Sen. Bernie Sanders is the voice of the conscience of our Nation.
12
Oh Bernie-- I wish you could be cloned!
11
Watching news reports and reading Bernie’s account of the Trump administrations support of the Saudi led Arab coalition is sad and frightening. I agree with the Senator that the war in Yemen is “a strategic and moral disaster for the United States.”
Seventeen years ago I made my first trip to Yemen as a consultant on a health project for the development agency of the German Government. During the flight I met a family of Yemini merchants who spent half of each year in Brooklyn on the other half in the cities of Sana’a and Taiz. As I had grown up in Brooklyn the chance encounter in the plane led to invitations to dinners and a wedding. The party after the wedding ceremony had the joy and warmth I experienced many times at Bar Mitzvahs.
10
Are we just merely support them or using them to do it for us?
1
Americans like to sell bombs. They don't care so much where the bombs fall. I tried to explain this once to a young woman I knew. She was a social justice champion. If you could march for an amnesty international issue, she would march. Her father however was a 30 year veteran of Northrop-Grumman. Well now. How do you square those two competing ideas?
Honestly, she couldn't. I wasn't attacking her father as a bad person. I simply said your father is involved in constructing a technology designed to kill people. That's what puts food on your table. Maybe that same technology saves people. I don't know. However, the technology definitely kills.
Dinner was a little awkward from that point on.
4
When Congress reconsiders Senate Joint Resolution 54 first introduced by Senators Sanders, Lee, and Murphy, someone needs to also point out that Americans still hold the expectation of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
On 18 April 2018, on the "Denuclearize North Korea" world stage with Shinzo Abe, PM of Japan, our President said "We have to end nuclear weapons ideally in all parts of the world. That would be a goal for all of us to hope for and to cherish."
It wasn't just another Trump lie; it is the lie that proceeds Trump letting the nuclear genie out of our World Leader bottle.
And the uncorking began on 20 October, "..the president complained about how unfair it is that Russia and China get to “do weapons” that “we’re not allowed to,” and boasted of the hundreds of billions of dollars the U.S. military could “play with” were it to build new nuclear weapons of its own."
"As recently as this summer, Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, was still describing the INF to reporters as 'probably the most successful treaty in [the] history of arms control'."
"What’s changed is that National-Security Adviser John Bolton now appears to have “the president’s ear on this issue,” Kingston Reif.."
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/573715/
Our White House is occupied by an expensive, but empty, suit who warps our values with "America is being cheated". His America First priority is selling nuclear-tipped, medium range missiles. To whom? Saudi Arabia?
3
"In February, along with two of my colleagues, Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, and Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, I introduced Senate Joint Resolution 54, calling on the president to withdraw from the Saudi-led war in Yemen. We did this for two reasons. The first is that the war is a strategic and moral disaster for the United States. The second is that the time is long overdue for Congress to reassert authority over matters of war." Better late than never -- this slaughter has been going on for four years. The two reasons are noteworthy: 1) the slaughter is bad for the US; 2) Congress should decide whom we slaughter. What about the people of Yemen? "The likely assassination of the Saudi critic and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi underscores how urgent it has become for the United States to redefine our relationship with Saudi Arabia, and to show that the Saudis do not have a blank check to continue violating human rights." It took the "likely assassination" of Khashoggi to underscore the urgency of questioning our dealings with Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia has been funding jihadist terrorists for generations and we have not only turned a blind eye but helped finance some of them as well. Bernie is a "socialist" -- it's about time he got around to this.
1
Dr. Scotch,
Guess you missed his speech last Sept. '17. Along with his truth to power during the primary election.
"Unfortunately, today we still have examples of the United States supporting policies that I believe will come back to haunt us. One is the ongoing Saudi war in Yemen."
"While we rightly condemn Russian and Iranian support for Bashar al-Assad’s slaughter in Syria, the United States continues to support Saudi Arabia’s destructive intervention in Yemen, which has killed many thousands of civilians and created a humanitarian crisis in one of the region’s poorest countries. Such policies dramatically undermine America’s ability to advance a human rights agenda around the world, and empowers authoritarian leaders who insist that our support for those rights and values is not serious."
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/21/16345600/bernie-sanders-full-text-tr...
From his interview with The Intercept:
“I consider [Saudi Arabia] to be an undemocratic country that has supported terrorism around the world, it has funded terrorism. … They are not an ally of the United States.”
The Vermont senator accused the “incredibly anti-democratic” Saudis of “continuing to fund madrasas” and spreading “an extremely radical Wahhabi doctrine in many countries around the world.”
https://theintercept.com/2017/09/21/bernie-sanders-interview-saudi-arabi...
Sen. Sanders has repeatedly rebuked SA.
One just needs to do a little Googling.
4
While this is not or should not be a partisan issue, the current Congress is loathe to stand up to Mr. Trump. I hope your resolution passes, Mr. Sanders, but I fear it won't change much unless Democrats win both houses of Congress. I think that's unlikely, but I hope we at least win the Senate. Good Luck.
3
The United States is in the business of making war. Period.
5
Thank you, Bernie!
7
Did we also help Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge? How certain are you we did or did not?
1
yes, we must.
This is another example of the U.S. being complicit in war crimes !
4
I suppose the 55 senators who voted to table the resolution just signed the death warrants of thousand more Yemenese civilians.
7
The US has a sorry and sordid history of supporting murderous regimes with lethal weapons. Pakistan in 1971 massacring their Eastern half? Check. Random dictator in South America? Check. Any African regime under the pretense of a proxy fight against the user? Been there, done that. And let's not even begin talk of the middle East - arming Saddam in his war against Iran? Chemical supplies, perhaps? Check.
Morality? Let's talk $$$ first, the rest doesn't count. This is the US.
8
Should be our President. That Hillary and the Crooked DNC
5
Bernie you have been in office for decades- you are just as responsible for the atrocities in Yemen than anyone else.
3
Aaron,
Right...'cause one man talking truth to power holds the reins.
You do know that neither side listens to idea's that hurt their donors and their fund raising don't you?
To expect Sen. Sanders to right all wrongs is a little preposterous. Don't you think?!
Almost as disingenuous as casting blame upon a dedicated public servant.
Easy to point fingers Aaron. Sen. Sanders is attempting to do something. Again. Why not help rather than hinder?!
What are you doing about Yemen?!
2
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every crisis the United States get involved in could and should have been prevented in the first place? Let’s make it real simple. There are 2 Senators from each state, no matter how large or populace it is. Everyone over the age of 5 knows that; I think!
So–who elects these senators? OK, I get it! The majority, Right? Now lets make it even simpler. The people, the voters, regardless of status, intellect, race or creed, are in essence The Boss! Are you with me so far? With all that in mind, the only way that Senator can survive each election is if he/she can convince the populace of that state that they’re doing the will of the people AND trying their best to also serve The Constitution. This is the way it was designed to work.
Now enter a so-called “Nationalist.” Oh, so far HE hasn’t stated if this also includes races other than “White.” Do you see a Quagmire rapidly approaching? Let me help you. Ever hear of a man called Benito Mussolini? What about Adolph Hitler? I’m sorry. Am I reaching? What should Senators be doing about this?
Fast forward to Bernie Sanders, whom I have great respect for. I believe the so-called relationship between the Saudis started long before Trump. Who was in office in 2015 when the Yemen thing started? It was MY President whom I supported and still do. Who did you support then Bernie? Was it possibly Saudi Arabia? Like Dylan sang “Times they are a changing”.
Dear Senator Sanders,
Grab Beto as your Vice President and go for it.
3
If only..........
The DNC picked you.
9
Guns for profit.
2
The decision by Raytheon and other corporations to produce bombs used to target Yemenis is in many ways identical to the manufacture and sale of Zyklon B by I.G. Farben used in the extermination "showers" at Auschwitz.
Despite the encouragement of our PINO, Mr. Trump, jobs still are not as valuable as our immortal souls. Money does not buy morality.
3
No, bombs and poison gas are not the same. Bombs can be used in the defense of self and others in a conflict in which the government dropping bombs is acting in self-defense. Poison gas is beyond reprehensible. Even the Germans did not use gas in combat operations during WWII, a weapon the Germans introduced in WWI in their Eastern front.
This is not to say “bombs are good”, but false equivalencies need to be called out.
It's too bad the U.S. has such antipathy toward Iran (likely because AIPAC controls American policy on this score). With a more even handed approach we could help the Saudi's advance beyond a culture whose barbarism is contemporary with the Crusaders or Atilla the Gun. While the Iranian state has problems they compare more with Cuba or Russia: the Saudis are off scale for barbarism in the western world.
8
As Bernie keeps reminding us, the Constitution makes POTUS Commander-in-Chief. But, and this is the key point, it does not make him what the Romans called 'Dictator', literally one who speaks law. (Fun fact: in the Roman Republic the title Dictator was given for set periods of months, and afterward the man was liable to be sued for actions he took during the crisis.)
Today not only has Congress ceded its duty to declare war, but we are now expecting to be in perpetual war, not in peace with all nations, the ideal of the Founders. Presidents even declare 'war' on non-nation states like "terrorists" and "drug cartels" and use war powers to attack them in other countries with or without permission. We likewise engage in secret and not-so-secret military ops in many countries without consent of those nations. Even the Bin Laden raid was on this basis.
Yes, war today happens faster than Congress. However, if their duty to Declare War is impractical in the internet age, they must then exercise the implicit duty to Stop War and war-like action abroad. The War Powers Act was a pathetic first attempt, but pursestrings is not the right tool. Pick a small country, say Yemen, and Declare Peace. Resolve that all military forces be withdrawn ASAP and that all spending related be likewise halted hortly. The case will climb through the courts, and we may see how our 'Originalist' Justices really vote.
Sound impossible with this Senate?
November is coming.
4
All right, Bernie, so what is your plan to counter Iranian designs to obliterate Israel and create a theofascist Islamic hegemon in the Middle East?
1
@TMDJS
Enough with this. Iran is was fighting ISIS while we were ARMING them.
Operation Timber Sycamore. Read it’s and weep, and stop vilifying Iran.
5
@TMDJS, first of all, we need to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal which was succeeding at preventing the obliteration of Israel as almost every military and former Israel intelligence officer has acknowledged though Bibi won't.
3
Slowly but surely the world is perceiving a new "axis-of-evil"; Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the USA. It would be wise for the USA to get out while the going is good.
9
This comment might sound off topic at first, please read until the end.
I'm a Christian and each time I hear and see Christians who defend this administration and some U.S policies of other previous administrations, I feel sad. Let me explain why.
Christ did not get violent while he was getting arrested to be crucified. Yet the only time he did was when people were making money at the Temple. (Matthew 21:12-17)
Second and most importantly, ( Matthew 26:15). From all sins, the love of money, corruption is the reason why Judas betrayed Christ who will be crucified later.
My point is the New Testament teaches us the danger of money. When we stop doing what is right because of money.
I would like to raise the responsibility of the Medias on U.S Saudi relationship, Especially the event of the last 6 months. as Senator Sanders wrote, the Saudi coalition has killed thousands of civilians in Yemen, many of them kids. How long did the "Yemen News" made the front page of major U.S newspapers? 1-hour maximum I guess. Why do you think the reason for that is if not Money.
The Khashoggi case is special. It's been on the front page from the past 10 days. He was part of the News media family.
The U.S-Saudi relationship is corrupted at all levels. From Politicians in Washington D.C , K-street, and most major Newsrooms.
Greed, the Love of Money will cause the end of the great human experience that has been the U.S.A unless we all decide to do something about it.
1
Thank you Senator Sanders.
I’m confident in years to come scholars will debate whether this horror in Yemen qualifies as a genocide.
5
We never seem to miss an opportunity to do the wrong thing.
2
YES - finally we must stop collaborating with the SA plans to crush all of the Middle East and rule with an iron fist. Netanyahu is collaborating, too, to crush the Palestinians. But regardless of the politics, this inhuman massacre is being accomplished with weapons 'made in USA' and a heartless administration.
4
Thanks Bernie for sponsoring S.J Res.54 back in Feb., but I see a bunch of Dems voted Yea along with the Repubs to silence it, and ignore our unauthorized military participation with Saudi Arabia in Yemen:
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cf...
When can the Democratic Party get its act together and have a solidly anti war expansion platform?
4
I can't believe it. The NYT is actually giving space to Bernie Sanders. Now maybe you could also give him some news coverage.
7
Put your money where your mouth is Mr. Sanders. BRING it to Congress!!!!
Sen. Bernie with all due respect.. YOU are just as responsible for the tragedy in Yemen than any other senator -- You've sat on the Hill as an "independent" for decades .. You are part of the same hypocrisy..
2
@Aaron, he had the courage to ask politicians not to take big money and he showed them how to.
4
Americans do not want war. Period
1
We need to cut ties with Saudi Arabia and put sanctions on them. Simple as that.
1
Three words to describe Saudi Arabia's leaders: Radical Islamic Terrorists.
I just don't understand why the President and Fox News can't say it, can't call them what they are: Radical Islamic Terrorists. They told us that if Obama used those words, then the problem would be solved.
2
From the NY Times, March 14th, 2016
"Mr. Obama soon gave his approval for the Pentagon to support the impending military campaign.
A year later, the war has been a humanitarian disaster for Yemen and a study in the perils of the Obama administration’s push to get Middle Eastern countries to take on bigger military roles in their neighborhood. Thousands of Yemeni civilians have been killed, many by Saudi jets flying too high to accurately deliver the bombs to their targets. Peace talks have been stalled for months. "
American inhumanity in Yemen far precedes Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/middleeast/yemen-saudi-us.html
6
@Gerhard
Why must you Trumpists bring up Obama.
He's been gone 2 years!
The GOP controls the house, the Senate
and the White House!
They can end this tragic problem by
saying no to Lochheed, Raytheon and other
lobbyists and vote with Bernie Sanders!
3
As an American, I am ashamed that USA is arming the world, profiting from killing children, mothers, fathers. Think how much food and medicine USA could deliver to these needy people if $ not wasted on arms shipments.
3
This is not a partisan issue. Obama provided weapons to the Saudis as well. Further, it is highly questionable that this war is creating a 'fertile ground for extremist groups' as the reason this war started was because of extremist groups (e.g. Houthi rebels). The death of innocents must be minimized, but as Hamas place missiles in front of schools and civilian public areas such as hospitals in a deliberate attempt to create civilian casualties and therefore, condemnation of Israel by countries in the West. I fully suspect the same is happening in Yemen. I do NOT believe that the Saudis or UAE are targeting civilians to murder innocents. Saying all of that, I am in support of going to the UN and urging sanctions against the Saudis over their murder of a journalist until the Prince is removed. The US should not go this alone, condemnation must come from all countries in the UN (or most, given China and Russia could care less).
6
Has Mr. Sanders expressed the same distaste for Erdogan, who in destroying democracy in Turkey, has committed a crime that
by comparison places even a dispicable murder by Saudi Arabia
in its true perspective? Until he came to power Turkey had the
only viable Muslim democracy in the entire region and apart from
Israel, with all its faults, I can't think of another, whatever its
ethnic makeup. This only underscores how Mr. Sanders continues to make political hay out of his own untoward hypocrisy.
1
Interesting that the right to life group supports trump and his Saudi Yemen policy where thousands of children are dying each month. They are so concerned about the lives of unborn children but no concern about those born. Another example is the continuous cutbacks on child care programs by repubs yet pushing more children to be born. Can they figure any of this out?
1
Absolutely agree. The human tragedy in Yemen is horrific and requires the US' immediate action. I'm not hopeful this administration will do anything, but we must continue to pressure the White House. The suffering of innocent civilians in Yemen, including so many children and babies, is unconscionable.
Merchants of death. Nice tag for the U.S. It has always been like this. The armaments lobby needs testing facilities to demonstrate "real war efficacy" of their weapons systems. How else will we improve them? The Japanese tested their swords on prisoners and the people they conquered. We just use proxy brutality of Saudi terror. Everybody wins: we get the money, Saudis test the weapons, and Yemen gets ZPG the old fashioned way.
1
It is horrendous to me that the USA and UK are the biggest supporters of Saudi... for what? Money. Selling this regime arms so they can then relentlessly bomb and kill innocent civilians is a war crime in itself. The UN released a report that 12 million are at risk of famine and we still support this brutal regime? All arms sale should be stopped. Trump is worried about jobs and how that might look for him. If he had any empathy he would care more about the people who are being slaughtered daily. Selling arms is as bad as bombing the civilians. Germany has stopped all sales. The USA and the UK should do the same.
