts? I searched a couple of weeks ago and it looked like Doctors Without Borders and save the children were trying to do something, but that bombings hampered relief efforts. True? How do we solve this? Kristof was in Yemen. Others can go.
During the season when this nation of overfed people feast on even more rich food, the contrast is unconscionable. We can help. We want to help. We just need someone knowledgeable to lead.
8
absolutely...but the bigger point is we need to shift from war crimes thinking to understanding WAR IS THE CRIME.
(& then reach further to understand there s a great deal of economic war going on, like the way Africa, Latin America, much of Asia is kept out of sufficient energy in art by under cutting the value of exports in a fair market... something made obvious in our Central American immigrant problem, which can not be ended with some Great Wall...)
3
"(15) When you stretch out your hands,I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.(16) Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,(17) learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." - Isaiah 1;15-17.
Would that the prophets of our Judeo/Christian faith influenced our actions. Would that horrible pictures of the starving and ill spoke to our consciences. Would that our better angels led us to rescue the oppressed of Yemen.
3
Energy independence.
1
The president and his family bask in luxury, while, as a result of his deals with Saudi Arabia, the most brutal and corrupt country on earth, children in Yemen are starving to death. Trump didn’t want to listen to audio of killing Khashoggi, and I’m sure, he will not read this article and will not look at this child’s picture. He has blood on his hand.
4
Thank you Mr. Kristof. This photo is searing. Sadly, I agree; no additional commentary is necessary. I will be calling my representatives in both the House and Senate today.
3
Let's not forget that our American-based arms manufacturers and defense contractors are directly profiting from this situation. The CEOs and other execs of these companies need to see this image morning, noon, and night. So do their families. Their grandchildren should see this image and ask why.
They fear that Congress might put a stop to their profiteering.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-dissident-arms/u-s-weapons-makers-rattled-over-saudi-arabia-deals-idUSKCN1MM1VF
86
This from Bloomberg's reporting on the House passing of the Farm Bill:
"Final passage in the House came after Republicans attached an unrelated provision that blocks lawmakers from forcing the chamber to vote on certain Yemen legislation until a new Congress takes over in January. The provision limits lawmakers’ efforts to push back on the U.S. role in Yemen’s civil war and relationship with Saudi Arabia amid bipartisan anger over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul."
How do you call yourself a Republican and hold your head up?
15
To Nicholas Kristof and the New York Tim: Thank you so much for continuing on this story. As it is said a picture is worth 1000 words. I believe we have 5 air bases in Saudi Arabia, This should be part of the stories that you write about the connection with Saudi Arabia. I have not seen this in any story the NY Times has written about in regard to Yemen or to the killing of the Washington Post journalist.There is a connection here. We have not been just refueling Saudi planes and selling arms.There are deeper connections here.....
9
By and large Saudi Arabia and the US are fighting a proxy war in a war torn backwater better known as Yemen. With no clear cut military goals or strategy. Mr. Kristof could plead Abrar's case with her in tow live in the Oval Office. It wouldn't cause Trump to blink his eyes one bit. Even if Saudi Arabia were to end the war tomorrow. They would had already created the next generation of terrorists at their doorstep.
2
As if the U.S. is going to weaken Iran by supporting Saudi Arabia's effort in Yemen. I'd like to know who is directing our policy in this matter. Probably Bolton.
5
Perhaps it is time to ask the question of when does a war become a genocide. This appears to be where we are. We are no longer participants in the war in Yemen, we are participants in the genocide in Yemen. Where is the U.N.? Where is The Hague? Where is the international community on Yemen?
Whether or not it is bombs dropped from airplanes or economic sanctions, if we cripple an economy so badly in order to achieve our geopolitical goals that thousands of innocent children die from starvation as a result, then we are guilty of crimes against humanity. One heck of a way to lead the World.
10
If Congress can keep Guantanamo open by pulling the funds needed to close it (I never did figure that one) surely it can shut down Yemen by pulling the funds needed to run it.
Thank you for this piece and for all your continuing coverage of global atrocities against civilians, especially children and women. Giles Clarke's coverage has been gut wrenching and brilliant. I am disappointed in the NYT. This coverage should be on the front page as an opening headline. Coverage of our nation's pathetic politicians, and Britain's folly, takes center stage, covering the entire front page, day after day. We all know that Trump is click bait but I expected more of the Times. What story could be more important than this one? Never the less, thank you for tirelessly speaking out.
7
There is no shining city on the hill. The US, like every other empire, has enforced its writ through the slaughter of innocents, and the propping up of murderous ‘allies’. Saudi Arabia, Iraq in the 80s, Chile’s military junta in the 70s, South Vietnam etc - the list goes on and on.
No wonder people around the world listen to our sanctimonious preaching, and shake their heads in disbelief - and these days, open mockery.
The only silver lining is that this empire of blood, like so many before it that ardently believed that they would stand forever because ‘God’ has destined them, will in fact not do so.
4
You forgot to mention that the reason Congress may end war support for Saudi Arabia is NOT due to its war in Yemen and the associated starvation of children; instead, it is due to the killing of one journalist in Turkey
Anyway, there is a certain futility to your noble aims, Mr. Kristof. Your excellent reporting in Darfur led to partition of Sudan and a bunch of liberals declaring victory and moving on. But of course there was never a solution there and the killing and misery continues. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
3
Mr. Kristof, many of your articles about Yemen cite examples of children who are 1 of 10 kids that belong to unemployed parents. In a desert that's running out of water. In a region that has had a completely stagnant educational system since long before the US was founded.
Many of these parents, inspired by a slavish devotion to a medieval pederast warlord, are marrying off their pre-teen girls to breed the next of 10 grandchildren, in a desert without water, where they won't be educated, and where they're going to be married off to the next pederast warlord. You see where this all goes....
The war may be horrible, but it's only hastening the famine that's coming anyway. But my question for you is: Do I need to feel guilty for all that, too? Yemen has insisted on having some of the world's highest birthrates in a region completely uninterested in usefully educating and employing them. Is it America's fault that they're shocked to have war when those kids are reaching their peak drinking and fighting age?
I just want to know how much I need to feel bad about, since it is apparently wrong to expect the people in a region that gave us our current system of numbers to have any idea how to actually use them.
3
@Cristobal What are you? We are contributing to this by supporting the Saudis.
1
@Cristobal. “I just want to know how much I need to feel bad about..”? You don’t need to feel bad about anything. Being inspired to be empathetic about this situation is a gift Mr K is offering. Maybe you call or write your Members of Congress about our support and complicity in this genocide. Maybe you send a donation to Save The Children as I have. Yes it’s a drop in the bucket. But I believe in drops. I don’t see the famine and despair in Yemen as a character flaw of the suffering. You appear believe it is. I’ve read too much history to lay that on them.
1
Give the names of reputable charities so we can help, don’t just depress us with how horrible our species is. Thanks.
1
To Nancy who writes
"Beyond all conscience, I am devastated and ashamed of this government."
Then you also need to be critical of the Obama government, and more so, as it was the Obama administration that started it.
From the NY Times 2015/03/26/
" Saudi Arabia Leads Air Assault in Yemen"
"The region’s most impoverished country, Yemen has been a central theater of the American fight against Al Qaeda, and its possible collapse presents complex challenges to the Obama administration as it struggles to deal with instability and radical extremism in the Middle East."
The Obama administration then implemented and continued throughout its tenure its support of the Saudi aerial campaign
5
@Gerhard - True enough I guess, have not checked, but now is now and the embrace of the Saudi Prince by Trump and Kushner and the unwillingness to hold the Prince responsible for the killing of the Washington Post journalist go far beyond anything Obama did or would do, I am sure.
Comment?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
2
@Gerhard Here we go. Whataboutism is an automatic loss of any argument. How does that help the current situation? That is the most deficient, irrelevant, and pathetic, defense for ANYTHING that this vile administration does.
The dirty little secret is Blackwater who hires former US military is contracted by both the Saudi's and UAE to fight in Yemen.
The US privatization of our military funded by US taxpayers is playing a role in atrocities all over the globe including Yemen.
Prince, who runs Blackwater donated money to the Trump campaign, his sister Betsy DeVos is in Trumps cabinet.
McMaster wasn't a fan and was replaced by Bolton a big fan of privatizing the US military. Both Pompeo and Bolton are tied at the hip to Prince.
Former US serviceman, many of them who are Special forces are no longer loyal to the US chain of command. The privatization of our military had to stop and be rolled back.
We shouldn't have US trained special forces and ex-military representing foreign powers in wars that Congress hasn't declared. It's wrong.
3
People who seek power are compromised. People who have power without seeking it almost always end up being compromised. It takes a particular mentality to be okay with this, or accept it in a statistical manner, rather than on a sentimental/human manner. As long as human ego is satisfied, most people only care about themselves first and their friends and family next. It's the power structures (and our worship of them) that we have to give up but I doubt it'll happen anytime soon. We are a cursed species.
Very true and bold coverage
Nick I also hope that Barack H Obama, John Kerry and his advisers also look at this picture because they started this war of choice although they were involved with Iran negotiating the deal of the century the JCPOA. I wonder what were they thinking when the US decided to support the Saudis and Emiratis in their genocidal effort of eliminating the Yemenis/Houthis. The Saudis were thinking that they would be able to do in Yemen what they did in Bahrain only to find out that Yemenis are very hard breed, they have been fighting for hundreds of years to not become a colony of the Saudis.
4
The NYT is a little bit late in criticizing Mister Bone Saw's actions in Yemen. When MBS launched an illegal military intervention in Yemen in 2015 the then American government supported this intervention both logistic and by providing target information. Even after the Saudi's bombed weddings and funerals the US continued with their support. The NYT did not criticize these inhuman and illegal actions. Since then I have read quite a lot of laudatios on MBS (by for instance Mr. Cohen). It's only since the cruelty of this American supported intervention became apparent that the NYT changed course. Too late and too little.
3
The deaths in Yemen are a direct result of grossly incompetent foreign policy conducted by the likes of Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner.
Iran was far better contained by the meticulous and effective Obama foreign policy team.
Republicans, you have much to answer for. I am dedicated to ensuring that you never again are allowed to sell all of our souls to the 1%.
2
The photo is dramatic and tragic, Nick, but what sickens one is this is part and parcel of ongoing Trump policies to aid and abet Saudi Arabia as our 'proxy' against Iran. No 'friendship' with Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is worth starving or killing so many children. When this started in Obama's last term, we expected to support the Saudi king from terrorist attack at his southern border, but now warfare has become genocide. American weapons are misused. Not acceptable.
The trauma is enhanced by Trump obeisance to the murderous prince who killed an American journalist as the intelligence services said. Again Trump ignores such findings to advance his personal agenda of building a hotel in Riyadh.
It follows from his covert efforts pre- and post-election to abet mafia chieftain Putin so he can build Trump Hotel Moscow. Republicans won't stop Trump so Democrats must do it in January with power to cut budget funds and show what's actually going on--your powerful picture.
4
As the saying goes, a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Assuming many have already seen pictures such as those depicting human starvation (particularly telling in a contemporary world too often reeking flatulence in direct expiation of an otherwise evident global overconsumption), still, no one gets used to having such title-image fly full-force right into your face, especially first thing in the morning.
This isn't the first time NYT, for very good reason, puts the finger on the ongoing humanitarian crisis that currently plights Yemen when too many other media rather dismiss it.
Then, I just realize that again and upon opening the article's content I instantly scrolled down towards the middle so to slip away from this sickening view as quickly as I could. Sure, the United States and Saudi Arabia, in case they are effectively "complicit" in the ongoing perpetration of such horrors, a fact that doesn't seem to be left out to speculation at this point, must be anyhow held accountable.
Trump logic: Saudis have a lot of money. End of thought process.
2
@Alan R Brock "Saudis have a lot of money for me and my family" is the thought process.
1
@Jill Balsam
Exactly. Thank you.
Why are there only 4 comments (as of 6:00pm, Dec. 12} about this photo? Perhaps because it leaves one speechless. Alas, there's no doubt why we have supported this war in Yemen - the military-industrial complex rules and will continue to do so. For many in power there are few things more important than job creation, and making military hardware creates jobs.
1
How much Saudi money is now in our politicians' |off-shore bank accounts or holding companies? Not just Trump's, but the GOP leadership (and maybe some Dem politicos)? Will the Treasury Dept' ever look into it? (Oh, I forgot: Mnuchin is a Trump flunkie).
1
This photo should be on the front page of every Newspaper in the USA. This should be broadcast on every TV News Show. Why isn’t this happening ??? Because too many “ people “ are making too much money, wheeling and dealing with the Saudis. The Trump Regime are now the biggest beneficiaries of Saudi
Largesse, And by that I mean commissions, bribes, graft. Now that we can see actual evidence of this genocide, how will WE react ? I’m crying, and furious. A very Dangerous combination for a menopausal Woman. I’m ready to grab several pitchforks, and take to the Streets. Not here, no one would notice. But in D.C., in front of the White House and Congress. Or Trump Properties, anywhere and everywhere. Please JOIN ME.
2
The US has the power to stop this, and it does not. I know we need to vote and change the executive, but Abrar does not have until 2020. The new Congress needs to press on.
And how about that very Christian vice president? Is he OK with all this? Shameful, painful, aggravating beyond words that we are letting kids starve like this.
1
Are we doing this to save Yemen from Iran? Are we that much better, that much different?
1
Thank you for raising awareness of this catastrophe. Our major mass media outlets are so obsessed with speculation about Trump and his tweets and sociopathic behavior, that real human problems like this are ignored. What will it take for Americans to realize that our government is complicit in tragedies such as this and demand action? Your articles might help
1
We have been killing people there (Yemen) for years with Drone attacks aimed at Terrorists so called and any one standing near the target . Good to see the children deaths raising a 'shameful record' awareness.
Thank you Kristof for raising the issue.
1
Beyond sad, and utterly sick.
Mike Pompeo -- a random relevant person -- seems very well fed though. So does MBS. And Donald. Be Best: yes, that's it. They are being the best version of themselves.
1
The image with this op-ed will go down with "Migrant Mother" and Eddie Adams' picture of BG Loan's shooting a Viet Cong prisoner in the street in Saigon as sentinel still images.
"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. When one dies, it is a tragedy. When a million die, it is a statistic." -- Josef Stalin
Auschwitz, Biafra, Rwanda, Kosovo, Darfur, the Rakhine State in Myanmar (Rohingya), and now Yemen. How can we call ourselves a civilization when we practice serial willful blindness?
We will build monuments like Yad Vashem but we do so too late for the victims. We turned away the SS St. Louis and relied on other countries to provide safe haven in 1939 for 900 Jews fleeing Germany. We turned ourselves away in each and every conflict listed above.
As we have just ended Hanukkah this year, we should revisit the Talmudic question:
If not now, when?
3
The United States is not only complicit in this tragedy, but we are among the leaders in supplying small arms to nations across the globe, and these weapons fall into the hands on non-state actors.
People do not die everyday from weapons of mass destruction, but they do die daily from small arms.
1
SHAME on us! And the military contractors, and the politicians accepting their donations and voting for those interests. My, how we have fallen. Can we regain our moral compass...?
1
Obama left the middle east in tatters. This is yet another mess left for Trump to clean up.
2
Thank you, Nicholas Kristof. The world is a better place because you are in it. This is horrific.
Truths should take precedence over lies, and when innocent children are involved, a truth which would spare the children takes precedence over another truth which requires the children to suffer and die.
Saudi Arabia must end the war in Yemen with its focus on bombing and starving children to death.