4
Do we realize or care that one of the US's major exports is death?
5
When the Khashoggi story broke, our valiant president was scared to death that Saudi money would dry up-“They spend a lot of money here!”-and hurried to create cover stories for them, and now he’s calling the cover story the “worst ever”. When you have a man in charge with no moral compass or any sense of compassion you get indefensible policies supported without any reasonable explanation. He did not start this war or our support, but since he got into office the sales have increased dramatically and who is willing to stop him? These are great words, Bernie, but without the Congress stepping in to prevent Our arms sales to the Saudi’s, there is no hope in sight for an end to the ruthless slaughter of another nation; much like the way they slaughtered a dissenting journalist with no thought or care of the consequences. Our president admires strong men who take aggressive action to achieve their goals, so this “ war” will not end until he leaves office, or the Saudi’s get tired of beating up a helpless neighbor.
But, but, but...the revenue? The jobs?
1
Consistently Bernie Sanders is the ONLY politician speaking Truth, the only one with clear & consistent messaging that the Democrats utterly lack, & the ONLY outspoken member of congress willing to be scathingly honest, who actually CARES for the People of the USA & the world in a selfless, patriotic, humanitarian way.
He has the skills, research, vision & determination to lead the nation, but he's doing so alone.
The Democrats are toothless, message-less, cowardly, dishonest & disorganized.
Imagine if now we had Bernie instead of Trump? He'd have rallied the working classes to positive progress instead of this indelible rot of Redstate Hate Trump has so gleefully engendered.
You had the chance Democrats, but the yuppie-wing of the party rubbed out the proper platform for the USA.
Ann Coulter is wrong about virtually everything, but her rather astute killer-instinct was right when she said Bernie was the only one who could have beaten Trump.
I see no other leaders of Bernie's caliber emerging from the progressive side.
I will vote yet again for Bernie from my 'safe state' of Massachusetts.
It's the least I can do for the man who was right all along, the Senator who actually truly cares about People long before politics.
And of Course he's 100% right that we must retract all arms from our genocidal military-industrial-complex to the horrible Saudi regime.
The Saudis should long ago have been cut off, sanctioned & embargoed.
Trump & Kushner have blood on their hands.
6
Setting aside all political, policy and governance issues and advocacy, I think it would be very helpful for the NYT to produce the following:
A simple numeric count of the people killed by the governments of each nation on the planet, in the past year and past decade.
This would include foreign soldiers and civilians in foreign and domestic military actions, criminals executed at local and national levels, and victims of paramilitaries plausibly linked to governments.
The third group might be put in a separate category of "indirect killings", along with those 1 nation's government aided another's in killing. In that scheme, the deaths Sen Sanders speaks of would be counted under Saudi Arabia's direct killings and the US's indirect. If Iran has equivalent involvement in the Houthis' killings, then those would count as Iran's indirects.
Mr Kashoggi would count as a direct killing by SA, regardless of whether its very top level of government ordered it, or whether it was an accident: they've admitted he was killed by a team of their employees, so it's their direct killing.
But my whole point is that Mr K is just one among thousands. Let's step back and take a look at the big picture, setting aside for the moment questions of justification, intent, guilt or innocence.
Let's just look at the raw numbers, to give us a sense of the ground we're standing on. Which nations killed >1,000 humans in the last decade? Which 100-999? Which 1-99? Which 0?
1
Americans ask why people in other countries hate them and then answer themselves with statements such as they hate us because we are free or some other such nonsense. How would Americans feel if they were being bombed by Mexico and England was providing the planes and bombs, would they hate England. Count the places where Americans or their allies are murdering people and you will realize why there is so much anger towards the land of the supposedly brave and free.
1
What a different world this would be if Bernie Sanders was president...
6
I totally support you Mr. Sanders. My only regret is my vote in 2016 was for Clinton and not for you.............
5
for as painful as it is to acknowledge ...
[bc, after all, the US of A are still seen as the beacon,
the epitome of democracy and justice for all, right?]
... they have always known how to make enemies
and, in conflicts, have often supported both sides,
or blew external threats out of proportion to stoke fears,
bc war$ are alway$ more profitable than peace is.
unless recent events [dismemberment of a journalist,
ruthlessly posted explosive devices] serve a unifiers,
as truly churning turning points, i don't know what will.
[i just wish i could safely say that no more lives will be lost,
and blame european arms sales & centuries of exploitation
of african - and other - countries to the same extent.]
- work towards job creation in the alternative energy sectors.
- even if that might mean a few digits less on profit margins.
excessive greed is ugly.
as is indifference to the plight of your neighbors.
Sure Bernie. We'll end our support of Yemen when you end your support of BP as you play the great socialist benefactor with a hand outstretched behind your back to that mega petroleum corporation.
1
Thanks, Bernie, it's about time somebody said it. If we sell weapons, we encourage murder. Are we now down to Nine Commandments?
3
Of course we should stop funding & supporting this war. But this about anything to stop Iran. This is about our insane demonizing of the Persian / Shia state and siding with the Saudis. This is about what Israel wants. And when it comes to the U.S. Senate, what Israel wants, Israel gets... I thank Sen Sanders for this, but it probably won't go anywhere. As far as Mike Pompeo, he will say what ever is politcally expedient at the time. You can take it with a grain of salt.
4
Let me get this straight- Iran finances these rebels who overthrow a sitting leadership in Yemen (money made availalbe via Obama's freezing sanctions), and that part is ok? The rest of the Arab world isn't supposed to respond?
This is another example of the leftward shift of the democratic party, wanting to get into bed with the Iran-Hamas-Hezballah-BDS Axis, who they view as "change agents."
"I very much hope that Congress will act, that we will finally take seriously our congressional duty, end our support for the carnage in Yemen, and send the message that human lives are worth more than profits for arms manufacturers."
Amen ... but we're not holding our breaths.
The honor, integrity and moral high ground the USA justly earned for its pivotal role in defeating the Nazis in Europe and Imperialist Japan in the Pacific has decidedly eroded over the last 70 plus years, one inept or ill-advised military engagement after another.
US complicity in Yemen is the latest disheartening example of Congress and the country failing where it matters most -- protecting the lives of the vulnerable, the innocent and the unjustly victimized.
We need to pledge our allegiance to the Republic and not to the Saw-dis, who butcher their own as coldly as Yemeni children on a school bus.
And if our ties to the Saw-dis are kept intact because of Raytheon's bottom line, then Raytheon needs to register a big "no thanks."
The NYT could do more to bring the plight of the Yemenis to the public's attention. How about a continuous loop of Yemeni victims -- of starvation or US-made weaponry -- accompanied by the soundtrack of Dylan's "Masters of War," which is as timely now as it ever was.
And thank you, Bernie, for being our conscience.
4
When I heard Senator Sanders call President Assad of Syria a thug thereby encouraging our government to side with the terrorists fighting to topple the Syrian government, I assumed he was willing to do whatever the Israeli government wanted in the region.
Our role in the criminal war against Yemen seems to have pushed the Senator back to the side of the angels.
Thanks Bernie
4
Thank you, Senator Sanders, for this calm and collected demonstration of the inanity of US relations with the Saudi, and of its vicarious involvement in a disgusting war.
4
I suppose that the Senator would replace the stupidity and brutality of the Saudis with the more strategically focused barbarism of Islamic Iran. We are forced to ask "Which would give us and the Middle East the least bad result?" Can we accept Iranian control of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, a major international shipping route? That could also spark a nuclear confrontation between Iran and Israel.
What a shame we don't have a lot more like Senator Sanders in both houses of congress.
5
Trump wants Saudi Arabia in the list of his allies because HIS business interests are a priority. When a lot of money for his family is on the table (see Kushner's brother ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman) even human rights abuses are of secondary importance.
Thanks, Senator Sanders! Nice of you to notice! You could have tried to fix this in 2015, but you were probably too busy.
The Western world is trading its moral compass and human rights for weapon deals nothing new this is the way to destroy our credibility and leadership Where are the good Christians to stop this what would Jesus say he might throw them out of the temple for their art of the deal.
1
Bernie is absolutely correct. By our Constitution, all wars and armed attacks require a prior approval of Congress. This has been mostly ignored since WW2. We the people must demand that the President and Congress adhere to our Constitution, no exceptions!
And I ask everyone, what has happened to our American moral values? We supply murderers with weapons of war to make money. Trump still wants to salvage billions in sales of weaponry to Saudis even after Khashoggi's brutal murder.
Most of the 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi. Why are we selling them weapons of war?
And with them, Saudi's are bombing Yemen, and even bombing school buses full of kids. And we wonder why there are so much hatred in the world against the US - which breeds the likes of Taliban and ISIS.
We're selling away our moral values and American lives for money. WAKE UP MORAL AMERICA!!
6
I guess now Obama is no longer President, it’s safe for Democrats to make a moral argument for not arming Saudi Arabia.
4
Yes, follow the money! The only apparent reason for the USA to support Saudi Arabia and the Emirates is based on business. When naive people ask “Why do they hate us?” We who read newspapers immediately know that our blatant show of greed around the world makes us look repugnant. Thank you, Senator Sanders for you hard work. I will strive to see you become president in 2020.
3
Puhleez. Why does the Times keep reaching out to Senator Sanders for his take on things when, clearly, not even his colleagues in the Senate support his positions? Bernie isn't really an authority on anything. No, he is not a hero just for expressing his opinion. Stop giving him band-width when he hasn't earned it.
If Bernie Sanders is a “better alternative”, how bad is the worse one?
“We Must Stop Helping Saudi Arabia in Yemen.”
Really?!
The correct statement is we must stop helping the Saudi regime oppress its people, the Arab region and the entire world.
Saudi Arabia is the most tyrannical regime in the world. There is nobody worse!
The Kingdom has banned all other religions for decades. They deprived women of the basic human rights like freedom of movement and driving. They are the source of the Wahhabi ideology that is the cradle of the terrorism and the ethnic cleansing. They have been exporting extremely distorted version of their local culture under the disguise of “religion”. They have even completely reneged on the teachings of the Quran, their Holy Book, by spreading local cultural customs, dogmas and habits in lieu of the prescribed principles. They are peddling the Sharia law and the Sunni-Shiite schism although none of those is defined by the Quran…
Just imagine if France helped the British King subdue his subjects in the American colonies fighting for their basic human rights.
Would we love the French government or not?
The question is whether our government is in business of protecting the basic American interests or not.
1
All the atrocities Senator Sanders details have been known, to anyone paying attention, since the summer of 2015. Why, Senator Sanders, did it take you until February 2018 to find your conscience and your voice?
2
Saudi Arabia is helping to defeat Iranian terrorism. We must support our great allies in Riyadh.
It's unconscionable that we are providing the Saudis with weaponry and our leader(s) being their brothers in arms. We should not be breaking pita with them nor rubbing orbs and sword dancing.
Thank you Bernie for writing this very important piece.
1
Money TRUMPS morality.
1
Bernie, I am so proud of you and so glad that The NY Times is finally giving voice to your opinion . You are the Pied Piper of American democracy !
6
Well said. But what can a brave soul do when we have a corrupt mafia in government, intent in serving a most jealous god, Greed, the only language that Trump, and the Mnuchin's of this world, understand. The arms being sold to the Saudis, to kill innocent Yemenis carte blanche, is indeed a criminal enterprise, fully supported by these United States. How is this even possible, even with the usual phrase that the U.S. has no friends, just interests', and become allergic to another Middle East superpower, Iran?
We must stop helping the tyrannical Saudi regime oppress the people of Arabia for more than 75 years.
That oppression and deprivation of the locals of their basic human rights and democracy is the real source of the terrorism, not the Islam.
How could the faith that protects everybody by promoting justice, fairness, tolerance, equality, love, generosity, charity and peace be instrumental in supporting the worst dictatorial regime?
It can’t, thus you must first distort it completely.
That’s the theoretical base for the Faustian pact between Mr. Saud and Mr. Wahhabi from the 18 centuries that created both Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabism.
Saudi Arabia actually means “the land of Saud family”. Do you really believe the Quran stands for such harmful admiration, idolization and adoration of any family?
No, it does not!
You have to supplement the Holy Book with the tons of human scribblings that created the Sharia law, the Hadiths, the Sunni-Shiite schism, thus delivering the theoretical justification for the rule of a single family.
When the cradle of modern democracy and the birthplace of the Islam betray their founding principles, only then the endless wars in the region are possible.
Well stated however God helps hose who help themselves. So we all need to go o the polls and vote Democrat down the line. Educate ourselves on all positions these politicians are running on, even if it isn't your state because every vote matters. Investigate where they are receiving their money from. If under he guise of one of their companies investigate. It is time consuming however if we don't the consequences matter to all of our lives' away the rights of college students we need to question them hard. Once in office we need to hold these new politicians accountable and watch their every move. Question and make them prove they are acting in our best interest. We have to go forward and rid ourselves of this anti democracy insanity. VOTE
Sanders has lost all credibility when he claimed that Israel over reacted to Hamas Rockets.He has opened the door to Socialism in the Democratic Party, & one cannot distinguish between Liberals & Socialists. It was Capitalism that made the United States the envy of the world, Socialism will drag us into the slime pits of the world.Don't be mislead by Free Education,and Socialized Medicine, it will reduce the quality of our health care & education. Nothing that is free is worth the effort.
2
I can’t remember any previous US government that for the sake of biliions in arms sales will support the Saudis and MBS. We should be condemning and taking action in response to a killing of a US Resident and supporting a war that is a humanitarian disaster.
More Senators should be trying to have the Congres be involved in getting control of these catastrophies ASAP.
I would like to see this column published in Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers. In the NYT it is preaching to the choir.
50 years of US meddling in the Middle East...nearly my entire lifetime....what do we as Americans have to show for it?
Besides some of my friends with headstones in various military ceremonies around the country....a huge national debt...and a general disdain for what the United States stands for (whatever that is) throughout the entire area....
When will they every learn?? When will they ever learn??>
2
Mr Sanders, tell your Iranian buddies to stop meddling in Yemen (and elsewhere in the Middle East) and everything will be fine in Yemen.
1
It is not a war. It is planned annihilation and genocide executed by Arabs with the connivance and active support of the US ruling class, the MIC. It supports the munitions industry in the US and provides a testing ground for weapons all at the expense of an impoverished but independent people.
In Jamal Khashoggi's last interview to Newsweek he cited Senator Sanders as the only prominent American to stand up to Saudi Arabia.
I don't recall that piece of information being covered by many major news outlets on the right or so-called left.
It's much more important to give every last bit of editorial space to Trump's vile antics.
4
Senator Sanders makes a strong case for disassociating us from the Saudis and their war crimes in Yemen. Given that most of the 911 terrorists were Saudis I can only agree. Know thy enemy!
1
We gotta get out of this place.
Perhaps some good can come out of Khashoggi's murder by providing us the leverage and cover we need to quietly get the heck out of there.
This is Muslim internecine warfare of a kind that we have no hope of ever solving or understanding fully.
It's obvious we can't help, so the moral and practical course of action is to remove ourselves from the conflict.
No doubt there exists somewhere "top secret intelligence" that would indicate tactical reasons to remain there in some capacity in an effort to take out Al-Qaeda or other terrorist cells. Even if that is the case, that does not mean we have to take part in an idiotic, immoral full scale war.
Now let's see what the NYTimes columnists make of this issue, that's powerfully presented by Sanders--the candidate they so disrespected in the 2016 campaign.
7
Bernie Sanders = Backbone, courage, truth, vision
8
Senator Sanders. Thank you.
Saudi Arabia has a problem with Iran, and they are punishing Yemen and that country's people. In the process, the Saudis are involving the US.
When we are selling arms to Saudi Arabia, these arms are used to promote that country's military objectives. The US should not be seen as a party to those objectives. Furthermore, what is Saudi Arabia thinking or planning in the future? Do they plan to go to war with Iran? Or attack some other country in the region, the Saudis disagree with? Again, the Saudis may want to drag the US into the mess.
Saudi Arabia is noted for their human rights abuses and violations. The country has not shown a serious commitment towards democratic reforms. The recent incident surrounding the death of the journalist at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, adds to questions about the country's standing on the world stage.