The United States must end its partnership with the deranged Saudi prince who insists upon this crime against humanity.
68
@sdw You do know that the USA has killed a large number of women and children, created more homelessness and dire poverty, by the bombs it drops itself on "enemies" that never once attacked us.
1
@David
This is a nation in which for more than 30 years the conservative Republicans have usually had effective control of the White House, the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court -- or, at least, three of the four bodies. The political theme for those Republicans has been to conduct a never-ending war, because it makes it easier to rally voters by appealing to patriotism.
That strategy also makes it easier to raise funds from armament sellers.
Having said that, David, today the topic is standing up to war-mongering demagogues.
2
I am speechless. Saudi Arabia should be our enemy, not a major market for our war machinery. They are third in the world in military spending behind the US and China. In terms of per capita spending, it is obscene. And trump and jarred play nice with their murdering crown prince.
3
America has earned a badge of shame for its support of the Saudi war in Yemen and the deliberate starvation of civilians. Historians will one day condemn this as vigorously as they condemn the U.S. internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II and the Trail of Tears.
1
Mr. Kristof, can you get this photo and the others you and your colleagues at the Times have published right in the faces of the Congress that yesterday stuck a piece of legislation in the farm bill so that the House would not discuss Yemen??? How do they sleep at night? What will bring them to see that our policies with the Saudis are killing children. What will make them care??
1
Thank you, Mr. Kristof, for pointing out that our ally, Saudi Arabia's murderous crown prince, is responsible for a genocide in Yemen far worse than anything our enemy Iran has ever done.
2
This picture should be on the front page, above the fold. Every day a different picture. People don't read but they understand a picture and can learn what it says about the implications of US policy. Does the MSM understand this. Don't bury this on the bottom of the opinion page.
To say this is distressing beyond emotion becomes meaningless when we are powerless to prevent such a disastrous human tragedy, makes me think twice before I put food in my mouth thinking of the constant pain and suffering these poor skeletal humans feel being caught in the middle of this tragedy, a tragedy in it's truest sense when the ones bombing them out of existence are oblivious of the misery they're causing. If any of the warring factions had one iota of compassion towards the defenceless much of this suffering and deaths could have been averted but WHEN WILL IT STOP? Saudi Arabia has no qualms whatsoever about causing misery as evidenced by the butchering of Kashoggi for not flattering MbS but where does America stand......selling billions of $ worth of arms to them furthering these atrocities?
45
@Alice Lodge they are not oblivious- they are well aware but don’t care.
2
From The Atlantic, 2 Years ago: Sep 23, 2016
"Yemen: The Graveyard of the Obama Doctrine"
The human costs of facilitating Saudi Arabia’s proxy war
This past Tuesday, President Barack Obama delivered his final speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A day later, the U.S. Senate held a rare debate on the sale of arms destined for another war in the Middle East. The deal, for $1.15 billion in weaponry to Saudi Arabia, including over 150 Abrams tanks, is a drop in a bucket: more than $100 billion in arms sales to the kingdom have already been approved by the Obama administration.
Even if Yemen cannot be solved via diplomatic miracle, it is puzzling that Obama’s apparent distaste for the kingdom has had remarkably little influence. A critic of the U.S.-Saudi alliance as a senator, the president’s White House has had a troubled relationship with the absolute monarchy since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011—which saw a number of Saudi allies, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, ousted from power—and more so since the Iranian nuclear deal. The once-improbable now seems imminent: unless the Obama administration ends refueling and logistical support for the Saudis, it appears all but certain to hand off the war in Yemen to his successor."
===========
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/09/yemen-saudi-arabia-obama-riyadh/501365/
6
this is indeed an arresting and heart-wrenching plea by Nick Kristof for a change. One place to go to contact your senators and let them know how you feel about our actions in Yemen is:
https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/take-action/sandersleemurphywpr
1
MBS, the Saudi Prince, is well fed and obviously not missing any meals or snacks. Everything about the excess, the cruelty, the fake facade and the total disregard for life is sickening to the soul.
1
Worse than the collusion with Russia, this outright support of Saudi Arabia is dehumanizing, as well as just plain wrong.
As our commitment to democratic norms declines so too does our humanity.
1
Thank you Mr. Kristof for your continued coverage of the crisis in Yemen.
How is this not genocide?
1
The Houthi rebels, who pretty much control the country now, are oppressive. And the Saudi's who fund the "opposition" are saints? This is the usual US hypocrisy, our bad guy is better than your bad guy. Why? Cause we say so. (And they pay us more to say that.) This is sick. It has been sick in Yemen for at least 5 years now. It is sick all over the world. And frankly, I am really tired of reading about it. Nonetheless, thanks to Nick for putting his life on the line to shed light on the darkness of our countries madness.
1
Does anyone in the world honestly believe that a Saudi-backed government would be less oppressive than the Houthis?
The hypocrisy stinks so much that we’ll soon need gas masks to walk past 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Does anyone in the Trump Regime or the Republican Congress care ?
Words fail us when we are faced with the skeleton of a still living 12 year old, knowing that this reduction of a living human being to a symbol is the work of two nations, one already a dictatorship, the other with a leader trying to move us in that direction.
Those two nations entered the conflict in March 2015 a year after the Houthis had taken control of Sanaa and its airport https://nyti.ms/2zNm7Tb.
The conference now taking place in Rimbo, Sweden offers some small hope of opening the airport and thus providing one path in for relief. My Swedish newspaper reports that the Houthi rebels who control the airport state that this small step can only be realized if the Saudi-supported government that controls airspace opens it to Sanaa. One small step, so difficult to take, too little too late for all the Abrar Ibrahims.
While we wait, we can contribute to MSF, Doctors Without Borders, who do what they can whenever conditions on the ground make it possible for them to work. But as long as the USA remains fixated on Iran and on continuing its support of the Saudis, Rimbo conferences can lead at best to only to stage setting for future change.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
The US is without any credibility in the Middle East: failure in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq; backing the wrong horse with the Crown Prince and Netanyahu, bailing on the Iran nuclear agreement— the list is unending. Add to this China and N Korea.
Maybe it’s time to admit we have no clue how to solve problems and are just wasting lives and money making the World a bigger mess?
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@John Brews ..✅✅
It's easy to sit behind a computer and cherry pick our failures while ignoring the successes. No mention of our support for democracies in the developing world. No mention of huge foreign aid campaigns like the Marshall plan. No mention of nuclear arms reduction or massive financial support to fight AIDS in Africa.
Failed policies deserve to be criticized. But let's not forget that as a whole, we still provide a good role in the global community.
1
@Jay The Marshall Plan was seventy years ago arms reduction was window dressing as an excuse to build more powerful weapons and trillion dollar “ shields”, AIDS to Africa was largely private funding.
6
@Jay our purpose is to spread the US empire, not to spread democracy. Hence why we support the majority of the worlds dictatorships.we want destruction in the middle east to spread our empire, plain and simple.
7
Obama stopped smart bomb transfers to the Saudis - but Trump resumed and expanded weapons sales immediately after taking office. This NYT article, written with the Pulitzer Center, should be read with Mr Kristof's heartbreaking column:
https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/magazine/war-yemen-american-bomb-strike.amp.html?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHCAFYAYABAQ==#referrer=https://www.google.com&_tf=From %1$s&share=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/magazine/war-yemen-american-bomb-strike.html
#28lbs
2
Numbers:
As of Aug. 31, Air Force tankers such as KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers had conducted 2,919 sorties and offloaded 92.3 million pounds of fuel to coalition fighters in the Horn of Africa since the onset of the Yemen crisis, CENTCOM previously told Military.com. Jacques cited the same figures Saturday when providing the most recent statistics.
That amounts to 12,102 refueling operations, or what officials describe as "refueling events," CENTCOM has said.
By comparison, in that same timeframe, the Air Force has conducted 47,624 sorties and offloaded more than 2 billion pounds' worth of fuel in operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to the latest Air Forces Central Command airpower summary.
More than 275,000 aircraft have been refueled for Operation Inherent Resolve within the last three years, AFCENT said.
https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/11/21/saudi-coalition-down-1-2-tankers-fuel-daily-after-us-ends-refueling-mission.html
======
1
Nothing Mr. Kristof writes can convey the horror of seeing a twelve year old that weighs less than a healthy 18 month old or two year old should weigh. However, what does horrify this reader is that on every page, including this one online, the Times interrupts the story, the opinion, or whatever it is with ads, ads, ads that are all about buying expensive gifts or items for oneself and others.
6
Mr. Kristof:
Heartbreaking. Yes, we Americans need to persuade our congressmen to do something about ending the aid that funds this war.
Thank you for your kind heart and your enlightening words. I know the fact that these children are starving breaks the heart of God - we Christians need to reflect that in our politics. It's more important than anything else we can do this Christmas.
1
28 pounds.... something is fundamentally flawed with our country if we can start such a war with even a great guy like Obama as president. He even started our terrible war in Libya. We will never address the deep-seated political/economic reasons for this if we waste our energy villanizing Donald Trump - Abrar would weigh the same if Hillary got elected. Blaming the other side doesn't absolve us from responsibility for what our government and economic system do here and throughout the world. Historically, righteous indignation directed at false causes has been a very bad thing for humans. Once our hearts and our heads get off track - look out. Voting for the war in Iraq is a good example. In my view, our consumption-based economic system is the primary cause for these problems - and there's no one to blame.
9
@carl bumba, we are ALL to blame and we must begin somewhere to tear down this capitalistic system (let's call it what it is). I believe we have to start with our own selves and ask what we really need instead of what we really want or think we want because we've been convinced by commercial propaganda it will make our lives better.
5
@carl bumba, we didn't start such a war, we're aiding and abetting it. Saudi Arabia started such a war. There was no righteous indignation, and this isn't the invasion of Iraq.
Maybe if people saw more clearly how easy it is to be on the wrong side of history, we'd stop. But that starts with clear eyed appreciation of the facts. We didn't start this war, and we won't end it easily. We are keeping it going, though, and we should stop.
@Susan
Right on. Just look what Christmas has turned into, here.
How did we decide which oppressive regime was the bad guys? I do not see much difference between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Did we flip a coin?
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@Burton
Israel told us which one, same as they told us to go after Iraq rather than Iran 15 years ago. In the Middle East, we are their puppets.
1
Once more, great work, New York Times. Thank you, Mr. Kristof for forcing us to stare US-sanctioned anguish and suffering directly in the face. Keep up this sort of reporting, please! The world needs to see what we are involved in and the more attention you give it, the more pressure there will be on so-called leaders to do what is right and end this shameful war on children. Thank you for reminding us that these are not statistics, but rather real lives completely shattered in the name of containing Iran. It hurts to look at these images. We must all feel this collective hurt to stop it. Thank you for making us hurt, Mr. Kristof.
7
I look at these images and am filled with despair. What can I do? Stop paying taxes?
Rant and rave to my " elected officials"
The US has always had blood on its hands.
Someone we think we are exceptional and better than everyone else but we are not.
We are a rich country in a state of constant war because if makes some of us rich.
And that is the horrifying truth.
17
The Cold War is over. We can no longer justify this kind of foreign policy as necessary.
1
Yemen has never been a cohesive nation within living memory. It is a collection of warring tribes motivated in part by religious differences going back more than 1400 years.
The Saudi regime is apparently unwilling to put troops on the ground and is attempting to bomb their way to victory. Not going to happen.
None of the warring parties care about starving children.
We should not be actively involved IE refueling Saudi jets, but this is part of our resisting the advance of Iranian hegemony.
The only way it will end is if the Iranians and Saudis agree to stop supplying arms to the warring tribes and a point of exhaustion winds down the war.
This is not going to happen.
3
@Bernice, you are mostly wrong.
Yemen was two nations, North and South Yemen until 1994. The reason for that was because of British dominion over South Yemen, while North Yemen was a traditional kingdom. The country was cobbled together in 1994, but the people under the Houthis believe the deal was not good for them (North).
Before the Saudis attacked, most of the casualties in the various wars there, of which the war with the Houthis was only one, and another significant one was with al Qaeda in the South, most of the fighting was over water.
To just lump things together and say, "Oh, 1400 years the Shi'a and the Sunni have been fighting blah blah," is both not accurate and not helpful. The war can be ended, most of the casualties have been because of the Saudi attack, and we can do our part to end it by not selling weapons and not aiding their use to the Saudis. That may not bring peace, but it would stop at least half the starvation and most of the killing.
We don't need this proxy fight to contain Iran.
@Bernice I think you have a very simplistic view of Yemen and its history. One of those so-called "warring tribes" was the British Empire, and then the USSR. Take a look at the USA -- sure looks like warring tribes right now. Let's hope no outsiders come in for one or the other side with bombs and planes.
1
@Bernice Don't forget, the Bush Saudi relationship. Saudi Arabia attacked us on 9/11 and we attacked Iraq. The US is dependent on Saudi oil, and therein lies everything criminal that is going on in Yemen. Iran may play a part, but it's the US/Saudi relationship that is behind all of this-read cheap oil! And polluting more seems to be all we care about under Dump.
Mr. Kristof, in another column on the subject it was implied that food is plentiful in Yemen but the Yemen government is not distributing it. If that's the case, this war is no different than any other that causes death and destruction in which the people's own government doesn't care about them.
It's not the "point" that's starving the children, on other words, it's their own government.
3
Perhaps you didn’t read the line about the fisherman who now can’t fish. And the saudis have consistently blocked humanitarian aid from getting to the people who need it.
The Yemeni gov’t is backed by the Saudi’s & part of the blockade of Houthi controlled areas.
You don’t want to supply information about how to make donations to responsible organizations? Why not?
@Pogo, give to large, well known organizations only is the best bet. Many of the biggest are there, from the Red Cross, to Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, etc. If you want more information about humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen go to reliefweb.int and search.
There have been problems with both in-kind donations and with supporting small unknown groups -- al Qaeda is quite active in Yemen and you don't want to be sending material support to the wrong group.
1
@Pogo
May I suggest Doctors without borders.
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/news/yemen-msf-treats-influx-war-wounded-patients-conflict-escalates?source=ADD180U0U01&utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=GooglePaid&utm_content=sitelink&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwrKnmfec3wIVKx-tBh00xA17EAAYASABEgI-XvD_BwE
The problem is that many people refuse to listen to facts that go against their political ideology. This applies to liberals as well as conservatives, though of course with conservatives this seems to happen on almost every issue, most notably global warming.
But the famine In Yemen never had to reach this level. The US gave a green light to Saudi bombing in March 2015 and if we really had this wonderful functioning democracy that people claim we have, then we democratically chose to cause these events. It was clear right from the start that the Saudis were making war on civilians with our help, but it simply wasn’t an important issue to us.
6
The face of war, only the dead have seen the end of it. In this case a consequence of a proxy war, two countries fighting in another place, in the service of others objectives, the arms for one provided by us and bragged about as a "deal" by our current president. Look at that picture, some "deal".
3
@Madwand,
Update from Reuters - December 13, 2018:
'On 12 December, in a rare break with President Donald Trump, the Senate voted to move ahead with a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in the war in Yemen and lawmakers vowed to push for sanctions against the kingdom in the new year. Reuters
@Miss Ley
Saw all that Miss Ley, any US policy shift still TBD and there are lawmakers like Ryan still supporting US policies toward Yemen. So the upcoming question is will the Legislature prevail or the Executive. If kids are still looking like this six months from now you will know who did.