In re-evaluating the interests of US in the middle east region, Is it a mistake to isolate Iran? While the relationship with Saudi Arabia can be seen as transactional, developing a relationship with another country, such as Iran, can be a good option. This could also help Iran, how they can clear and evaluate the negative perception the country is facing, paving their way to be a key player in the region.
1
Agreed. It's the "Made in USA" label on weapons used in most Middle Eastern wars that turns the region against us. And why are our tax dollars paying for U.S. Air Force aerial refuellers being used by Saudi jets in the Yemen war?
3
Good for Bernie Sanders! Shame on the American media. Three years... For three years the US has been complicit in Saudi war crimes against the people of Yemen and the US media including the NYT was silent. Three years. Only a few days ago a suddenly "woke" NYT ran a major headline "Saudi Arabia's Invisible War" and described what the UN has been describing as the "largest humanitarian disaster in the world" for some time as the "largely overlooked Saudi-led war". Three years. Please. The only place this "US enabled" slow motion catacyclism of war crimes was "largely overlooked" was the US media. The European and UK media including the Guardian had been on this for sometime. It was "overlooked" in the US because it was geopolitically convenient to do so. Winston Churchill said you could always count on the US to do the right thing "after they've tried everything else." In this case this observation is not even remotely amusing. Hopefully, Sanders' call and the increasingly unbearable international embarassment from their ongoing involvement in this horror will bring about it's end.
13
Does anyone remember the last time Congress took any responsibility for our foreign policy and wars, other than pile on Russia—a politically safe target we can pummel, but only economically because they have nuclear weapons. Recent presidents have conducted war in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and all over Northern Africa with nary a peep from Congress. We are forever stuck in Syria because the Iranians aren’t leaving, and Israel has carte blanche because it is our only dependable base in the Middle East. Iranians started the war in Yemen to threaten the Saudi flank, and Obama approved the Saudi response. If we stop supplying the Saudis then America only further enhances its reputation as an undependable, cut-and-run ally.
Face it, there are few moral wars—even the so-called “good” ones. As in WWI and WWII, more civilians than combatants are killed in wars and their messy, even-the-score aftermaths.
Americans, as usual, want it both ways. We want a powerful, unrivaled military spread around the world to keep us all cozy and safe at home, which necessitates relationships with unsavory people who are the enemies of our enemies, and to maintain those relationships we have to help our unsavory friends fight their wars in their neighborhoods as well. And there are no wars where women and children are not bombed, starved, and raped.
4
On Sunday (12 August 2018), Saudi officials labeled the (school) bus bombing “a legitimate military action.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/yemen-saudi-ai...
One month later, Pompeo is certifying (with Mattis endorsing) that the Saudi-UAE coalition is undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to Yemen civilians. And 22 days after that, Jamal Khashoggi is dead at the hands of the Saudis.
As Senator Sanders states: "The Senate voted 55 to 44 to delay consideration of the resolution (that calls on the president to withdraw from the Saudi-led war in Yemen)."
That abrogation of responsibility to declare war has become our infection of warrantless killings; and Mattis, Pompeo, and the Saudis are purposely masking the civilian carnage as beyond their controls.
The Atlantic article of 19 August 2018 identifies the coalition body which is responsible for investigations, The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT).
In 2017, Larry Lewis was pushed out of the State Dept. Before that, he was the coalition’s American interlocutor focused explicitly on protecting Yemen civilians.
In July 2018, Open Society Foundations was prepared to support Lewis' work with the Saudis to improve protection of civilians. On August 3, Lewis received JIAT's response: He was no longer welcome.
War in Yemen is contrived to stay hidden. The unaccountable death toll exacerbates our stance of "fighting terror". Congress, do your job.
3
US democracy is a hostage to the military industrial complex.
The US military includes 2million servicemen and reservists. These are professional warriors. Their existence depends on war.
There would be another 3x that many people involved in the industries supporting this complex for both domestic support and export of war.
Who influences US politics the most? Corporations and executives of industry.
Look at the overall remuneration of the CEO of Lockheed Martin pre and post the Iraq war. It increase by 300%!. Do you think he gives his energies and donations to candidates who advocate for peace or war? This is why both Dems (like Hillary) and Repubs are all war mongers. This is why the news media are war mongers. This is why Yemen doesn’t get the light of day. This is why US democracy is doomed.
6
One place we can start is by ending United States support for the war in Yemen. Not only has this war created a humanitarian disaster in one of the world’s poorest countries, but also American involvement in this war has not been authorized by Congress and is therefore unconstitutional.
http://www.jobz.pk/jobs_in_saudi_arabia/
5
Wish Bernie’s motion well but chances slight.
America is locked into a state of perpetual war the war on terror with no problem where our remaining major export – armaments – is used. “Future historians may well see such uncoordinated mayhem as commencing the third – and the longest and strangest – of all world wars: one that approximates, in its ubiquity, a global civil war,” Pankaj Mishra in his Age of Anger.
Congress unlikely to regain its ‘power to declare war.’
We must this stop this administration from tying us to arms sales. Surely we must have something better to sell to the world.
Trump is making us a pariah by reducing our morals and dignity to the bottom line of these purveyors of death. And challenging our allies in Europe while doing the bidding of Putin and his oligarchs. If Trump, Putin and Bannon have their way, all the humanitarian laws built up by the countries of Europe will be swept away by nationalism and xenophobia. And what are these desperate immigrants fleeing? Wars in Libya, Syria , and Iraq which we started and never finished.
We need a congress that will stop these middle eastern wars. Right now Trump has surrounded himself with men who want to invade Iran egged on by Israel and the Saudis et al. Will we accede to these warmongers once again? Perhaps MBS showing just what he is capable of will be the catalyst to bring Americans and Europeans back to their senses.
3
This administration?
The United States has been arming the world for years now.
3
Senator Bernie Sanders is right that the barbaric Saudi war on Yemen must stop, and recent events in Saudi Arabia reinforce the urgency for ending American complicity in this humanitarian disaster.
As the criminal involvement of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul demonstrates, the Saudi government is inherently cruel and cannot be trusted.
Secretary of State Pompeo has acted in an outrageous manner to enable the Saudi attacks on men, women and children in Yemen. Our Air Force is now deeply involved in facilitating those Saudi attacks.
Mike Pompeo is nothing more than an unprincipled toady for Donald Trump. The Republican-controlled Senate and House is derelict in its duties under the Constitution to be the sole branch of government authorized to declare a war.
Good for Senator Sanders for leading the fight to stop this illegal and inhumane American action.
7
Sadly, this won't change soon. There's too much $$$ to be made by the military-industrial complex and they bankroll those elected officials that promote their "products" and services.
5
America is locked into a state of perpetual war the war on terror with no problem where our remaining major export – armaments – is used. “Future historians may well see such uncoordinated mayhem as commencing the third – and the longest and strangest – of all world wars: one that approximates, in its ubiquity, a global civil war,” Pankaj Mishra in his Age of Anger.
Congress unlikely to regain its ‘power to declare war.’
2
Thank you, Senator for your work. We have never needed it more .
6
Speaking of atrocities, Senator Sanders should have brought up the rigging of the 2016 election in Hillary's favor. That is a direct cause of the current occupant of the White House, and the current policies that he is allowing.
3
Why does it seem that Bernie Sanders is the only leader in the United States that makes sense?
8
This is also about climate change. Pompeo, Mattis and Trump are protecting their/our financial interests. But the "barrels" of Arab money are produced by the world's insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. Stop burning oil and there will be less $ for war. (Aside from the whole thing being morally and constitutionally despicable, as Mr. Sanders says.)
The Saudis, along with the UAE, are attempting to put down a foreign sponsored rebellion in a neighboring country and restore the legitimate government. Like any civil war, this one is brutal. There have been many civilian casualties, to be sure.
General Sherman caused numerous civilian casualties in his famous march to the sea in attempting to put down a rebellion against the legitimate government. Was he a war criminal for burning Atlanta?
When you revolt against the legitimate government, either you win quickly or you deal with a long and brutal internal struggle. If the rebels want to end civilian deaths, they can slip out or surrender.
Was the US criminal for dropping atomic bombs on Japan? Was it ok because the Japanese were war criminals? Did the end justify the means when Dresden was firebombed?
It was a terrible idea to make military arms our main export since the 1970s at least. We must find some other product to make and end this industry no matter how painful.
Senator Sanders is a leader that democrats lack. Schumer and Pelosi are uninspiring. It's no wonder democrats have been the minority party since 2010.
8
@buffnick, the Clintons have pretty much hijacked the democratic party. When Obama won, they filled his team with their own people. They gave money to a financially struggling party and became one of their biggest fundraisers. They attracted celebrities wall street and silicon valley with deep pockets.
Bernie showed us clearly we don't need all that. Instead to start at the grass roots and work with people at all levels, from town selectman to school committees to municipalities. And raise money from we the people.
5
In the good old days the nation would have a war and everyone knew about it.
But now we have so many wars that we can't keep up.
4
Bernie Sanders made the case that helping Saudi Arabia in Yemen is about money for US weapons which overrides matters of conscience like killing thousands of civilians directly and indirectly by famine and overrides our "War on Terror" by empowering Al Quaida and the Yemen branch of ISIS and overrides the fact that American engagement is not authorized by Congress. Are we in danger of losing our alliance with Saudi Arabia? Will they turn to Russia for weapons? Russia works with Iran. Why are we complicit in such a filthy war? Why has Congress not insisted on its Constitutional rights? Are they afraid the weapons makers will throw huge amounts of money into elections? Bernie was too high minded to suggest such action from the Military-Industrial complex.
1
Now is the time to pressure Saudi Arabia to end the war in Yemen.
Now is the time to pressure Saudi Arabia to stop exporting Wahhabism and shut down mosques which radicalize local Europeans, sowing seeds for terrorism.
But now is also the time to continue checking Iran which has annexed areas of Iraq from which it can launch missiles into both Riyadh and Tel Aviv. And continues to set up military sites in Syria while supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Dear Bernie,
We are so smart and democratic that neither we nor the countries we maintain a special relationship with have stopped waging the endless wars since 1945, in contrast to all other regular states that don’t respect their freedom, liberty and constitution like us, so they ceased fighting at the end of WWII.
The conclusion seems to be that only really good countries and truly bad ones fight endlessly.
To an untrained eye it might seem to be the identical kind of behavior but to the real experts it’s so easy to recognize the crucial difference.
It is US against THEM!
The problem is that the other side is using the identical justification - US vs THEM mentality…
I guess there is no smart explanation to defend extremely stupid behavior.
I meant them, not us, we are really smart…
Bernie Sanders is a true political leader who will work with both Democrats and Republicans to fight injustice.
In support of his efforts, please call or email your U.S. senators and congressmen/women and ask them to co-sponsor and vorte for Joint Resolution 54.
4
Let's face it, the US government is completely hypocritical in our "value" of human rights. We condemn countries like China for their human rights violations but one of the worst offenders has and continues to be Saudi Arabia but we don't do anything to jeopardize that relationship because we want their oil. I wish Senator Sanders luck on his resolution but I think it's pretty clear that most of our politicians don't really care about our "values" or "national security" or anything for that matter as long as they can stay in power and make money.
37
The tragedy in Yemen is the result of unprovoked Saudi attack on the country to re-install Riyadh’s preferred leader. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and millions more are at risk as starvation and cholera rage.
If the American foreign policy should reflect its values it is not understand how can US support Saudi Arabia to commit genocide against the people of Yemen? UN and Red Cross have been warning that Yemen faces "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims."
Saudi government – with US support – has blocked every port of entry to prevent critical medicine from reaching suffering Yemenis to commit cruel mass murder. The US is a partner in Saudi Arabia’s Yemen crimes.
American support of Saudi Arabia as it slaughters Yemeni children cannot possibly reflect a civilised value.
I fully support Ron Paul that “claim that we are fighting al-Qaeda in Yemen and thus our involvement is covered under the post-9/11 authorisation for the use of force is without merit. In fact it has been reported numerous times in the mainstream media that US intervention on behalf of the Saudis in Yemen is actually a boost to al-Qaeda in the country. Al-Qaeda is at war with the Houthis who had taken control of much of the country because the Houthis practice a form of Shi’a Islam they claim is tied to Iran. We are fighting on the same side as al-Qaeda in Yemen”.
26
Well said!
Bernie is a sane and rational voice.This is no the voice of a crazy socialist, it is the voice of a patriot and constitutionalist. We would do well to follow his recommendations.
The fundamental factor in the Middle East is this century' old conflict between the Sunnis in the Shiites, exemplified most clearly by the relationship between the Saudis in the Iranians. Trump has made a fundamental mistake by taking sides in this conflict, apparently mesmerized by the amount of money he can get from the Saudis.
Does he not know that it is the Saudis who have sponsored the Islamic State terrorists around the world? More likely he does not care.
These policies must be reversed.
43
Both sides of this war are guilty of reprehensible acts. This argument of withdrawing support for SA is not so simple. One must look at worst case scenarios, and how each possibility would effect our country. Three choices- Saudi Arabia "loses", Yemen "loses", or this becomes a war of attrition fought back and forth for years. Which is worst for us as Americans? Sorry to say, if Yemen "loses", there will be much human suffering, but radical Islam will "lose" as well. If SA "loses", that would be a gain for Radical Islam, never a good thing for Democracies like us.
As much as SA is getting much deserved negative press right now, pulling military support is shortsighted, a knee-jerk reflex. They are, whether one likes it or not, the lesser of two evils in this war.
1
Thank you, sir. It is a national disgrace that our liberal media stars don’t bother to mention Yemen (Chris Hayes did yesterday, Maddow is silent as usual), and neither do our political leaders.
Yemen is a global travesty and about to become the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of all time. Of. All. Time.
Senator Bernie Sanders should be the Leader of the Senate, NOT Chuck Schumer. Schumer betrayed Obama by voting against the Iran deal, siding with Saudi Arabia and Israel. If Bernie was Leader we would WIN the Senate, and he could end the madness, but instead we are stuck with sellout Chuck.
Run Bernie, and choose Sherrod Brown for VP.
8
"...he had overruled the State Department’s own regional and military experts, siding instead with members of his legislative affairs staff who argued that not certifying could endanger United States arms sales to the Saudis and Emiratis."
That's it, the whole of it.
Our country's leaders so corrupted by money for so long culminating in Trump, in-your-face corruption with daily lies & coverups,
and here we are. Your bill won't make it, again, Sen Sanders but thank you for not going with the flow.
4
Arms makers won't let Congress be moral. They want more and more money through selling arms to Saudi Arabia.
The problem is members of Congress want more and more money.
1
By the way, after full two millenniums of waiting on Jesus return to the Earth, could we redefine what the resurrection truly means?
What about resurrecting the spirit in your soul?
There is enough human flesh on this planet, several billions of them, meaning we are in need of the better system of values.
The real role of the faith is to promote the best values.
With it in our hearts, we wouldn’t be killing each other over the last couple of millenniums, all of that with the names of God and faith coming out from our mouths.
Don’t we know that the faith actually prohibits us from killing the other people and craving for the things belonging to our neighbors?
Don’t the lives belong to the people across a street that we perceive as some enemies?
The key objective of faith is to train us how to recognize them as the friends.
It is impossible to be faithful by breaking the Commandments of the faith.
It is impossible to accept somebody in your heart if you don’t fully embrace their system of values too.
By professing one thing but acting completely differently we lower ourselves to the level of politicians.
The true faith is prerequisite for ending the endless wars.
I wish you were president, Bernie. Oh, what a different world this would be.
The government of the United States has turned into pure evil. We hold hands with evil bullies all 'round the world, and our presidents hold powers the Founding Fathers tried desperately to prevent. Congress is broken. The courts are breaking under the strain of unmitigated depths of vitriol and lawlessness to which our elected officials have sunk.
Please keep up the good fight, Bernie. Keep reaching across the aisle. Keep talking. Maybe someday the GOP will wake up and come back into the fold. One can only hope.
4
The U.S. sells some 42% of military hardware. China follows with about 28% and then Russia, Belgium, the UK and France take care of the rest.
Like so many generations before us, we have failed to turn our swords into ploughshares.
The U.S. should not only stop sales to the Saudis but should look at the immense harm done by all other sales.
5
It’s NOT OK for Trump Administration to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.
It’s OK for the Obama Administration to give Iran $150 billion, including $1.8 billion from the United States in cash.