Kristoff continues to fail to present - evidence- demonstrating exactly how US policy brings about starvation, or - evidence - that suggests that a reversal of the policy would bring an end to the starvation he says he has seen.
4
@Objectivist
The evidence has been in numerous news stories. The Saudis bomb civilians and imposed a blockade and the US has supported them. If you genuinely cared you would know this.
1
In this age of Science-Denial, Mr.Kristof has stayed on course with Proof-Positive on the ground where others fear to tread. Before challenging the FACTS, get out there and see firsthand the truths of this atrocity. Then comment!
1
Does it take more than stop providing the Saudis with intelligence?
Why not twist one’s arm a bit to end it?
How do you think those destroyed building became rubble?
Seriously???
Having read your recent column on Yemen, I was tempted to not read this one. It breaks my heart - yes - but tell us/me what we can do - please! "Hope & prayers" are in the same category as the "thoughts & prayers" coming out of pro-gun folks after mass shootings.
Ending the war is absolutely imperative. We can contact our congress persons, we can vote when the time comes, and we can give to aid organizations active in the area (Doctors Without Borders is), but beyond that what?
9
The deliberate policy of starvation by the United States and other ruling governments has taken place in the past. Perhaps you remember, Mr. Kristof, The Brutality of Nations, authored by Dan Jacobs, a mild-mannered man with a passionate need to expose the tragedy of Biafra, covered by the NYT Book Section in 1987.
'How in pursuit of political objectives in the Nigerian Civil War, a number of great and small nations, including Britain and the United States, worked to prevent supplies of food and medicine from reaching the starving 'Abrars' of rebel Biafra'.
Dan died a few years later in dire poverty, but left this testimony as a reminder. Opening his book, some Christmas letters from other humanitarian friends are to be found. These are old and forgotten. Written before the advent of this technological era, they were to bring solace to many developing countries.
When an Elder at the post office in our community town lowered his voice earlier and added 'This Buster has to go', there was no pretending or misunderstanding between us.
Many of us do not know the value of a bucket of water, let alone a country called Yemen. Our government can show an act of good faith by not impeding the efforts of humanitarian relief officers to reach Abrar; it is a beginning but not enough to feel at ease to be alive.
Fox News is not going to tune in on the above. The Public Opinion Policy is solid: 'This is not our problem'. And, the babies keep coming.
SAVE ABRAR and live.
9
Thank You for having the guts to write this piece Mr Kristof and the New York Times for publishing the article and this image. Giles Clarke should be commended for taking this photo. Growing up I still remember when photojournalism was a catalyst to change. May it be again
55
@Belinda
A very good article, for sure. But where are the "guts"? This is what Kristof does. He's world famous, probably well paid - and it's Christmas time. Articles like these, at this time, are thoroughly predictable - and sell well. Guts would be if he told his faithful readers that Obama started the war in Yemen (and Libya). He could review which of our next potential presidents did NOT vote for the war in Iraq.
3
Mr. Kristof:
Thank you for highlighting these issues, and, good luck getting anyone to actually notice.
Americans are pretty well normed to their government working for military contractor profits.
It is one of the most ingrained part of American "Democracy".
12
@Michael
I think you mean getting anyone of importance to notice - on that note, I believe there is a critical mass forming of Democrats, and even a small handful of republicans. (This latest attachment to the farm bill notwithstanding)
Watch for some movement as soon as Democrats take control of the House - small comfort to those affected, but hopefully some measure.
We shall see...
11
@FunkyIrishman
I have been waiting to "see" since "W" declared "victory" in Iraq for our boys to come home and for America to stop killing locals in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Also, for American corporations to stop building super highways, roads, and infrastructure in those countries and come home.
But, it will never happen. Too many corporations are making too much money on the extended no-bid contracts given to political cronies of our own government in those countries.
We are in those wars perpetually now. ONLY when we can no longer borrow an infinite amount of money due to the US Dollar being the reserve currency will it become an issue.
That is still a ways off, but, on the horizon now as Europe moves to define a reserve currency for the EU transactions...not the dollar.
13
@Michael
I am going to go out on a limb and describe what I think is going to happen within the next decade.
There will be a Liberal/left super majority in the U.S. by 2024 and coupled with that, will be the same in Canada, GB AND the big one - Israel.
The stars will be aligned for a 2 state solution and a complete withdrawal of troops from the ME. There will be also a true detente with Iran. I am not sure what pressure will be enough to enact anything in Saudi Arabia, but who knows. There will also be a closure of Gitmo and full relations with Cuba.
All dominoes falling in succession ...
10
The problem is not just our policy in Yemen, but this obsession with imagining ourselves as the world police, endowed with some sacred mission to control (by proxy via bribed demagogues where necessary) the other five inhabited continents in this world. We have only 5% of the world population. Might it not be sufficient to confine our military presence -- physical or by proxy -- to the 25% of the globe in which our country is centered?
12
Thank you so much for continuing to write on this topic. I hope the congressmen who are considering ending support for the war in Yemen will be moved by these images if not by numbers.
14
According to the the U.N., Yemen is on the precipice of the "worst famine [the world has seen] in 100 years. More than 22 million out of Yemen's total population of 29 million need humanitarian assistance. Nearly 18 million do not know where their next meal will come from. And about 80 percent of Yemenis under the age of 18 are facing threats to their health and survival. The photo of Abrar and others appearing in this paper are heart-crushing. These photos need to be enlarged and posted in the halls of Congress and our leaders compelled to look at them. They can stop this war immediately.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/khashoggi-scandal-looks-apos-ve-000636759.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/11/01/662634864/a-call-for-a-ceasefire-in-yemen-makes-news-its-catastrophe-doesnt
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@Ann: Alexander Harrison does not purport to be America's national conscience,but nonetheless finds it hypocritical, 2 faced for those who preach to others about social justice yet r not willing to get personally involved in trying to mitigate inequities themselves, I challenged Times newspaper columnists to take time off to come to your state, to pitch in and alleviate, however modestly the suffering, to help at least ONE person victimized, made homeless by rising rents and/or The Campfire. Thus far no takers to my knowledge, What ever became of the journalist "engage?" NK's article is Exhibit One. Unreasonable for him to see to it that Abrar's family and the child get visas to come to the US? To do otherwise, is that not exploitation of the child's misery?Admire him for his derring do, willingness to go where colleagues fear to tread, but his obligation to those whom he interviews does not end there!He has the means, but "autant que je sache,"has not done a single thing for folks he has interviewed except write about them!As I indicated, served 4 years in west Africa plus time in Rhodesia and Algeria. Never left a dog or cat whom I befriended there. They always flew back home with me! See my videos.Sponsored my"cuisiniere" from Ghana and her family for visas.1 becomes involved with others,1 cannot leave them stranded, above all in the developing world, where they face hopelessness!"C'est comme ca et pas autrement!""
2
@Alexander Harrison-Your points are well taken that we in the entitled West need to do more and actively engage to change these horrors committed in our names. Do you know for sure NK's not involved in the ways you say? I understand the outrage and appreciate what you've done. I will look for your videos.
@Ann:"Sen. Kruger and my Dog," as well as "Hilda and Tina," and "Dissimulation of Prof Richard Hull" might be of interest to you.Salut!
Nick,
Thank you for casting into concrete, personal terms the abstract policy of our government leaders. This cannot be done too often.
22
So much of human suffering has a simple solution. Respond to it as if it is your own, or that of your beloved and you have found it. This would be intolerable, amidst all the wealth and resources in the world, even if we weren't complicit.
37
I wonder what would happen if every person who reads this editorial called their representative and their senator, and the White House, and said they were strongly in favor of US withdrawal from this war? I wonder if Saudi Arabia would continue with their atrocities after losing US support?
28
Done. Let’s hope our Representatives in Congress are moved by this picture and compelled by the outpouring of support for withdrawal!
Thanks you Mr. Kristof and the editorial board of the NYT for giving this story space.
All we have on this planet is each other: the rest is just noise. I hope people who have a chance to effect change will step up to their responsibility as human beings and stop this heinous crime. We have become butchers by association - it's time to end this terrible wrong.
23
The Saudis are oppressive too. We need to stop supporting one oppressive regime just because another oppressive regime has ties to someone we perceive as an enemy. In college I studied under Masoud Kazemzadeh, a brilliant Iranian professor, and boy was that an eye opener. We may have some enemies in Iran, like the Ayatollah (Masoud, I believe would agree), but we are not enemies of the Iranian people. They are natural cultural allies, and we should be speaking to the Iranians and working to rebuild the trust we destroyed with the CIA actions against the former Prime Minister Mosaddegh in 1953, which ultimately led to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
To facilitate genocide of this nature in Yemen is beyond immoral. It is atrocious, and a true sign that the empire is collapsing into barbarity, which one day will visit us within our own lands.
To the US government, if you are listening; if you ever listen; stop providing weapons to the Saudis.
74
Many of the international affairs the US is involved with elicit a personal embarrassment, mistrust, and anguish. But this.... this. Tens of thousands of innocent children starving, at the hand of US politicians. In an age of unsurveyable national wealth, our tax dollars go to support arms sales and purchase for fighting a war where this is outcome. Enraging and dispicible. Yet also so predictable given the current US political leadership. Shame on the USA.
39
It's shocking that "members of the United States Congress are considering measures that would end our country’s support for the war." This shows how clueless our leaders have been. Children in Yemen are dying right at this moment and our lawmakers are still on a consideration mode! Shame on them.
Of course the major blame lies with our chief at the WH for enabling the Saudis to bring this about, but our lawmakers seem to have been be equally complicit to this. BBC and other news outlets have been reporting about the starving conditions in Yemen for almost two years, yet there has been mostly silence from our representatives in the House and the Senate. How sad that it took the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to awaken them to the realities in Yemen!
19
The United States, going back decades, arms anyone and everyone with a checkbook (both sides in the 1980s Iran/Iraq war, for example). The children of Palestine and Yemen and and Iraq and Iran pay for both sanctions and bombs with their lives, while those who survive become the next generation of terrorists. Violence begets violence, with religious consistency. Each president during my lifetime has been more militaristic than the previous president, regardless of political party. Obama was the first US president to spend two full terms at war.
The United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel are an axis of evil in the Middle East.
23
so if America were not "backing" one side of this war, would Abrar not be suffering? Would the Houthi Iranian side be feeding her? No. Unlikely. Let's have empathy for the suffering, compassion for sure. But can we find in our hearts also intellectual honesty free from blame? It is a complex, ugly sad situation. All too easy to blame one actor for the suffering.
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@Joe Yoh
The blockade causing the starvation, the ordinance dropped all over Yemen, the innocents killed, the mass disease, is directly related to the capacity of the Saudi Regime, and the Saudi Regime would not have the capacity to do this without American armaments, intelligence, and assistance.
It is directly related. Houthi's fighting Saudi soldiers without our support would look entirely different.
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@Joe Yoh
Actually yes. If there were no blockade supported by the US, fishermen like Abrar's father would feed their children. They don't need to look to the Houthi or the Iranians.
@Joe Yoh
Someone has to start somewhere. Doing nothing achieves nothing.
Because my country's policies represent me, I feel ashamed. No matter how much we donate to relief agencies, we just can't get away from the responsibility of this horror.
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Horrifying. But how do we put an end to it? Which party will take a stand? Which candidate? Who in Congress? How do we change the paradigm?
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Nick, finally your efforts are paying off! Congress is taking action on withdrawing US funding of Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen and the Houthis. That Yemeni children are starving from our supporting and arming the Kingdom's unfathomable terror on an innocent people. The children, they are the ones suffering, the ones who may not survive.
I look at the photo of Abrar, and remember what my son looked like at age 12. He was a skinny, little kid, but he never looked as if his very existence was in question. Abrar looks like she will not survive. If she does survive, how much damage to her brain has she already suffered?
I wish we in the US would realize that we are a part of a global community of people, and we are the richest and most fulfilled. Why can't we acknowledge that every human on planet Earth has a right to live the best life possible? What does it matter if I have a fancier car if my global neighbor hasn't enough to eat?!
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The only strategic asset on the Arabian Peninsula is oil, and we now know we have to wean ourselves off of it, so if ever there was a time to examine and reformulate the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, now is it.
11
I am so horrified by this image that it leaves me speechless. How can this child be the pawn that must pay not only with her life, but with her suffering for some empty geopolitical posturing. M.B.S is a war criminal, and I have think that house of Saud can no longer be considered legitimate or sovereign
20
Abrar doesn't deserve to starve in this horribly cruel manner. In fact, nobody does. I understand that starving is very painful but so ennervating that the one who suffers it can do nothing but stare into space. Then multiply this by many millions and it becomes a horrific crime against humanity. We must end the selling of armaments to Saudi Arabia immediately, yet Speaker Paul Ryan made possible the passing of a bill that would stop any such action. Of course the Democratic run Congress will pass a bill that will reverse Ryan's actions in January, but thousands more will die over the Christmas holidays. Call your Representatives and Senators. Support aid to relieve the hunger and starving. We are still the richest nation in the world, but we are one of the more corrupt. Let's put the lie to that.
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God bless you and your work, Nick. I know you’re not a believer (I’m not sure I am either) but God bless you nonetheless. I don’t know if some detached diety is complicit in this horror, but the Iranians and Saudis, with sophisticated American firepower, are effectively committing a kind of genocide in Yemen as its people starve and perish and run and hide from unimaginable violence. The internal political dynamic is complex, granted, but the external destruction brought by well armed countries choosing to fight a proxy war outside their borders is decimating a small, formally peaceful country. Shame again on the USA.
7
@the doctor, Yemen was not formerly peaceful, and this is not a genocide. War is horrible, and siege of civilians is a crime against humanity especially if it is causing famine. If you're expecting peace and prosperity in Yemen as a result of the end of U.S. involvement, you probably won't get it, the goal is explicitly to end Saudi Arabia and the GCC's ability to starve people as a weapon of war.
We should end it, we should not be complicit, our Congress needs to know they should not do this in our name. But don't add embellishments like a formerly peaceful country, which it wasn't, or genocide, which it isn't. The truth may be the first casualty of war, but you don't have to contribute to its death.
The truth is the Saudis can't continue without our support, and the Saudis are acting in blatant violation of humanitarian law. On those grounds alone we shouldn't help and we should pressure them to stop. Going beyond that creates expectations that won't be realized.
Thank you, Mr Kristof for devoting your space to sharing the truth about this atrocity. The moral compass of our government and nation has eroded to the place where we have turned a blind eye to the harm we inflict, in the hope that no one will notice or care. Eyes wide open. We care. We must do better.
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Abrar is a person unique.
Abrar is a woman with potential.
Abrar is innocent in all that which has beset her, her family, her tribe and her country.
The obscenity is in allowing all the Abrars of this world to suffer.
Abrar has no politics other than her personhood.
My heart, my soul cries out for Abrar.
Why must all the Abrars suffer when food and nourishment is so abundant.
I am paralyzed in knowing that our Western System in power politics is creating for Abrar pain and suffering.
I know my tears are not sufficient yet my tears flow.
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@Monte McMurchy,
Let us save our tears and ensure that water supplies safely reach those who are dying of thirst and starvation.
@Monte McMurchy Thank you for your words!
Dear Miss Ley,
I would like to see water and food as well as medicine supplies flowing to all victims of starvation. But transport and distribution are not possible when bombs are falling on houses, streets, hospitals.
The arms supplies must end. No matter how much money this bloody deal means.
Talk of collateral damage is just saying that you haven't learned anything from all of the recent wars the US has voluntarily started.