QUESTION: Which country, Saudi Arabia or Iran, is the state sponsor of terrorism?
ANSWER: Iran is the state sponsor of terror. Iran supplies political support and weapons to Hamas, an organization classified by Israel, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Egypt, Australia and Japan as a terrorist organization. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, has said "Hamas is funded by Iran.
@Caterina
We are all tired of those (Iran is evil!) talking points.
1
Caterina Sforza,
Dang~! I could have sworn America was attacked by 15 Saudi terrorists. (out of the 19) These same terrorists had connections to the Kingdom of Saud and its rulers. Go figure.
The same dictatorship that controls the State Sponsored terrorism of rigid, bigoted, patriarchal, fundamentalist strain of Islam known as Wahhabism has fueled global extremism and contributed to terrorism. Saudi Arabia itself, sent more suicide bombers than any other country to Iraq after the 2003 invasion; and has supplied more foreign fighters to the Islamic State, 2,500, than any country other than Tunisia.
By the by...ISIS?! Iran was a partner in our fight against them. SA was a sponsor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/opinion/saudi-arabia-qatar-isis-terro...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-islam.html
3
@Dobby's sock
True, the Saudi State DID NOT sponsor the 911 attack
True, the 911 attackers were Saudis.
True:
On May 31, 2001, Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes wrote in The Wall Street Journal that "Officials of the Iranian government helped arrange advanced weapons and explosives training for Al-Qaeda personnel in Lebanon where they learned, for example, how to destroy large buildings."[136]
The 9/11 Commission Report stated that 8 to 10 of the hijackers previously passed through Iran and their travel was facilitated by Iranian border guards.[135][137] .
Judge George B. Daniels ruled in a federal district court in Manhattan that Iran bears legal responsibility for providing "material support" to the 9/11 plotters and hijackers in Havlish, et al. v. Osama bin Laden, Iran, et al.[138][139] Included in Judge Daniels' findings were claims that Iran "used front companies to obtain a Boeing 757-767-777 flight simulator for training the terrorists", Ramzi bin al-Shibh traveled to Iran in January 2001, and an Iranian government memorandum from May 14, 2001 demonstrates Iranian culpability in planning the attacks.[138]
Defectors from Iran's intelligence service testified that Iranian officials had "foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks."[140]
Congress, a forum of all-too-many elected, personally unaccountable policymakers, and breakers, is likely to continue in its worn-out ways. Senator Sanders, and his network, can not wait at the polluted-well, empty of mutual trust, respect and civility, to quench the thirst for menschlichkeit. Turn, once again, individual by individual, to those who choose not to be willfully blind. Willfully deaf. Ignorant about what IS, which never should BE. Blast the silences which offer succor to serial violators of disempowered somas, psyches and spirits. Congress' complacency and complicity has been, can be and is, cancerously-malignant in its growth and toxic outcomes. Reach out, once again, to those who may "risk" beginning and continuing to make needed changes which transmute into civility. An equitable sharing of limited human, and nonhuman, resources critical for developing/sustaining levels, types and qualities of wellBEing for ALL.Much-needed mutual trust.Mutal caringness.Mutal respect.Mutual help, as and where it is needed. Let's begin to make menschlich changes in our own homes. Neighborhoods. In our streets, which are not just for walking. In our communities. Rural, urban and gated enclaves.As for Saudi Arabia, its Wahabi -ways, and its traditionalized violating, and unaccountable violators of so many, for so long...LEAVE them BE. Perhaps your staff can create a list of the Americans, and their companies, who attended,the GALA week celebrating the God of commodifications.
Bernie you are too little too late. You and your supporters should have fought hard against the US support to helping Saudi Arabia in Yemen half a dozen years ago when the cruelty to our fellow human beings in Yemen first began. Yemen is devastated and lives in Yemen destroyed mostly during the Obama years and silence of the so called leaders and presidential candidates was deafening. The only person who strongly voiced her opinion publicly and openly was congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
America and the UN could have can stopped the barbaric and brutal civil war in Yemen long time ago to allow humanitarian aid for suffering and starving people of Yemen but they did not. At this time America needs to tell the Saudis and the Iranis in no uncertain terms that all hostilities have to cease immediately and there should be no interference in humanitarian aid getting through period.
4
Hopefully Bernie Sanders will show to his colleagues in Congress the photographs that were published by Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times, showing how is the suffering of children in Yemen. An image is worth a thousand words. If that fails to convince them, nothing, nothing, nothing will work with them.
2
Houthis rebels defeated the Sunni pro-Saudi government. In the civil war Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula sent fighters called Al Qaeda in Yemen to fight along with Saudis and remnants of the Yemeni army.
On 9/11, 15 ot the 19 terrorists were Saudis. When our Ambassador asked King Salman why these Saudis attacked American, Salman insisted that the attack was an Israeli operation. Meanwhile Saudis including Bin Laden’s relatives were flown out of our country during a nationwide air transport shutdown. Saudi Arabia has promised to end all recruitment to extremist Wahhabi Salafi madrasas but has instead has failed to end funding.
Now MBS spent all of his credibility lying about the torture, dismemberment, and murder of the journalist Khashoggi, employing the same economic pressures that Salman did during 9/11 to deflect Saudi culpability.
Senator Sanders is a voice like no other. His call for a rational response to Saudi Arabia is valid. Democrats and Republicans who turn their backs on his proposals are complicit with the mercenary pressure of the corporations: Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and others. Taking a knee to Saudi Arabia or the corrupt President Trump is intolerable.
2
The Saudis were the theocratic and financial supporters of the 9/11 attack on the USA.
The Saudis are committing war crimes in Yemen.
The Saudi leaders are murdering and jailing those opposing their policies.
The USA provides military and political support of Saudi Arabia.
What's wrong with this picture?
5
..surprise, surprise- after living in Washington DC for 35 years, I personally knew dozens of ex-Pentagon officials that worked for Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Raytheon et al.
They used their influence to secure billions of dollars in contracts from their former associates in the military.
You can easily research the contracts those companies have with Saudi Arabia for the manufacturing of weapons and bombs - they are true exporters of terror.
....they are also the largest contributors to politicians and PACs in the country.
It’s the militarization of America - we are the largest provider of weapons of mass destruction in the world.
Follow the money, it leads to the Swamp.
5
I wish Bernie Sanders voice was loud enough for the tone deaf Republican Senate to heed his, and every moral voice to save lives in Yemen by ceasing arms sales to the Saudis, instead of filling their pockets with blood money.
3
This article is at least two years too late when one million people dead or starving could have been avoided. It is not clear how honest an attempt this is other than being timed with the exposure of the Khashoggi killing.
2
The Senate and House, have both shown over the years, their lack of spine, in both domestic as well as international affairs. Don't hold your breath Senator Sanders.
4
I echo the gratitude of other commenters, Senator Sander. Thank you for your usual fearlessness, courage and integrity. This war in Yemen is indeed an atrocity.
During the 2016 campaign, I brought up the fact that we were at war in 7 countries under a president who had won the Nobel Peace Prize in the company of his Secretary of State who was now running for the nomination of our party. All I received were blank stares.
Now those same people tell me that Kirsten Gillibrand, a lawyer who defended Philip Morris in the 90's despite their coverup of research on cancer and cigarette smoking, and Joe Biden, who will soon award a medal to the war criminal George Bush for (no irony) his contribution to veterans welfare, would make great candidates for the Democrats in 2020.
Everyday I have to fight despair and remember that Senator Sanders, who has persevered despite being cast into the wilderness with little or no coverage by the major news media, counseled us that defeat and despair were not options.
Bless you for continuing to fight the good fight, Senator Sanders. Despite everything.
7
The constant wars we are in are affecting our society, and not in a good way. Of course we don't see or feel them anymore. They are fought by kids trying to go to college or find a job or training for a skill. Our military budget is over ten times what Russia spends and more than the next six countries combined. The $83 billion INCREASE just given to the military by both Republicans and Democrats is actually more than the entire military budget for the Russian military. We have over a thousand military bases around the world. The power to declare war needs congressional oversight, as the constitution requires. The war in Yemen is a humanitarian disaster caused by this despot in Saudi Arabia and aided and abetted by us. It's unconscionable that we refuel their bombers to drop our bombs on civilians and school buses. These are not "mistakes" but intentional strikes. I nearly fell off my seat when I listened to Rand Paul describe the carnage we were doing there and Wolf Blitzer responded without batting an eyelash " but senator, there are a lot of American jobs at stake." Seriously? This is what we have become?
3
The president acts as if the arms deal is more important than any other consideration -- including America providing the instruments creating untold suffering for hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of innocents. He acts as if this is unquestionable truth. No morality.
If only the Democratic party elites had not blocked Sanders from the presidency ... it would be a much better world.
4
Thank you Bernie Sanders, the past two and half years political destruction would have been avoided had you been residing in the White House.
This Administration has no credibility on any issue. The corruption is both blatant and insidious. They dismantled every Cabinet, the Republican members of Congress have kowtowed to Trump and stopped short of bowing and kissing the ground beneath his feet.
It has left the majority with an emptiness that is assaulted by constant multiple acts of deliberate negativity on a daily basis. I can only surmise the intent is to wear the people down to a point of exaustion and submission.
1
I don't think Senator Sanders gets it. In the courts, life matters to the right. EVERYWHERE else, money and profit out weigh life. If these were Americans being killed, oh, then it would be an atrocity. Then something would need to be done. Then it would be so terribly wrong. Yemeni children? Sorry, we need the business.
For arms dealers, it makes no difference at all which side they sell weapons to. The more they sell, the more money they make. The more conflict there is, the more money they make. All they want is more and more money.
My father once met the Saudi Arabian arms dealer, Adnan Khashoggi, who told him exactly that.
“Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions. Khashoggi "became for all practical purposes a marketing arm of Lockheed.”
Adnan Khashoggi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Khashoggi
It’s very ironic that the courageous journalist Jamal Khashoggi has the same family name.
How can we rid the earth of this scourge before they wipe us all out?
22
Dear Senator,
We are so smart and democratic that neither we nor the countries we have a special relationship with haven’t stopped waging the endless wars since 1945, in contrast to all other regular states that don’t respect their freedom, liberty and constitution like us, so they ceased fighting at the end of WWII.
The conclusion seems to be that only really good countries and really bad ones fight endlessly.
To the untrained eye it might seem to be identical behavior but to the real experts it’s so easy to recognize the crucial difference.
It is US against THEM!
The only problem is that the other side is using the identical justification - US vs THEM mentality…
Sen. Sanders, to his enduring credit, continues to condemn immorality and hypocrisy, but predictably to no avail. Unfortunately, for as long as the Republicans control the White House and Congress, those are the twin pillars of American foreign policy.
Just ask Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Sultan. Ultimately, on issues ranging from the undermining of democracy to the slaughter of innocents to the coldblooded murder of whatever dissident might incur their wrath, they control the puppet strings of our president and his enablers.
4
Yemen is a Proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Yemenis are sacrificial lambs, close to 20 million of them. MBS "Putin of the middle east" wants to leave his mark as the strongman of the middle east. We have a President who loves autocrats and money, could care less about humanity, devoid of consciousness. Thanks, Bernie for thinking of Yemen
4
You are absolutely correct, Senator Sanders, but you should have done so BEFORE innocent children were killed by the bombs that our president sold to the Saudis weeks ago. Even if our government doesn't give Congress men and women this kind of info, it was in the NYT weeks ago.
Thank you, Bernie. If only you were our president. Please consider running again in 2020. We desperately need public servants like you to lead us out of the terrifying darkness cast by DJT and co.
8
Thank you, Senator Sanders, for leading the way on re-establishing morality in our foreign policy. Unfortunately, we won't get very far with the current abominable administration, and our Putin/Saudi sock puppet of a President, but it's critical that we keep trying.
3
Saudi Arabia's murderous, incompetent and completely asymmetrical 'war' in Yemen has very little to do with helping out the central government of Yemen. Rather, it is just one gone wrong element in the Kingdom's unceasing battle against Shia Islam and its adherents. Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the Saudis are at work on this project, often funding the very Sunni militants that KSA is supposedly allied with the US to combat.
Morality aside--and it should not be put aside--is it in the interest of the US to be involved in this foul game?
2
Thank you for this article. USA and Saudivmust stop destroying other countries. US has destroyed enough countries. Syria where millions were killed, yemen were inncoents were being killed, Iraq, were millions were killed and Libya, once Africa's richest, which the US has transformed into a poor country. The crimes against humanity by the USA and Saudi--- two of the worst human rights violators must be stopped. And for the deaths of millions in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan due to US' and Saudi's intervention, somebody should ne held accountable.
1
As always, what you say is what needs to be said, Bernie Sanders. Thank you once again.
What is wrong with these Congressmen that they can't acknowledge what is happening in our name? I know you are not the only one, but there are too few speaking out about these war crimes.
And why don't more people connect the dots between war crimes and the gun violence in our own country. Why don't we see that it is the same mentality that supports gun manufacturers that also supports bomb makers, war mongers?
I wish the march for our lives movement would expand to include a march for the lives of those we murder in Yemen and beyond. This whole situation is sickening.
24
@LoveNOtWar $$$$ from Military-Industrial guys
3
Our involvement in the war in Yemen is a stain on our nation. We are helping a wealthy nation bomb civilians in one of the poorest countries in the world. Where is the sense in that? What possible rationale could there be?
And does anyone outside the government really understand what we hope to accomplish with this war? Beside create another humanitarian crisis in the world, of course.
We are losing whatever moral high ground we used to have. The next time an American president tries to lecture a country about human rights, he/she better be prepared to be laughed out of town.
2
Saudi Arabia has money, lots. It is a kingdom, quazi-feudal in the 21st century, family run.
Iran has a much more worldly culture despite the Ayatollahs. Iran has oil, intense regional involvement, a deep economic and educational base, and will have nukes soon, partly thanks to Trump's withdrawal.
Both countries support horrible foreign wars and oppose ISIS, although Saudi family involvement from Sept. 11 to Yemen is well documented. Both suppress dissent by any means they see fit. The Saudis have bitter memories of exploitation by the imperial powers (including the Turks). Iran has bitter memories about the CIA coup on behalf of British Petroleum that put the Shah on the throne.
One might conclude that while Arabia is an easier partner, in fact our long-term interest lies much more with Iran, despite Khomeini and the hostages, and our 40 years of politicking about them. We will not help 'solve the Middle East' if our two main partners are Israel and the Saudis.
5
But which alliances are being redefined by this administration? Great Britain! France! The other EU countries! Canada! Australia! Even Russia!!
Saudi Arabia? Not a chance! They like Trump and are in his financial sphere. So they can kill civilians (with our blessing and arms) and murder dissidents...its 2018: we all work for Trump, or else.
7
The Congress has abdicated its control of the war power since the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Where are the Originalists on this one? Imperial presidential powers are dangerous -- and this one is at present in the hands of an irresponsible three-year old. Trump is no Roosevelt or Jefferson -- letting him wage undeclared wars is a prescription for disaster on a world-wide scale.
12
Once again the voice of morality speaks.
Once again, America turns away.
Thank you Sen. Sanders.
I tear up to think what our country could have been and achieved with Bernie at the wheel.
20
Iran was our natural ally in the Middle East until Eisenhower and Churchill helped overthrow their elected government in 1953. Iran believed their oil was a public resource not a trophy for British Petroleum. The 5,000-year-old Persian culture resented the coup, and we're still reaping the colossal tragedy. Saudis have a religious hatred for Iran, and we should stay clear of religious wars playing out in the Middle East. I'd rather have Iran as an ally than Saudi Arabia.
19
This is not the first country where we have aided a human made disaster caused by a war run by an ally or by us. We did this sort of thing in Central America. We ousted Salvador Allende. We interfered in Cuba. A lot of this was done in the service of keeping the Communists at bay. In other words we have been quite complicit in the past in creating some of the problems we claim to abhor.
I agree with Senator Sanders that we must stop helping Saudi Arabia in Yemen. We are, whether we like it or not, giving terrorists a very good reason to convince Yemenis who have lost family, friends, homes, and everything else, to join them. Is this what we want to be responsible for? I think not.
Situations like this, where a country that has flattered our current president and does business with his organizations, are why we need a law mandating the release of tax returns from our presidents as candidates, nominees and sitting presidents. It's also why Trump should not be involved in this at all. He has a personal and financial interest in keeping the Saudis happy.