This isn't WWII. This is a far away war that by any stretch of imagination is not our problem. I understand the notion billed as "strategic" that we counter Iran at every turn. It failed grotesquely in Central America and in Southeast Asia.
This continued return to failed strategy is a drunk looking for keys by a street light.
I am now ashamed.
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The profoundest realization is that many if not most Americans simply do not care, even though the know what the consequences of American violence are. America was born with slavery and came of age through genocide. It's hardly surprising that this callousness is woven deep into the national soul.
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We thank NK for showing us precisely what is happening that we don't see enough of, perhaps the powers that be might be woken out of their lethargy and do something to alleviate this horrendous suffering. It is fast becoming another Ethiopia apropos starvation, although that was climate based, but this is so awful already it's hard to look at the painful despair in the faces of these poor, innocent and helpless people suffering at the hands of those wanting supremacy in the region. Since times long forgotten the Middle East has been a hotbed of conflict but it's today's sophisticated deadly machinery that is causing the devastation on a genocidal level. tRump bombed Assad for gassing his people which upset him so where is his compassion for the people he's aiding the Saudis to starve and kill? There just HAS to be some resolution.
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I'm guessing that this situation is pleasing to the current White House occupant and his cabinet, since they are getting a lot of Saudi money to support their war in Yemen.
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Thanks Nicholas for your heartbreaking opinion piece - it is high time that this war ends and nations unite to help heal this broken country and feed the starving children.
I would think that the poor child in this photo would not survive or survive with severe disabilities .... may God help those in need and may man wake up to the cruelty he inflicts on others less fortunate and without a voice.
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Donald Trump was quick to want to bomb Syria shortly after taking the oath of office because of the innocents who were gassed by Asad. Why does he tolerate the starvation of so many children as a consequence of The United States support of Saudi Arabia?
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@Jane K
The answer is - Money, Money, Money. Howgh.
I really can't think of anything to say. Looking at Abrar should be more than enough words. Utterly shameful.
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Abrar cannot buy Trump branded condos. She will not book a floor or two in a Trump hotel. With nothing to offer, Abrar is invisible to Trump and his administration.
No column in the NY Times can make her visible to an administration that can spot a nickel in the street from a hundred yards but cannot see children dying by the thousands.
But not everyone is so purposefully blind. Even 11 Republicans joined a 60 - 37 vote in the Senate today to formally start debating a measure to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Than you Mr. Kristof for making us look at the children in Yemen when so many would rather turn away.
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Wake up, America! Is oil and money worth this? The world isn’t watching.
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That photograph is haunting. I can't get anything else to stay in my mind. I hope others will see what war in Yemen looks like. Then we must look in the mirror.
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"Saudi and American officials say that the enemy, the Houthi rebels who govern much of the country, are oppressive and are backed by Iran."
If the Houthi would just stop their civil war things might get better.
Then again, if he US didn't intervene we would probably have Kristof complaining how we didn't use our power to prevent a takeover by the ruthless Houthi. We've heard that one before.
Pick a point on the map and spin a plea for compassion.
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@Jp, the Houthis overthrew the government, which they said did not treat them fairly. They actually were suing for peace on the strength of a different deal. That wasn't an untoward demand, the country was put together in 1994 and has been coming apart ever since, and the Houthis are kind of representative of one of the parts (the Northern one).
The government they overthrew fled to Saudi Arabia, and is still there, claiming to govern the country rightfully. Saudi Arabia attacked supposedly on its behalf as part of MBS's power grab manhood thing and as part of the Saudi proxy war with Iran, which was not backing the Houthis except financially at the time.
Before the Saudi attack, there were about 1,200 casualties in the fighting in Yemen, in the first 6 months, the Saudis killed over 6,000. The blockade, and the siege of Houdaydah are all Saudi, nothing to do with any ruthlessness of the Houthis.
Saying this is all on the Houthis is garbage. It's like saying that if South Korea would only end its resistance to the DPRK, the nuclear threat there would be over.
There is plenty of information around about Yemen dating back to the first humanitarian mission of the ICRC in the post 1949 era there in the early 1960s. Getting the facts so wrong is either willful, or lazy.
Ending U.S. aid and participation in the Saudi effort will end a whole lot of suffering. Demanding Houthi surrender will not. Even a total realpolitik dictates that we stop now.
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Nicholas, This photo of this young girl and the photo of the young boy last week are powerful in their sadness and horror, poignant in our minds and despairing in our consciousness; looking the other way works for awhile, then we end up with a Trump in the highest office in the land, then we see these photos and read your words...insisting we pay attention to this distant land and these 'other' people; then, we find ourselves looking into a mirror, what do we see there? what's going on? where's the indignation? who is that? So, we must chose to either lean into that mirror and take a good look, or, look the other way again.
President Obama, on leaving office, said, "The highest office in the land is not president, but citizen." An informed, focused, active and persistent citizenry can do a lot to cure our present woe, both here within our borders and out in the world, a world we are an intricate part of, influential in, and often responsible for and always to.
Black Elk said that a successful leader takes the people where they want to go ( I'm paraphrasing ). We need to tell them what is important to us, insure that they are listening and acting on our behalf, and set the bar very high. If we do our jobs, amazing things will happen!
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How quickly can we turn off the spigot to this abominable war?
Our hands have blood on them to be sure, but the more quickly we end our weapons supply the far better hope we have of regaining our moral
standing.
Our current occupant of the Oval Office sees only dollar signs- and puts our entire world into jeopardy- but our Legislative Branch May be able to muster the moral backbone to act and save lives, young and old.
Mr. Kristof, I have greatly appreciated your using your Times standing to draw attention to several key humanitarian issues on many occasions.
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It's time to make peace with Iran. The majority of the people in the USA have no beef with the majority of the people of Iran and vice versa. This conflict exists at the political level only. Enough already. Enough.
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@Harris Silver
This reminds me of the cold war, when the US was supporting many oppressive dictatorships in the name of freedom. The opposition with Iran will soon be one where no one is really sure what is it about. Iran is a islamic theocracy that oppresses its own people and has a lot of oil. The same is true about Saudi Arabia. But somehow SA ended up being a friend of the US while Iran is a foe. And the only difference I can see is that one took Americans hostages 40 years ago, while the other one promotted radical madrassas which led to 15 of its citizens attacking the world trade centre nearly 20 years ago. It seems that international relations just work on the principle of just continuing existing friendhips and maintaining existing oppositions, without ever any reassessment.
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@Harris Silver Totally agree. But the political players in the GOP have an interest in manufacturing a war. They believe that presiding over a war will make Trump--or whoever occupies the White House in 2020--more popular. They believe this despite the fiasco that was Iraq, another pointless war ginned up to help a Republican get re-elected.
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@Harris Silver What a great idea. Our relationship with Iran is the legacy of John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles. That infamous duo overthrew the liberal democratically elected government of Iran. We owe them apologies, reparations and friendship. Instead, we elect Individual-1 and his nefarious party to continue the madness.
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This short article says it best. I just sent an email letter to my representative in the House and two senators, with a copy of the second paragraph and a link to this article.
I encourage everyone to write your representatives and senators.
Thank you, Mr. Kristof.
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Thank you, NK for bearing witness and forcing us to see what we would rather avoid. We have powerful voices. Once we are aware of these atrocities good people can’t “unsee” what is happening. We must all put pressure on our government to stop funding this war.
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Live Aid was a benefit concert held in July 1985 in London and Philadelphia, with many other concerts inspired around the globe, organized to raise awareness and funding for the famine in Ethiopia caused by the ongoing civil war there. Close to two billion people, 40 percent of the world in 150 countries, watched the live performances.
That was the worst famine to hit Ethiopia in a century and led to more than 400,000 deaths in the northern part of the country; other parts of Ethiopia experienced tens of thousands of additional deaths due to the war.
Now we have Yemen, with a potential death toll 25 times higher.