Despite Sanders urging I do not see the help ending any time soon. Trump has too much to lose and I doubt that his morals extend to losing money because what the Saudis are doing deserves sanctions from us.
15
The Secretary of State argues within his circle that we must protect our arms dealings with Saudi Arabia, so he said he had to incorrectly certify they were trying to minimize civilian casualties. This misunderstands our purpose in ever getting into the arms business in the first place, which was to equip our allies to stand against our communist adversaries whose authoritarian governments violated human rights. Over the years, we began -- both Democrat and Republian administrations -- to arm our new authoritarian allies as they arose to "oppose communism" and support them in their oppression of human rights. We long ago should have gotten out of the arms business, gotten out of the oppression of human rights alliances we formed. The Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, if elected, will take us in that right direction.
15
@zauche the Democrats are owned by the war machine too. Every Democrat voted for the obscene "McCain" bill to authorize more money for war. They are all bribed by the war business.
2
There are two conclusions from Mr. Sanders' op-ed. One, the most fundamental value of the United States can be boiled down to making money. All other values are derivatives in the sense that they are ultimately relevant only if they contribute to or at least don't get in the way of making more money.
Two, the war in Jemen which is consistent with this making money priority also proves that if there is a risk to stability and the ability to make more money it is Saudi Arabia, not Iran.
9
While the Saudi crown prince would probably shrug this off in disdain, Congress would do him a big favor by indicating with crystalline clarity the limits the United States will accept, regarding both Jamal Kashoggi and the Yemen war. And if MBS really wants to modernize Saudi Arabia he must begin by following the rule of law, for that is the international standard. He could have accused Kashoggi of misrepresenting the country's interests in a court of law. Win or lose, that would have been an object lesson for Saudis. At this point, decent people there can be feeling nothing but sorrow at the fate of this man, and horror at the prince's methods. Beyond all that, I think his consultants have misled him, I believe unintentionally: a country like Saudi Arabia needs not a thirty-year program but a fifty-year program. Change there must become more strategic and more long-term. The pace must be set by the speed at which democratic citizens and a democratic society can emerge. It must be above all a political and civic program, not an economic miracle induced from above, which will be sheer veneer. Over what? Look at Kashoggi and Yemen. Over that.
Kashoggi said in his final interview that only Bernie Sanders is standing up to the Saudis. Everyone else is complicit.
Sanders is now outlining a foreign policy vision that recognizes the neoliberal capitalists of the last 40 years have been complicit in the rise of nationalists, fascists, authoritarians, and extremists.
17
@Michael. Kudos NYTimes for giving Senator Sanders this platform. Maybe now you are starting to see that although you may have to pay your fair share of taxes if Sanders becomes our president in 2020, but your readership and reputation will climb. I hope, with this publication, you are finally ready to give Senator Sanders and his millions of supporters a fair shake. Bernie's voice of reason and empathy for others is sorely needed.
13
Bernie for President! What a relief it would be to have such a sane and wise man be our leader.
21
@Tom Miller
Wise men are needed everywhere in government.Bernie Sanders has an important role to play, but he is not electable, as we learned in 2016. Too many voters don't really know what's going on. Our mass media are interested in money, not educating those who choose to ignore the crises we face.
4
@Tom Miller Sanders is in the pocket of BP and does their bidding in Congress assiduously. What a scam artist pretending to be a "socialist." Maybe because Venezuela has lots of oil and they're leftist...
2
@MGL
What we learned in 2016 was not that Sanders is unelectable, but that the DNC was owned by the same old corrupt and self-serving establishment that it always has been. I am hopeful that with some of the still-unowned new candidates running for congressional office this fall we may see a change for the better.
Sanders as Dem candidate, stumping through the country on campaign, could have won over a lot of those who voted for Trump out of disgust with the Clintons and the same old same-old. In reality they were, of course, successfully played by the real holders of power who backed Trump and have been/ are being richly rewarded by him.
1
The fact of the matter is that rich Americans live off foreign arms sales. Lockheed Martin stock (and most other arms dealers) would tank if they could only sell to democracies. Liberals wring their hands over the injustice of killing civilians, but still invest in portfolios loaded with arms dealers (including Boeing, which makes much more than passenger jets). This is just one more reason that the United States is reviled worldwide.
10
@Mister Ed How do you know what liberals are investing in? If this has been researched you should share your data.
1
As a NYC educator, I worked with students from Yemen in NYC schools. These children are traumatized to a level not often seen in NYC schools. The students from Yemen acted out their trauma by fighting with other students, disrupting the learning environment and getting in trouble with the police outside the school. A social worker, an assistant principal, an Arabic speaking Parent Coordinator, deans and the principal all took responsibility for this small group of students. We were not successful in helping them because their circumstances and behavior changed each day with news from Yemen.
This war is not only creating violence and destruction in Yemen. That violence impacts the rest of the world as refugees flee their country. Not only do we have a responsibility to stop providing the planes, bombs and refueling to the Saudis, as Sen. Sanders proposes, we need to consider reparations for the destruction that our county’s intervention has caused and help rebuild Yemen. We also have to consider special help for its youngest victims both in Yemen and here in our own country.
51
@Diana Scalera
Thanks for your comment. My heart cries for these young children both in Yemen and in the United States. How can you trade large sums of money for human souls? It boggles the mind. Thanks again...
9
@Diana Scalera I had a totally different experience with Yemenis when I lived in Buffalo. I taught English to women during "coffee" in various homes and accompanied them for shopping. They are a peaceful people grateful for having been accepted by the United States..........but, of course, this was back in the 1990s. I don't know what it's like for Yemenis who are trying to escape and find asylum in our country nowadays. I'm thinking the Trumpet has banned then from entry as refugees. I guess he prefers to support killing them all and encourage Saudi Arabia to annex Yemen..........
6
We welcome Senator Sanders' informed and insightful analysis of the Yemen - Saudi war. It is disturbing - if not unexpected - that he reports that Mr. Pompeo's - whose primary qualification for his position as Secretary of State is doing well at a military academy - legislative affairs staff is headed by a functionary of Raytheon who stands to make billions in arms sales to the Saudis.
The current administration is an administration for sale, run by political hacks who will clean up during their tenure in "government service" where they primarily serve themselves and their corporate masters. Trump - a failed businessman and reality TV personality - is finally in a position - a fluke - where he can make some money. And he's milking the presidency for everything it's worth (since his neckties and frozen steaks are not doing so well).
Unfortunately, Mr. Trump's inflammatory rhetoric designed to salvage what's left of his base, has resulted in bombs being delivered to the Obamas, the Clintons, Maxine Waters, Eric Holder, and George Soros, in addition to the Saudis who will also deliver our bombs - death from above - to civilians.
The Dow is down 608 today, domestic terrorists are operating freely under Mr. Trump's imprimatur, the Chinese economy is tanking, the Russians are influencing the Midterms with impunity - bragging about it - and our president is rousing the rabble tonight as only he can.
God bless America...we need it...and desperately...
58
@Midnight Scribe
All you ay is true. What can be done? In WWII America joined with countries who shared the importance of defeating Germany and Japan and saved the world for victory and peace for decades.
We have a crisis today which some countries are recognizing. This time our world's survival is at stake. Global warming demands action. America was the first
and largest industrialized country to cause, and see, the problems.But..
Meanwhile, we choose to be led in all the wrong directions. Start supporting all efforts to move from fossil fuels to sustainable energy .This is a crisis greater than WWII. Try to imagine the disasters prevented. Famine, Vast flooding of whole areas. Desperate survivors swamping other lands for survival.
Vote.Act. for children and grandchildren everywhere.
7
@Midnight Scribe
Spot on Scribe! And Bernie, thank you for telling us the truth, an extremely rare turn for seemingly anyone in our current administration. Hey, "we're" making lots of money with our arms sales programs, who cares if people are starving, being bombed, killed, maimed, displaced.
I hope congress will act and do their congressional duty and end this pure, for profit evil in Yemen, and stop the Saudi arms sale-?why is our country peddling death and famine, both of which opens the door for extremists? When did reason and values escape our elected congress members?
4
Midnight Scribe,
G_d doesn't care a whiff about America.
Just as he/she/it could care less about the millions of starving Yemen children and the dead we are complicit in killing.
We solve this or we don't.
Blessings are like tots and pairs.
Worthless and disingenuous wishes spouted to appease our guilt and absolve us from doing anything.
2
Thanks to Sanders and the Times for these words of sanity and decency which are also politically savvy. It's time to rein in Saudi power which has been a major force for terrorism the world over.
20
That's funny.
Mr. Sanders fails to discuss the SCUD missiles fired at Riyadh from Yemen.
He fails to discuss the well documented history of the flow of Al Qaeda airplane and parcel bombs from Yemen.
Etc.
If anything, we should be helping them get- better - intelligence so they can target the right people, and we should have advisors tied to equipment we provide to ensure that targets are properly vetted.
That way they learn to be professionals instead of the rabble currently at work.
1
@Objectivist
I think that perhaps that Mr Sauders is basically saying that the Yemen war is a disaster for everyone concerned even for the Houthis and Iran.
The United States has suffered all kinds of negative impacts from its involvement. It has also gained as you point out. The question is whether the negative outweighs the positive?
4
@Objectivist - "He fails to discuss the well documented history of the flow of Al Qaeda airplane and parcel bombs from Yemen."
Why don't you state that the people who have been fighting against Al Qaeda in Yemen are the Houthi? Why don't you say that the Saudi forces in Yemen include al Qaeda and ISI? You are presenting nothing but propaganda spin when you compare a single scud missile with no targeting capabilities with the hundreds of "made in the USA" laser guided missiles are being used to target civilians an infrastructure in Yemen.
1
Let's call it what it is. The US is not some background supporter lending a hand to the Saudis; we're leading the charge in destroying the Middle East. And it's all about money from oil and weapons sales. The rhetoric about some kind of humanitarian component to these wars is appallingly transparent. The facts haven't backed up that kind of talk from day one. I'm almost happy to see Trump lay the truth on the line: to the US government, the money and power is worth any number of Yemeni/Iraqi/Afghan/Palestinian/etc. lives.
We can't accept this type of foreign policy anymore, from Republicans or Democrats (i.e. wake up, it's pervasive on both sides of the aisle!)
10
Right. Arms sales under Obama ( just google it) increased by a large amount.
I think the arms dealers like Boeing and Lockheed Martin are paying a troll army to make it seem like trump invented the military industrial complex. Divide and conquer, so they can continue on their merry way.
@Tom Ryan So very true. Thank you for speaking out.
Republicans may have a blind spot, for Sunni tyrannies. This makes them hesitant to stand up for our values but Democrats seem to have the same blind spot for Shia and Communist tyrannies. Some consistency on Bernie's part is requested.
Cuba's behavior in Venezuela is similar to Saudi Arabia's in Yemen. The Cubans aren't dropping bombs but they are depriving people of medicine, torturing dissidents, and even threw a few out of windows. Obama opened relations with Cuba and not one dissident was freed, not a single right given to the Cuban people, and their interference in Venezuela's sovereign affairs continues unabated. The Cubans steal Venezuela's natural wealth and we reward them with tourism and trade.
After visiting Cuba under a giant portrait of the murderer Che Gueverra, Obama then went to Argentina where he told students both communism and democracy have good and bad features. Apparently, Obama forgot the 100 million people killed by the communists in the 20th century.
What rights did the Iran deal provide to the Iranian people? What did we get in return except some temporary promises to stop nuclear weapon production without an end to warfare in Syria and Lebanon? If it is wrong to provide weapons to the Saudis why is it right to end sanctions without demanding an end to identical behavior from the Iranians.
Bernie championed both the opening of relations with Cuba and the Iran deal.
I agree with his sentiments, it's consistency I'd like to see more of.
4
A good start would be to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. Then put international pressure on them.
5
Lets hope we Democrats can get like minded legislators, and possibly a Senator or two, into congress to support Sanders' efforts in the new term so we can begin to turn things around.
15
A lot of what Mr. Sanders said would have applied in 1965, to 'Vietnam'.
Interesting how nations mature. Or don't
15
@Karl Gauss As a great many wise men have noted: Those who refuse to study history are doomed to the repeating of the failures of the past.
2
@Karl Gauss Or don't is right.
1
To start the long overdue national conversation over the most urgent issues, if would be the preferred journalistic practice to provide the most publicity for the best analyses.
If we keep trashing them for decades, we are not going to hurt anybody but ourselves…
If we ignore what’s in our best interest, then we end up waging the endless wars we cannot win, supporting the most tyrannical regimes in the world, exporting our good paid jobs and industrial base to China, piling up the colossal national debt, and in order for all the aforementioned to be socially acceptable, our free press intentionally stupefied the voters.
By acting in such a way we aren’t better than Saudi Arabia.
You bet their local media outlets assure the residents that living in Kingdom stripped of the basic democratic and human rights is in their best interest.
The same happened here in America. Our free press brainwashed us into voting for the most incompetent politicians for decades in spite of them saddling us with the terrible problems.
That’s why we have special relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The people in both countries are treated in a special way.
2
Every bomb that falls killing civilians ensures not just the deceased their family but most of the people who knew them wants revenge. Not healthy but that is the way down there.
In the end creating more enemies then friends, and for what exactly ? What is the upside ?
10
@A-OK
The upside would be that the rich get richer, the aerospace industry continues to reap mega-rewards via government contracts, and the boys get to play with their toys. What's not to love?*
[Fine Print] *Does not apply to those who are not rich, do not head an aerospace-related business, do not have any government contracts, or are not boys.
2
@A-OK the upside for some is perpetual war for perpetual profit
1
Sadly, this is another example of the distortion of representation of Americans in the Senate. The red state senators represent only a fraction of the actual people, but now control the legislative agenda. McConnell will not allow any bill with a chance of bipartisan support (except the budget, where both parties are conning the public) to come to a vote. And the Robo-Republicans vote always as a solid block. Although it is heartening that the Democrats may take back the house, without the senate, the chance to stop any war will come only if they can stop funding for it. Given that Trump will veto that bill, without a 2/3 majority the House remains toothless. There will be no progress in stopping the Republican travesty in the face of the seizure of the American government. We need a constitutional amendment to return the government to the people, a very long shot indeed.
9
Long term success of US foreign policy seem to depend on our constant and unflinching support and promotion of democracy. That would help mitigating many of the issues we are facing now, including never ending flow of immigrants, legal and illegal (who are mostly poorly educated, impoverished and not much socioeconomically helpful to our country).
Our support for dictators will only make our own problems more acute, with growing political conflict within our political system as is happening now. One party is more desperate to use those immigrants as its loyal vote bank (And bow down to almost any demand that pleases the immigrant community), while the other party is increasingly determined to stop that, besides promoting white supremacy and christian fundamentalism.
In the process, both global and national security, economic stability and prosperity is getting affected.
2
First, thank you Senator Sanders for your continued patriotism.
Second, please don't go away anytime soon.
Third, also please don't run for President again. We need your voice strong and clear and it will be louder if you aren't marginalized by a president who has no respect for common decency.
Fourth, register as a Democrat. While I do like Chuck Schumer, I think you would really be great as the lead Senator in the opposition of the Republican Party, regardless of how the mid-terms roll.
14
Since WWII have any of our military interventions been anything but disaster? Maybe Bosnia, which had complete U.N. support.
Desert Storm was not a complete disaster, but Saddam Hussein could likely have been stopped from his reckless invasion to begin with if Bush had made it clear that the U.S. wouldn't let it stand- the whole affair seemed like a con to give the U.S. the chance to exercise and strengthen its power in the region.
The Korean War led to a totalitarian regime that terrifies the world with its nuclear capacity and has sold its technology to spread the danger.
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, have soaked up trillions in treasure and lakes of American blood and the blood of innocent civilians to accomplish absolutely nothing tangible.
How insane is this and how is it not obvious to Americans by now that the only thing served by our military interventions is the military industrial complex.
Imagine what we could have done and could be doing with all that wasted treasure. America would certainly look a lot different than it does today.
13
I couldn’t agree more.
However...,
What are we to do about the existing tyranny of the majority - which in reality is now an oligarchy - thanks to the Citizens United decision?
What is our recourse?
And don’t say vote, please, because gerrymandering and voter id laws are conceived of and applied with surgical decision by the Republicans, ie, corporations.
A qualified SCOTUS candidate was denied a hearing - an unprecedented dereliction of duty by a US Senator who is bought and paid for by the NRA among other special interests.
A large portion of our society has thrown any trace of civility out and has embraced “political incorrectness”, which in reality is a euphemism for naked bigotry and prejudice.
I’m not even going to broach the subject of the 2016 election and the primordial super-swamp that arose out of that mess.
And, we have a President who, among a multiple of other offenses against democracy, constantly takes a wrecking ball to the 1st amendment.
Short of a revolution, what are the options here?
Anyone?
I voted already, by the way.
1
This article shows in crystal clear detail why the Democratic Party establishment committed one of the great blunders of US political history by wedding itself blindlessly to Hillary Clinton. And not only because she, as a leading symbol of the sanctimoniously arrogant political correctness and timid yet cynical tokenism which has come to characterize the Democratic Party, was the perfect candidate for Donald Trump's populist protest campaign to run against and win.
This column also illustrates why Sanders would have made a better president than Clinton herself. While the rest of Washington debates degrees of symbolic punishment of Saudi Arabia's rulers for the Khashoggi murder, Sanders cuts straight to key underlying issues of significance for the US national interest: the need for direct action against Saudi encouragement of extremism and instability (ISIS, Yemen), for reversing the Trump administration's shameful and reckless abandonment of traditional US policies backing international cooperation and human rights, and for calling on Congress to finally rein in presidential powers running amok.
Sanders gets it, folks. In ways the Clintons and establishment Democrats never did and probably never will. This is real political, progressive leadership, it is rare nowadays, it is vital, and America cannot afford mainstream politicians who repeatedly grasp at excuses to belittle and ignore it, or find ways to chisel away at it for cheap, short term, narrow and selfish reasons.
17
The blind allegiance sworn by almost ever single presidential administration to the house of Saud (with the except of the Obama years) has hurt our country deeply. It has made us dependent on fossil fuels, made our people attractive targets for terrorism, and tarnished the moral credibility in international affairs. Saudi Arabia is ruled by cruel despots no different than the family that has ruled North Korea or the junta of clerics that have ruled Iran. Alliance with Saudi Arabia has gotten us nowhere and will get us in deeper trouble in the future. This is the Pakistan of the next few decades. We need legislators and more importantly, a President, who will break this absurd status quo that has dragged down our foreign policy for the past 75 yrs. I intend to vote for candidates in this election who understand this problem.
7
Senator Sanders,
Thank you for once again putting the general Welfare above the general's welfare to arms dealers.
19
Thank you Senator Sanders for planning to reintroduce Senate Joint Resolution 54, calling on the president to withdraw from the Saudi-led war in Yemen. You give me hope.
16
We have excused many crimes by the Kingdom for several years, but this war in Yemen is something that cannot go without punishment. All the U.S. and UN has done is make a few criticisms, nothing more, nothing less. School buses, wedding parties, and Yemenis simply exercising their right to an assembly have been clearly deliberately targeted by the regime. Critics of the war and advocates against it at home in Saudi Arabia have been jailed and tortured for not siding with the regime’s wretched inhuman acts. When will this senseless timeline of tragedy come to an end? Will the U.S. take a stand and tell the Saudi regime that this war will cause them sanctions, or will we sit in silence and shy away from our responsibilities as international defenders of the sanctity of human life and allow this murderous dictatorship to continue its abhorrent actions? It’s your arms and property deals or the innocent people of Yemen. Make the right choice, though you probably won’t.
5
The US is complicit in the human rights abuse and, in fact, war crimes in BOTH Yemen and Gaza. US weaponry and political support is being used to kill and maim countless innocent civilians in both locations. In the case of Saudi Arabia we can expect MBS to be investigated for war crimes. In the case of Israel Netanyahu is already under preliminary investigation for war crimes. Where will the US be standing when these trial occur?
If the American democracy is not strong enough to disassociate the country from war criminals, then it is a failed state.
14
@Greg America is not a democracy. It is a plutocracy owned by the military, banking and fossil fuel corporations. The Senate is the opposite of a democratic institution. It gives way more power to rural Americans.
4
Good luck, Senator Sanders, in your resolution proposal. I hope it passes. Fighting proxy wars for oil hasn't worked terribly well for most Americans and it's time to stop the mockery of the US Constitution that this offensive defensive strategy makes. You are only too aware of the vested interests controlling the Republican party that gain from selling weapons around the world and to Americans and wants to shut down climate change strategy to keep dependency on fossil fuels. From the theft of the election of Senator Gore by a Texan oil baron elite to the acceptance of Saudi lies, these people will stop at nothing to make money and keep their power. Even the widespread murder of innocent people in Yemen is acceptable to them as a means to an end.
11
The media needs to spend less time analyzing Tweets and more time covering the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. And the Trump lie that not selling arms to the Saudis will lead to huge job losses needs to be called out. Congress needs to start acting like a co-equal branch and reassert itself. The US must not be complicit in Saudi war crimes. We need a less hand wringing over how weapons manufacturers profit and a lot more aid to the millions of starving and displaced Yemeni people.
17
Thank you Senator Sanders. As has been true throughout your career you are speaking out on the right side, the moral side and ultimately the practical side and I predict that you will ultimately be proven prescient on this issue as on so many others.
15
Thank you Senator Sanders. Those who think they have tyrants like MBS under their thumb too often find out how evil eats its young. Bring our troops home or deploy them elsewhere, and spend the money on healthcare and infrastructure.
16
The key battle in Yemen is against the Houthis (except a small civil war between UAE backed troops and Saudi backed troops).
Houthis are Shias and therefore allied to Iran. When Shias were killed in Bahrain and the doctors were charged if they treated the Shais, the world kept silent. Shias are still hounded in Bahrain.
No western country would ever support a ceasefire as that would give Houthis a victory and a tactical victory for Shias and Iran in extension.
That is the truth - whether you like it or not!
4
Very clear thinking from Sanders, as usual. The United States and other countries (including Canada) supplying arms to Saudi Arabia should stop doing so immediately - not because of Khashoggi but because they are assisting in an illegitimate war on one of the poorest countries in the region.
19
Bernie Sanders seems to be the only member of our government paying attention--and drawing attention--to the tragic humanitarian crisis that we are underwriting in Yemen, through support for the Saudi's invasion. Over 10,000 civilians have died, including many children dying of hunger and cholera from the siege conditions created by the Saudis. Thank you, NYTimes, for putting this in your pages.
20
It is hardly surprising that Bernie Sanders will call for and end to US support for Saudi Arabia while giving Iran a free pass. In the realm of human rights abuses, Iran is wholesale to Saudi's retail.In the realm of international terror, Iran reigns supreme while Saudi is nowhere to be found. In the realm of hostility to the US, Iran is the global leader while Saudi is our ally. One can speculate about Bernie Sanders motives - hatred of America, hatred of Israel, hatred of Trump – and chances are all guesses are correct.
3
What nation is Iran bombing?
2
@JJ Gross
And "in the realm of human rights abuses" where does Israel reign????
2
JJ Gross,
That's odd, I could have sworn it was 15 Saudis, out of 19 terrorists that attacked our country. 15 Saudi terrorists with connections to the Kingdom of Saud.
Nice of you to forget the State Sponsored terrorists who follow the ultraconservative, rigid, bigoted, patriarchal, fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretation of the Koran. Where do you think the term jihadist violence came from?! Osama bin Laden ring a bell?
Saudi Arabia itself, sent more suicide bombers than any other country to Iraq after the 2003 invasion; and has supplied more foreign fighters to the Islamic State, 2,500, than any country other than Tunisia.
Seems your version of international terror is as one sided, as is your take on Sen. Sanders.
3
Bernie Sanders is absolutely right, thanks! In Australia, not nearly as mired (but not blameless) in the Middle East as the US and UK, there are at last calls to make the Saudi Embassy persona non grata in Australia.
The UN should investigate this murder, bearing in mind the Kingdom of Saud's medieval regime of routine killings and torture and most especially the butchery in Yemen. One journalist's horrifying end should (but won't) alert the world. The USA is quite wealthy enough. Indeed, none in the so called west needs to sell arms to it.
It is hard to be optimistic but all this must be urged relentlessly.
15
Bernie Sanders is absolutely right. The tragedy going on in Yemen, aided by American arms sales and intelligence, has created a humanitarian disaster of historic proportion. The UN warned this week that it could soon become the world's worst famine in 100 years, and yet the IRC found last year that 85% of Americans had no idea there even was a crisis there at all. We need more of our politicians to look outside the United States and see how our policies affect the most vulnerable globally. "America First" is not just a disastrous framework because it hurts those close to us- immigrants and minorities- but also because it gives us license to ignore the problems of other countries so as long as it doesn't affect us. Yet, what "doesn't affect us" is also starving millions and creating a war zone where school buses are military targets.
13
Thank you, Bernie Sanders! You remain one of few political figures who stand for integrity, decency, kindness and justice in these otherwise brutal times.
19
Yes, Mr. Sanders is right on all accounts, but this piece is way too little and way too late to be more than a cynic attempt to cover up what he US has done for decades.
The US governments knew what was going on in the kingdom and they delivered weapons and military as well as intelligence support for at least as long - that is since the 1930s.
Without the US kingdom would have never ever been able to build up a military that is now attacking Yemen in this way.
The house of Al Saud is well known as the main sponsor of terrorism in the region and globally under the disguise of spreading Islam.
Even the Peace Nobel laureate Obama sold billions of USD worth of weapons to the Saudis, making a travesty of the Nobel Peace Price not only on this occasion.
So any tears shed and any criticism is just another insult to the people in the region and the world at best.
Get rid of the US regime and put sanctions on the Saudi regime at least as tough as those that you put onto North Korea or no one will believe your words.
The region's people know the role the US is playing in this conflict and no tearful commentary from Mr. Sanders or others will ever make this image any better.
Only actions will.
The US is known in the region as the partner in crime for the regime in Riyadh.
15
My uncle, a dockworker in the Port of Newark who was killed in an "industrial" accident 50 years ago, always said that he saw the Saudis killing sacrificial lambs on the ships that came in. Killing is what they do. They always have and they always will. It's right out front to see if one has one's eyes open. Kings or would-be Kings do it and ordinary folks on boats do it, too.
5
I guess we now know why President Trump bemoaned the loss of the arms deal of $110 billion. No matter if it's ten cents or ten trillion, we ought to ditch it now and pull out of Yemen, and press King Salman to do the same. These wars are not in our best interest, they only feed the favored defense industry of whoever is in power at the time. How different is this from Cheney's Halliburton time during the Iraq war (and all those WMD?) Thanks Sen. Sanders we do not have enough like you in Congress.
11
@GMT Actually Cheney and Halliburton, in their various guises, are still doing brisk business at what they have always done: sell a war, with arms and ammo, 'intelligence' and 'protection and training' to both sides and gouge on the prices for Everything like all heck. That and steal everything that is not nailed or screwed down.
I applaud Senator Sanders for taking a stand on this issue. We need to demand that our politicians stop placating the military industrial complex and take a forceful stand against indiscriminate bombing of civilians by any nation, including our own. We're only creating more problems for ourselves.
11
Finally! We get to hear from a non-Republican member of Congress who represents Democrats and independents in his state and who, incidentally, won the primary votes of millions of Democrats and independents all over the map and who, incidentially, is thoughtful, intelligent and concerned with morality and human rights. Who'd have thought there was anybody in Washington besides Donald Trump?
20
The Saudi prince has some very important cards in his hand.
He is being courted by the US Government’s Israel-Palestine peace negotiator, Jared Kushner, to persuade the Palestinians to adopt his solution, whenever it is announced.
Sunni Saudi Arabia is a counter to Shiite Iran in the Middle East. The US Government has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear accord without support from any of the other participants to that agreement. The US needs Saudi Arabia to fill the void so created.
One of the reasons cited by the US for its withdrawal was that Iran is sponsoring terrorism in Yemen. The Saudis have supported the US position demonstrably by bombing supposed terrorist locations in the Yemen.
Lastly, the Saudi prince has sprinkled money around very wisely.
Alas, this global picture won’t be disturbed by the tragic and barbaric killing of Mr. Khashoggi. He will be deemed collateral damage.
In the strange way our world works today – MBS, like Vladimir Putin, will come out of this as a major player on the world stage. He will garner far more attention than say, Angela Merkel or Theresa May.
1
We are living in a nightmare orchestrated by a very small minority of immoral and self-serving individuals who have bullied and lied their way into the halls of power. And yet there are still voices and votes which can change the present course. This most recent outrage of the murder of one whose voice had been raised in protest may hopefully bring forth a vote in Congress which will end the U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen; until the arms merchants are banished from the halls of power, such as the former Raytheon employee who serves as Mr. Pompeo's advisor, a hegemony of immorality will hold sway and more innocents both in Yemen and elsewhere will be killed by bombs manufactured in the United States.
14
Bernie, You have to stop confusing us with facts.
Ever since you arrived on the National scene you have outlined exactly how our Government operates. Exactly why Medicare for All makes sense. Exactly how Wall Street controls what the Congress does and how Immigration really impacts our country.
If it weren't for the DNC and its shenanigans you would have been the Candidate. And you would have been President, saving us from the horror that is Trump.
Your proposals are based on common sense, something that is in short supply these days.
Please run again.
14
Thanks to Senator Sanders for being willing to say this out loud and address this issue. But where are our other so-called leaders, both Republican and Democratic?
The murder of Mr. Khashoggi is a very tragic event, but some good may come out of it. This would be that the leaders of Saudi Arabia have outed themselves as evil murderers. Maybe this can give our leaders the cover--not that they should have needed it--to address the situation in Yemen. And speaking of outing yourself, when our President says we might like to take some action here, but we can't risk our upcoming arms deal with the Saudis because we'd make some money on that, well, that says quite a bit about him and what he's doing to our values. So is that where we've arrived as a country? Someone's murdering thousands of people, but it's OK as long as we're making a few bucks off the thing? We need a huge look in the mirror.
87
In geopolitics, the question that always needs to be answered is “what happens the day after?” So, what happens after Yemen falls within Iran’s control and Iran can now exert control over the essential choke-point for oil. This is not, nor has it ever been, a matter of only US interests. The entire Western world is implicated - it is just that since WWII, only the US has the military force to make a difference to a hostile power. Has everyone already forgotten how Iran made the five European powers look so impotent before the US joined the nuclear negotiations? Does anyone really think Iran would not take full advantage with a far stronger hand to play after taking over Yemen? Are we willing to risk economic destabilization? Every individual life is precious, but, for better or worse, that has never been a guiding principle of international affairs. We may fancy ourselves as post-modern with a preference to use soft over hard power. The problem is that the rest of the world has not caught up to our fantasy world of kumbaya. No one in their right mind condones Saudi behavior. The question is, what can we do without making the larger situation far worse?
Sanders is correct. The problem is that corporations like Raytheon have purchased many of our elected politicians... War jobs are in every state. Remember EVERY Democrat voted for the gajillion dollar war budget last year. Campaign finance reform is essential to prevent the war profiteers from running this country. Ike warned us and it has happened. The war jobs need to transitioned to jobs that don't create stuff that kill people - and don't burn fossil fuels.
16
Thank you for leading this effort, Senator Sanders.
I so wish you had been elected president in 2016. We would be much better off with your leadership that shows true care for the people.
It bothers me that the taxes I pay the federal government, which are significant, are supporting Raytheon and cynical politicians, when we could be helping our own people.
23
Many thanks to the three Senators who introduced this measure in February. But Mr. Sanders has not mentioned that it is the rogue Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who has led that country's war in Yemen. Following his likely involvement in the premeditated murder of journalist Khashoggi, the administration should reassess its Yemen policy right now, and not wait until this legislation is re-introduced next month.
10
Senator Sanders neglected to mention that this conflict is really all about controlling the shipping lanes on the Red Sea, especially the ability for Saudi Arabian "OIL tankers" to freely move into the Gulf of Arden, then onto the Arabian Sea. The epicenter of this American aided disaster is the strategic Yemeni port city of Al-Hudayda. If Iran controls this port, then they'll control the Red Sea.