We need another Live Aid.
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@Blue Moon That would be great to fund help, but how do we get help to the area? Aid workers were not safe enough to work there.
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@Mamawalrus72
Security was also poor for famine-relief workers in Ethiopia, yet Live Aid went ahead and raised almost a third of a billion dollars for the cause. Live Aid convinced millions of people in the West to donate money and to urge their governments to participate in the relief effort in Ethiopia. Why not promote such an event again? We need a multipronged approach.
We can complain about such things as why the U.S. continues to support Saudi Arabia, but 15 of the 19 hijackers for 9/11 were Saudis, that was 17 years ago, and where are we now? A benefit concert that half the world watches could proactively do something by focusing attention on this horror.
1
We continue to read and hear about this horrific situation, but rarely with any clear idea about what an average citizen can do to address it. My understanding is that aid groups are no longer operating in the country due to security concerns, so donations won’t make it to the people who need it. Is there a political action that might be more effective? It is devastating to see this, yet I feel helpless.
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@Andrew Jones Tell your Congressmen to vote to suspend military aid to Saudi Arabia. Without replacement parts to make repairs to U.S. made weapons, Saudi Arabia's war machine grinds to a quick halt.
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@Andrew Jonesboro
He suggests three aid groups doing great work and calling your congress members to vote against war funding
1
The photograph of Abrar poignantly describes the horrors of war in Yemen. It must stop. Mr Kristof has rightly said that the US can’t say to Abrar and other starving children in Yemen that they are suffering because US and Saudi Arabia want to teach a lesson or two.
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You didn't need any words Mr. Kristof. The picture should tug at anyone's heart.
Famine should never happen in light of the modern food supply.
Not sure what we are going to be able to do. Presidential administrations of different beliefs have been pretty friendly to Saudi Arabia.
Numerous Muslims (although that's at last starting to ebb) routinely pilgrimage to Mecca.
Many of our financial institutions, businesses (Uber) and energy corporations routinely do business with the Saudi Arabian government that is waging this war....
We can give, but we know it might not be enough. And it only treats symptoms not the cause.
The fact is a very wealthy neighbor for Yemen could end this famine faster than it takes to log onto the NYT and we are not getting to the root of this problem.
19
I appreciate you sharing and making us more aware of this ongoing human travesty. I also just read the article about the bombing from the water well to the factories in Tucson. I have to say,although I am certainly aware of the ongoing war, I did not realize how far reaching this is and the extent of the devastation. I’m overwhelmed.
11
Beyond all conscience, I am devastated and ashamed of this government.
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@Nancy- The U.S. has the power to persuade Saudi Arabia and the UAE to immediately cease fire, enable the import of essential food and medicine, ease travel restrictions, and allow Yemen’s government and economy to get re-established.
How The Khashoggi Scandal Looks When You've Been Bombed And Starved By Saudi Arabia For Years
https://www.yahoo.com/news/khashoggi-scandal-looks-apos-ve-000636759.html
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@Nancy
It began long before the Trump administration.
1
@Nancy: There are threads, lines of continuity in our foreign policy which are immutable, and 1 of them is to sells arms to the Mamlaka, and support it as a bulwark against Iranian hegemony in the M.E. BUSH "fils" predicted, before Obama took office, that his successor would follow exactly the same foreign policy in M.E. that he had.. HRC ,as sec. of state, urged Obama to approve sales of arms to Saudis which he did and eagerly so, and thus 1 can conclude that the oppression of Yemen began long before President Trump even began to run for office!If you are "devastated and ashamed of this government, "why not volunteer with an n.g.o yourself to go to Yemen to help, teach, minister relief assistance to victims of Saudi aggression, or better yet, sponsor a family for entry to the U.S.There r n.g.o.'s who can guide you through the process. Wringing your hands snd deploring the suffering while doing nothing to alleviate it strikes Alexander Harrison as nonsensical and, no se ofenda, insincere!
5
How does the war in Yemen serve our vital interest? Why are we allied with Saudi Arabia? The Administration waves their hands and explains none of this. Are they not obligated to provide an explanation?
100
@W.A. Spitzer Our Nation's response to the refugees on our border hoping to escape the violence that awaits them in their home countries answers your question. It doesn't matter whether the war in Yemen serves our vital interest. It doesn't matter that it's our weapons which are the cause of the starvation of tens or hundreds of thousands of children. Saving children and families is not any kind of priority for us.
23
@W.A. Spitzer, that is THE question.
I think the answer is that the war in Yemen is in our economic interest, because we sell lots of arms to the Saudis. It's the same reason why Trump won't hold them accountable for the death of Khashhoggi. It's the same reason that Trump won't call Putin on the carpet.
The sad truth is that in the Trump administration, we have completely abandoned our policy of putting human rights in front of economic interests. It's no wonder that the rest of the world no longer looks to the U.S. for leadership.
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@W.A. Spitzer
It's simple: we are aligned with Saudia Arabia because they are against Iran and Yemen is aligned with Iran.
It's proxy war, and crashes down on Yemen where, naturally, all the big boys like to throw rocks because the Yemeni's can't throw them back.
9
This is so heartbreaking, and I only hope our elected officials will do what is right....I just made a donation to Save the Children, and encourage every person reading this article to do the same. I made the donation in honor of my father and his partner for the holidays, and though there was no way for me to overtly recognize that it was in their honor, I have told them as much. I wish I had more money to donate to all the organizations you lauded, Mr. Kristof. Thank you for continuing to enlighten the world to this disaster; we must act with empathy, humanity, and integrity....now!
27
@LM
A helpful link if others wish to do the same or more.
https://yemen.savethechildren.net/
Rather than supplying Saudi Arabia with the bombs and logistical support to perpetrate its war crime of slowly strangling the life out of innocent human beings, let America launch an airlift of nutrition, medical supplies and other goods crucial to the survival of humanity for the purpose of saving lives, not taking them.
As it is, we are complicit in a mindlessly cruel crime against humanity, largely in the service of a continuing flow of funds to prop up the commercial requirements of emoluments run amok.
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@John lebaron
definitely agree, in the past we have an amazing history of the Berlin Airlift that fed a city, surely we can move food into the area of Yemen that are not part of the war zone.
23
@John lebaron --- AMEN!!
1
This is a very effective way to show the horrors of what is happening in Yemen. With all the other awful things happening here and across the world it is has become difficult to focus on the most important. But certainly the depiction of the dying forces us to prioritize on them. I will reach out to my representatives. I hope they will do what is right.
41
It is a tragedy that in conflicts the people come last. We forget the actions we allow our leaders to take have unexpected consequences.
24
While I am thankful to live in the United States, I am embarassed to realize that money is so much more important than lives to those in power.
124
@Council -- A person or country with a real moral compass would stop this horror from beginning. Wars profit the few the rich, the powerful, and destroy the rest. And as usual the war is no threat to the war makers. Chicken hawks all. It is war by proxy. Shame on them.
7
Putting things in perspective (as if we could every justify such suffering), the Ethiopian famine of the mid-eighties took about one million lives away.
The world (and in particular musical groups) took notice to get together, raise enough money and save as many people as possible. The press were everywhere detailing the savagery and the opposite compassion.
Fast forward to day, and the Saudi government wages continuous war on a country, where the effects are very much the same as above - and even worse. There is no respite.
The American government supplies the vast majority of the armaments that are being used, and is in conjunction with the ideology to ''contain'' another country by whatever means necessary.
The American government continues with said partnership, even though Saudi Arabia (and its ''leader'') ordered and carried out the assassination of a journalist that had American ties. Business as usual.
The press are for the most part mute, because they have lurched on to the next tweet and uproar. There are very few continuing on the fight, and trying to remind us of what it means to be human - that we must take notice and care for such things. (let alone take action)
I applaud you Mr. Kristoff, however there are too many that just do not care as much as they should, if at all.
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