Like all bloody conflict instigated by the rich and powerful, this humanitarian crisis is the byproduct of greed. If Iran can control the Red Sea, it can also ultimately limit movement of Saudi oil tanker access through the Persian Gulf, where Iran is already well positioned to utilize it's naval forces. U.S. warships aren't positioned in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf for the fun of it...it's to make certain that Saudi crude oil travels unimpeded to United States refineries.
In short, whenever we're talking about political upheavals in the Middle East, be it in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Syria, et. al...then we're always just talking about access to OIL, OIL, and more OIL. The United States, through any means necessary, will act to secure cheap gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, natural gas, and critical industrial distillates...and thus, the Yemeni people suffer.
21
@Stone
Isn’t it always ‘Follow the money”, especially with the avaricious criminals in the White House.
2
"....how urgent it has become for the United States to redefine our relationship with Saudi Arabia ...."
Bernie, it's not just Saudi Arabia. The US needs to review and change it's entire foreign policy. It needs to be redirected towards human rights and international law, and away from corporate and foreign interests. It needs to abandon domination in favour of cooperation. It needs a planetary view to replace its nationalist view.
38
Why does not Senator Bernie Sanders and other members of Congress bring a federal lawsuit on the basis that our supporting military role in the war in Yemen in behalf of Saudi Arabia military forces is unconstitutional? Then, the new Republican-appointed majority of the United States Supreme Court can decide the constitutionality issue for the entire nation. And, all citizens will then be able to read and consider the judicial arguments made in support of President Trump's military actions in Yemen.
9
@David Lockmiller
You are dreaming. Kavanaugh and other conservative justices will support Trump, who doesn't wish to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Big money there for the Reps.
1
@David Lockmiller
I'm pretty sure I would not want this Supreme Court to hear that issue ......
2
As usual Mr.Sanders is tough on US allies and very forgiving when it comes to US enemies. It would be appropriate for him to share the blame for the Yemeni tragedy with Iran. US and Saudi Arabia are in conflict with the Houthi faction supported by Iran which often targets Saudi cities with long range missiles supplied by Iran.
2
@Frank Silnicky
You’re absolutely correct, the Saudi are there because they are fighting the Iranis. Both bad guys, in every sense, except we’re helping the Saudi’s. The Saudi's are no better than Iran, maybe worse - 15 of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi, as was Osama bin Laden, they support Wahhabism, a virulent form of Islam. Why are we friends with the Saudi’s- money, follow the money. Saudi Arabia spends billions here.
And a US Senator should be able to affect the behave of the US government.
3
@Frank Silnicky You need to think this out a bit more carefully. Iran has not sent its army and airforce to attack Yemen, Saudi Arabia has. Iran does not have a long, or even a short history of sending Islamic terrorists to Yemen, Saudi Arabia does.
Israel, or at least its Likud government, has a problem with Iran for their own reasons, but Iran is not the problem in Yemen, the Saudi government and individual Saudis are the problem!
4
Thank you Bernie Sanders for all of your efforts on behalf of the people of our country and of the world. If you run again for President, I will vote for you. And I totally agree with you about your opinions here on the Saudi's. I believe our biggest problem is the control of corporations over our lives. Yesterday Democracy Now had a segment on ICE. It was chilling. If we are to complain about human right violations by others, we need to also clean up our own. I'm sure the public is not very aware of the shocking revelations of Democracy Now yesterday. https://www.democracynow.org/2018/10/24/whos_behind_ice_how_amazon_palantir
29
A Senator with an actual plan who can also articulate his message. How refreshing. Stay on message, Bernie. You may yet surprise everyone.
45
The war in Yemen is unspeakable cruelty. The Saudi people are not in a position to stop it, so the responsibility falls to the rest of the world. Thank you, Senator, for your efforts.
21
"... The Senate voted 55 to 44 to delay consideration of the resolution. …"
Where can I see the list of the 55 who voted to the delay?
We need to correlate this to states, and to which arms manufacturers are located in those states, and how much of the money that the US squanders on this war in Yemen flows to those states.
I speculate that a very clear pattern will emerge.
I mean, this s after all what the cliché "follow the money" means. Who cares about US reputation, or the murder of some journalists or thousands of civilians when there is money to be made.
31
@oldBassGuy the argument will be made that it's a question of jobs as well as income to state coffers. From a report commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association (and Defense) here are some states to look at:
The states that saw the greatest employment contribution were Washington (640,820), California (436,180), Texas (234,630), Michigan (143,520) and Missouri (116,400).
The A&D industry nationally supported close to one million jobs in manufacturing, more than 320,000 in leisure and other services, and close to 270,000 jobs in wholesale and retail trade.
I really hope that the US will stop its support of the war in Yemen and redirect its effort to ending this man-made famine.
Ultimately, it's a moral test for the US. It's human rights vs profits.
This war doesn't make sense from the perspective of US interest either if all you're doing is strengthening extremist groups in the region.
13
WWII was the last military endeavor by the U.S. that was not catastrophic for the U.S. and the people we were supposedly helping, besides Bosnia and perhaps Desert Storm. Even the latter probably could have been avoided by a stern warning to Hussein before it took place.
Let us count the ways: War in Korea leads to a dictatorship of the worst kind with a nuclear arsenal that threatens the world- not just from N. K. but from Pakistan who purchased help to develop their own.
Vietnam: The failed war to stop the spread of communism that tore up our nation and heaped violence and death on the Vietnamese people and our own soldiers, but didn't stop a communist regime from taking over the country.
Iraq war- ditto Vietnam, although it damaged the U.S. strategically in the middle east much more than any such damage in SE Asia, by empowering the Shea and helping Iran. The "goal" of establishing true democracy is, at best, tenuous- the 3 main tribes are unlikely to settle their differences democratically.
Afghanistan: Billions invested to accomplish the establishment of a government so corrupt it cannot withstand the assault of medieval religious extremists.
And yet we blunder on, diverting trillions from projects that might actually help the American people. Makes you wonder whose really making the decisions- follow the money.
35
World War II ...
Statistics vary but the consensus is 50 million to 80 million deaths, far more civilians than military;
Firebombing of Tokyo 100,000 deaths, 1,000,000 displaced;
Firebombing of Dresden 35,000 to 135,000 deaths;
That ain't chump change.
1
The President of the United States is but one American voice. The Senate and House speaks for many American’s voices. Let’s hope Congress acts functional across the isles and regains the legislative power to declare war. Power to the voice of the American people.
11
The fact that Trump & Co justify their kid glove handling of the Saudis based upon a pile of wishes is also problematic. Their repeated claims about arms deals are more fantasy than fact. The "agreement" the Saudis made with Trump was nothing more than a promise to make future agreements. When Trump puts out his ever escalating estimates of American jobs that might be created, he conveniently omits the fact that the Saudis insist that 50% of the jobs created must be Saudi jobs...
We are participating in a badly-run war run by someone else in which weapons with our name on them are killing and maiming civilians. We are coddling a royal house with a horrible human rights record. We are hearing and hearing and hearing about a (maybe) arms deal, which is apparently so important that none of the rest matters. Enough already! We used to be the world leader. We are becoming a second-rate country with no principles, which is blinded by glitz & money.
16
Americans are too often hoodwinked by the governments public statements that US foreign policy in the Middle east and elsewhere is based on protecting "US interests". Never does the public ask for a definition of what is really meant by "US interests".
I suspect we are talking mostly about US corporate interests, and not the interests of the American people. How else can Americans have found themselves in the current embarrassing situation.
36
Whoever thought I'd agree with Bernie? But, as much as I have supported this administration this time he's right.
In the 1930s the earliest aggression by a European tyranny was the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, now Ethiopia. As much as the European democracies objected to the horrific human rights abuses perpetuated against black Africans every bomb, bullet, and Italian soldier had to pass through the Suez Canal controlled by Britain. The British refused to stop the carnage though they could have easily done so. Standing up then may have changed history.
The war in Yemen puts us in a similar situation. I realize the Saudis and us have some interests in common. But this should never be confused with being our allies. No tyranny which denies human rights to large percentages of its population will ever be our ally. No tyranny which funds extremism and terrorism will ever be our ally. When Iraq was fighting Iran in the 1980s our interests briefly intersected but Saddam Hussein's Iraq was never our ally. Same situation here.
The Trump administration has not made a decision yet on how to deal with the Kashoggi murder and prudence is warranted. When your strategic interests are at hand it makes no sense to fly off the handle. Nevertheless, we have values and if we want to have credibility we must stand by our values.
Our values exceed the jobs provided by defense contracts. Taking a stand against these horrific violations is warranted.
Well said Bernie.
22
@jkemp - Very interesting and thanks for taking us back even further in time than I have in comments and replies awaiting review. I went back to 1953 when the US via the CIA deposed democratically elected Mohamed Mossadegh.
However, I have become reasonably well educated about that earlier time to which you refer, educated by asylum seekers who come to Träna svenska (Practice speaking and discussing in Swedish) at the Linköping Red Cross. Young men and women from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, all of them most welcome here in Sweden.
Thanks
Larry L.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
4
@Larry Lundgren
The reason the British didn't stop the Italians from transporting their weapons and soldiers through the Suez Canal was because they saw Mussolini as a potential ally against Hitler. They were willing to overlook Mussolini's behavior, including murdering his critics, because they suspected a war with Germany was on the horizon and they said, "even though he's a tyrant and murders his opponents, he's not all that bad. His people love him and we have bigger fish to fry so we'll let him commit atrocities in some poor and unimportant country".
The parallels are truly remarkable.
1
With due respect, Sen Sanders, one way you can really help stop the Saudi, period, and advance many of your causes for that matter, is to stop hoarding the spotlight and help the Dems - we know you have declared your independence even though you have also chosen to caucus with the Democrats - to win back both the White House and Congress.
Power is exhilarating, of course. And no one can blame you for enjoying your stardom. But really, which is more important, a better country or a forever angry man with some cult-like followers?
To be clear, many of your causes are just. And indeed, some people at DNC have treated you shabbily. But if you place your compassion over your passion, you will understand it is far better than to swallow your pride and help move this country forward.
You may not get everything you want instantly, but look at this country now, anything is better. And winning back the White House and Congress is the way to stop the Saudi, to bring relief to America and to the world. Otherwise, this column and your various incendiary attacks like that of Amazon are just a cynical ploy for a 2020 run
12
You must not follow the news closely. Senator Sanders has been campaigning for Democrats in this election cycle, as he campaigned for Hillary in 2016. But blaming Sanders for Hillary’s loss, rather than her own shortcomings, is unfortunately still popular among die-hard Hillary supporters.
6
@Bos
What an obscenely irrelevant comment. Sanders is one of the few people in Congress who has been on this is from the beginning, when it was Obama’s policy. At that time many Democrats and most Republicans supported the war.
This isn’t about Sanders. It is about American complicity in crimes against humanity, in this case one we could stop simply by withdrawing our support and this should have been done over three years ago.
3
@Bos, hey there! this is a democracy and multiplicity of voices and views permitted. You are still stuck in 2016.
2
Thank you, Senator Sanders, for being an advocate for the right side of moral decency.
50
Toward the end of last year, the charity group Save the Children estimated that about 130 children were dying of hunger or disease every day in Yemen, reports NPR. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest foreign recipient of American-made weapons and military gear, according to a database compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Truth is we can stop supporting the Saudi's war and we can stop them from waging it.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/24/660153096/yemen-in-clear-and-present-dang...
How the Khashoggi Scandel 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
27
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist." Ike Eisenhower.
American leaders have irresistible desire for overseas military escapades, the reason is not far to seek. Ignoring the wise council of Ike.
It’s the failure of Adam Smith’s basic neoclassical principle: making capitalism purer would bring the economy closer to an ideal state. While globalisation improved the efficiency of the capitalist economy and brought about a high level of average growth for the world, it produced massive instability, demonstrating the inevitable trade-off that exists between efficiency and stability.
Problem with traditional economics is that it has made things too simple, treating the oversimplification as gospel. Assumption of traditional economic theory was markets are perfectly efficient and therefore self-correcting. This “efficient market hypothesis,” born of the obsession with the physics of perfect mechanisms, is hard to square with intuition and reality—harder for laypeople than for economic experts. And yet, like a dead hand on the wheel, the efficient market hypothesis still drives everything in economic policy making, as pointedly said by Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer Markets are a type of ecosystem that is complex, adaptive, and subject to the same evolutionary forces as nature.
6
@N.G. Krishnan
You are unfair to Adam Smith he is not neoclassical but a classic and while he explains the mechanism of the Market he also attack monopoly and would be appalled at the state of inequality existing in 'Market' economies today. A wise and gentle scholar in his time.
2
@wsmrer Yes you do have a point. Adam smith lived at a moral ethical and moral standards were hugely different.All us talk with benefit of hind sight.
I have to say that he would have been appalled that "market and economy have shown themselves to be NOT self-balancing, not self-correcting, and ultimately not tending in some of the virtuous directions hoped for. Rather, as both the late nineteenth century and the late twentieth century have demonstrated, the logic of the market, left to its own devices, tends inexorably toward inequality and the greater and greater concentration of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands, not toward equality. It tends toward oligarchy and plutocracy, not toward democracy. Although the market clearly flavors libertinism, self-indulgence, and the selling of innumerable products and services to temporarily satisfy that insatiable market, the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few inevitably and necessarily reduces the actual freedom of the less privileged and tends to reduce them to the position of lackeys of the wealthy".
1
I am pleased to see the NYT finally give Sen Sanders his due as the nation's moral leader. As he approaches 80, he's not getting too old, he's coming into his own. He's espoused this moral clarity for decades. It's simply taken others a long time to hear his voice. The people of the U.S. will respond to this morality. Deep down, that's who we are. And it is only through Senator Sanders' type of approach that Donald Trump will be defeated in 2020. "Out-Trumping" Trump is not the way, not the right direction for our country. It will only divide us more. Speaking to our better angels, reminding us of who we are, and that we're all, except Native Americans, the descendants of immigrants to this country, most of whom arrived penniless, but with hope for the future and a belief in the idea that is America.
79
The US increasingly has become more energy-independent, but now the spin is that we need to sell weapons for jobs? We can't stop now, because... jobs?
I'm tired of "jobs" instead of "justice, the constitution or human rights" as being the final Trump card (haha) in all conversations. If someone can fit "it creates jobs" into the conversation, all other topics are off the table.
Time to get back to the basics. Thanks to Senator Sanders for keeping this important issue front and center.
50
I suggest that the Middle East would be far more just, far more peaceful, far more democratic, and behave with far more morality, if the US were to normalize relations with Iran. It's current allies are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
58
@Greg Of course, that is obvious to anyone who knows about our relationships with Iran and Saudi Arabia, even Israel, with starting point perhaps 1953 when we overthrew the democratically elected Mohamed Mossadegh. What was one reason the CIA organized this action? Oil, of course. And even now if it is not only about oil, it is very much about oil.
Meanwhile, does the USA have a transition from fossil fuel plan, policy, dream? Absolutely not.
I have various replies awaiting approval in which I note the Iran-Saudi Arabia contrasts with the USA always coming down on the side of the least enlightened country and public, Saudi Arabia.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
3
So you are in support of brutal theocracies that deny rights to women, gays, Christians, Jews and export billions of dollars to finance proxy wars? Who kill their own citizens when they protest? Your standards are really low.
This opinion piece points to a much greater issue and even more grave: Is the USA a true democracy?
I assume that the vast majority of the American people would demand immediate cessation of support for the Saudi regime. But Congress has refused to vote the will of the people. Rather Congress will act on the will of the corporations. Unfortunately this is just one example where Congress has been corrupted in favour of the corporations and foreign powers.
61
@Greg, For better or worse These United States are not a democracy. We are a Republic and right now the majority is being held hostage by the minority. Thus it was and is now.
3
@Greg America is no longer a democracy, which is becoming more obvious day by day.
2
Thank you for speaking the truth, Senator Sanders. As always, you present a clear and ethical argument. It was a great pleasure to listen to you last night at ASU. The catastrophic war in Yemen is a crime against humanity and, as you clearly point out, unconstitutional and unAmerican. It is time to cut the cord with Saudi Arabia and to end our sordid role as arms merchant to the world.
38
YES! thank you Bernie Sanders, for voicing what should be our nation's conscience!!
34
This is absolutely correct, although I would go further in the interest of accuracy (perhaps not politics) to point out that US has not only been complicit, but has knowingly helped Saudi Arabia in its campaign in Yemen. We sell the bombs they use. That's pretty wretched behavior. If there are worthwhile geopolitical goals the US is pursuing by being allied with Saudi Arabia, we need to find other means to pursue them.
24
We are many, internationally, who have pointed out that the USA-Saudi Arabia war on Yemeni civilians that borders on genocide against a whole generation of Yemeni children has drawn so little attention.
We are many who then wondered why so many seemingly sworn to silence as concerns Yemen finally were awakened to the moral failure that our support of Saudi Arabia entails, awakened by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
We are so far, 07:55 CET, not so many who with only one exception praise Senator Sanders as being the only member of Congress to present a carefully organized argument for the Congress to act.
If the present Congress cannot be persuaded, perhaps there is some hope that a new Congress can.
Thank you Senator Sanders.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
25
This is fine, except that three Senators introduced the bill, not one.
@Portola - Thanks Portola, will check on that
Larry L.
Thank you for underlining the horrors of Yemen.
We, the biggest arms merchant in the world, must stop helping the world go up in flames.
It is not surprising that my acquaintances abroad look askance at the US. It is hardly the beacon of light it pretends to be.
Even Eisenhower, who was far from a saint, warned us of the military industrial complex.
This unholy alliance should stop yesterday. Please make it tomorrow. (What a hope.)
24
@Susan Anderson
Susan, glad you finally saw the light.
The light was Bernie all along. Too bad you didn't support him.
3
Senator Sanders,
Thanks for this timely message.
I don't know how many people on this planet are starving but from the Yemen images I have seen, Saudi Arabia should cease hostilities and use its wealth not to buy more weapons from any country but instead seek to send food, water, and medicines to the people of Yemen, their genetic cousins. A Saudi "Marshal Plan" is needed.
I agree with your position on the Constitutional requirement for Congressional approval for involvement in international conflicts.
I believe a greater portion of our Defense spending should go to developing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As you know, the Defense Department has reported that the #1 security threat to the U.S. and the World is global warming.
Specifically, Dr. James Powell, the inventor of superconducting Maglev, has proposed that the US lead the International community in developing a Maglev Launch to place solar satellites in space to beam low-power microwave energy to receiving fields on Earth, wherever there are populations. This system could be in place by 2050 and obviate the need for generating electricity with fossil fuels for the whole world. This system is projected to generate electricity at 2 cents per kwhr, a very competitive price. With cheap electricity, we could capture and store carbon dioxide, desalinate water, power transport, and make synthetic jet fuel from air and water.
Clearly, we should not militarize space. It is a huge mistake.
20
I hope that Congress will ultimately support the efforts of Sen. Sanders to stop supporting the brutal Saudi war in Yemen. In addition I hope he will promote efforts to cease buying oil from Saudi Arabia and promote use of on fossil sources of energy, like wind and sun.
20
@BJM
I know you meant NON fossil fuels.
1
IRAN and Saudi Arabia are the two regional superpowers of the Middle East. IF the US is to protect its interest in Middle East, maintain its status as the only superpower anywhere and contain IRAN, US punishment must be limited to MBS, and must not extend to the kingdom. As Iran's bitterest arc enemy for five hundred years, Saudi must not be weakened. A weakened Saudi would tip the balance of power in the middle east in favour of IRAN. Right now, IRAN is the happiest country on earth as the relations between its bitter rival (Saudi) and its most powerful enemy (USA) is deteriorating. But if US punish Saudi and disturb the balance of power in Middle East, then USA hegemony would truly start to wane and its influence in Middle east would greatly diminish. BTW, Saudi wants USA to have huge sway over the affairs in middle east. That can change.
2
@jvan What is the problem with Iran winning the balance of power in the Middle East? We certainly have lost untold treasure and many American lives there without any noticeable gains for all our trouble and tears. There is more democracy in Iran now than there will ever be in Saudi Arabia as long as the Saudi princes are breathing. Are you worried about oil? We can buy the oil from whoever runs the region. So, that is not a problem. We should be living on less oil anyway and developing affordable clean energy anyway.
25
@Harold Johnson I agree in the sense that I'm not as worried about Iran as the American foreign policy elite seems to be, but I think the conventional wisdom case for undermining Iran's foreign policy aims is pretty solid. Iran plans a lot of acts of terrorism. They're a pretty bad actor in Syria and Iraq. Just last week they were caught planning attacks in Europe, possibly as a contingency plan if European countries go along with US sanctions.
One should pick one's battles, and inducing Iran not to behave as it does need not only come with taking a hard-line stance against it. And the case against Iran certainly doesn't justify mass murdering civilians in another country.
3
@Pierce Randall Points well taken. I agree that we must not give up diplomacy with its carrots and sanctions for behavior against our interests.
Good luck with everything Bernie - you’ll need it. The fact is Americans do value profits for arms dealers more than human lives, except of course their very own. It will be difficult to change people’s minds - we are in a state of cognitive dissonance on the issue.
34
Thank you, thankyou NYT for letting Bernie speak at last!!!
I have tears in my eyes I am so very grateful. And thank you, thank you Bernie for your very clear and very well written opinion. I will never, never understand the greed and heartlessness behind these wars.
I hope you know Mr. Sanders what a beacon you are to so many in this world. You are the true American. Thank you for all your tireless work for regular people. Thanks you for inspiring hope in so many. I really want you to be my President, you already are in my heart!
85
When will Bernie admit his role in putting Trump in the White House, which is the direct cause for extreme level of the Yemen crisis?
And it's barely a week since the NYTimes editor criticized Hillary, which was echoed by Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post, and others in Politico. Both of those publications have likewise put out positive coverage of Bernie.
Sander's "contribution" in 2016 included the surprise wins by two Republican senators (PA and WI), which kept the Senate in GOP control, which is the direct reason for two additional Republicans on the Supreme Court.
But Hillary, Elizabeth Warren, and Nancy Pelosi (all women) are the problems and Bernie is the solution. Please.
10
@stephen beck Why do you think any of this? How did Sanders contribute to Republican wins in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin? Why do you think he contributed to Trump's election?
12
@stephen beck Your assertion that Bernie caused Trump to win in 2016, although wrong, is too widespread to be ignored. Has it every occurred to you that, if an elderly man with the term "socialist" attached to his political identity were able to run a serious challenge to Hillary Clinton that there was something very wrong with her candidacy?
On Yemen, Hillary's policies mirror those of Saudi Arabia. She calculated her support for the Iraq War would win her friends in the GOP and among the middle-of-the-roaders. Big mistake. She then bragged about "engineering" the overthrow of Khadaffy in her first Democratic debate in 2016 -- long after 90% of Libya had been taken over by Islamic terrorists!
But whatever, stop replaying the losing 2016 election and concentrate on Yemen. Saudi Arabia has allowed its most extremist citizens to foment its version of Wahabi Islam for decades, and its military intervention today is only making the political and humanitarian conditions far, far worse. I salute Senator Sanders initiative and urge everyone, including all Democrats and Republicans to join him!
17
@stephen beck
I was never ever going to vote for Clinton (nor Trump) under any circumstances whatsoever. I voted for Sanders in the primaries, and if he had won, that would have at least gotten you a Democratic vote from me. (Even Biden would have done that). As it happened, i wrote him in, against his wishes. This is not his fault.
Warren is not the problem. Pelosi and especially Clinton - 4 losing elections later since 2012 for the Dems - and here we are.
7
So Bernie submitted the resolution that the US Senate recognize that the Trump Admin is participating in an unauthorized use of force in Yemen, and 7 Dems voted with the Republicans to table the measure. Can't even get 'em to vote against the heinous and counter-productive war in Yemen. Some opposition party you've got there; a powerful reason not to vote third party presidential candidates, for sure.
16
In Yemen the US sold the bombs and planes to the Saudi's, trained their pilots, provided them with target information, conducted air traffic control and refueled their planes from our tankers.
With all this our level of complicity in the deaths of thousands of civilians is undeniable. We've also provided cover for their blockade which has prevented food and medicine from being imported. And for what?
The Saudi's have a history of engagement in Yemeni political affairs that goes back decades. In fact, the current president that Saudi's now support was once removed by them.
The United States has no strategic interest whatsoever in this war and should completely disengage to show the world that we still have some regard for human rights.
66
"The United States is deeply engaged in this war. We are providing bombs the Saudi-led coalition is using, we are refueling their planes before they drop those bombs"
Unfortunately, the US is not only western country engaged in this war nor providing weapons to Saudi Arabia but the UK and France are also equally responsible for this humanitarian crisis.
The UK has provided a steady supply of arms to Saudi Arabia, UK signed a huge arms deal with Riyadh selling 48 Typhoon jets from British firm BAE Systems. The Norwegian Refugee Council has criticized Britain for supplying arms to Saudi Arabia.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) France was Saudi Arabia's third biggest weapons supplier between 2013 and 2017. France is selling Saudi Arabia navy patrol boats and Caesar artillery canons.
The war in Yemen is now in its fourth year. By continuing weapons sales to Riyadh, the West has been feeding and supporting that conflict Humanitarians warn children will be worst hit in what is being forecast as the world's most lethal famine in 100 years. Things are deteriorating very badly and very quickly in Yemen. The implications of this are enormous and frightening and the time is running out, this war must stop. Stop selling weapons to the Saudis.
45
@Padman Thank you for sharing facts with the public. Now would you write some op eds for local newspapers? People have no idea this is going on unless they read deeply and widely.
2
What's so frustrating is that I know Sanders could say this during a democratic presidency with same party control of both houses of Congress, and the result would be the same: the bill would be dead on arrival. No one, no one, questions the conventional wisdom of the military industrial complex.
107
Yep! Karma is gonna be a bear when it finally eats us all. As Americans, we are all complicit in the killing, and for nothing. Not in self-defense, not to protect the innocent... just mindless destruction and killing for profit. But, no one seems to care much. The end is near.
Yes, absolutely. But, equally important is to get the international community to press Saudi Arabia and Iran to support an immediate cease fire in Yemen in order to stop the carnage, and start negotiations. The idea that we follow a moral high ground by disengaging ourselves from the tragic situation in the Middle East is ethically wrong and has not worked out.
15
You are the moral compass for the nation now, Mr. Sanders, not the sad excuse for a man and President- Trump. Emerging to Hail to the Chief precursor to the bomb scare topic was surreal. He had an opportunity to fill the description of the job he's incredibly lucky hold- but could not --Again. And never will
27
The Yemen war for the US has been a classic case of the camel that got its nose in the tent, and pretty soon there was a camel in the tent.
At first we just sent drones for "terrorists." Since bin Laden had been there for awhile, before going to Afghanistan, that seemed to have superficial sense.
But soon we were sending hit teams in on the ground, and killing American citizens and their kids in Yemen, okayed because it was Yemen.
Then when the Saudis intervened, our constant help with their air force became fuel and arms and intelligence. That grew. It merged with our drones and hit teams.
We are in a war. Yet we never made a decision. We just took little steps, one after another.
The war is not authorized, because we never even decided. It just happened. It did most of that just happening with Democrats in charge, though Trump has done nothing to fix it despite promising to fix such things.
55
Republicans have controlled both the house and the senate since 2014. You certainly can be forgiven for not realizing that. They certainly don't seem to be in control of anything.
2
Bernie Sanders might be very sincere about “ending United States support for the war in Yemen.” But seriously, when was the last time we ended a war on moral grounds or because of collateral damage? More significantly, Saudi Arabian money is so pervasive and influential in so many facets of our economy that I suspect the House of Saud is going to get away with a mere slap on the wrist for its state-sanctioned murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. permanent resident and Washington Post reporter, in its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Also, the silence from our allies across the pond indicates that Saudi money is doing the talking as loudly there as it is doing back here at home.
25
@Jack Nargundkar, there’s always first time. If enough people are woken up we won’t behave like a zombie nation distracted by greed wealth opioids big money big pharma big Ag big sugar big military’s industry complex...you get the gist.
2
You assert "silence across the pond". I would submit that's taking words out their mouth, which is just as dishonest as putting them in.
1
Only one American politician was named by the late Mr. Khashoggi in an interview published by Newsweek as being willing to stand up to the Saudi crown prince: Bernie Sanders.
It really doesn't take much sacrifice for any aspiring presidential candidate or current politician to say what needs to be said. Yet they don't, except Mr. Sanders.
253
Thank you Senator Sanders for leading on this issue. The PBS Newshour has shined a spotlight on US complicity in this tragedy and travesty for the past month or more. I hope the press will highlight the progress of the Senator's resolution. As a democrat I ask where is the Democratic Party in condemning US complicity in the deliberate attacks on civilians? American foreign policy of both parties is compromised by military special interests and pressure. But mostly it is no longer effective and spawns radical violence against us. The argument on the right that we need an ally in the region rings hollow in the face of Saudi Arabia's gross abuses. With friends like these we only increase our enemies.
59
Thank you Bernie sanders. Tillerson (who 'resigned') and Sanders are the two best people in Trump inner circle. Saudi thinks USA needs it more than it needs USA to protect US interests in the region. But there are other options, USA can abandon Saudi once and for all. US would still retain its hegemony in Middle east and Saudi would be crumble if US were to abandon Saudi and MBS (Muhammad bone saw). Let them know that what they did is unacceptable in 21st century.
9
@ken
doubtful we would abandon Saudi Arabia. without the petrodollar our ability to keep the printing press churning out endless greenbacks and beggar the rest of the world would end.
how soon we forget saddam Hussein of iraq and Kaddafi of Libya. how dared they used euro in oil trade. we tore up the nuclear agreement because the Iranians trade their oil in euro. and Venezuela promptly follow suit. why use your tormentor's currency in trade that would ultimately cause your own demise?
@ken, Bernie Sanders in Trump's inner circle? He is a Senator from Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats. Do you mean public relations spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of the former GOP Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee?
3
Thank you, Mr President, for articulating the situation clearly. We look forward to working with you and Congress to resolve this crisis and to reversing the ongoing erosion of the rule of Constitutional law.
8
Oh, how I wish!
1
Bless you Bernie! You are the voice of truth. I will be the happiest man in the country if you run and get elected President of this country. I may even start believing that there is truth and meaning in this world.
May you live a long and healthy life. You are a one man foundation in an otherwise crumbling colossus.
120
@Blunt
Some of us believe that it could not get worse than with the two nominees in 2016, but Sanders could be.
Bernie Sanders may be more honest than most politicians, but that does not mean he is right or capable to lead.
2
@Mr Mazal- Nor is Mr Trump fit to lead by any stretch, and yet there he is. I would take Mr Sanders any day. He has proven to be right about a great many things and he has the courage to stand up for what is human and decent.
21
@Blunt
I, too, count on Bernie Sanders to speak the truth. But, more importantly, Democrats must win at the polls. Every believer must speak out, give money to candidates at the state level, The Republicans have stealthily built a juggernaut of oppression,(Think of what the FCC may give Sinclair Broadcasting - power in dozens of states to control what is said on local TV channels.) We must all speak the truth. And vote.
2
Totally applaud Mr. Sanders for speaking out on this issue. In matters of military-industrial excess, it would also help if the honorable Senator Sanders would start walking the walk (along with his always excellent talk) and immediately withdraw his support for Lockheed's budget-busting F-35 fighter jet and basing it in Vermont's most densely populated area, and his continued refusal to acknowledge the negative impact on the most vulnerable. Including working poor; working class; immigrant refugees; the elderly; and veterans. Because this is a real action that Senator Sanders has control over (unlike Saudi Arabia's behavior).
And sadly for many years now Mr. Sanders has stood with the Chamber of Commerce Democrats in Vermont, who are all too happy to support the F-35's new "not suitable for residential use" zone that condemns thousands of people's homes; and places of worship; and public schools; and child cares.
This action, regarding something Mr. Sanders actually has real influence over, and that directly harms his constituents, the very people he was elected to represent, is not worthy of the Bernie we thought we knew.
11
I didn’t know... That is truly awful, and I think I just lost my respect for Senator Sanders. They’ll bulldoze the homes of citizens just to build a war plane to bomb the innocents. That’s our country now? I feel sick... and afraid
1
30 Billion $s in deals with Saudi Arabia during the last 3 days. Chief executives did not show up to the conference in Riyadh but that does not mean that their representatives were not there.
Money talks. Money talks for Republicans and Democrats and for Europe and for the US and for everybody.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/business/saudi-conference-khashoggi-k...
And that is why Mr. Sanders and others can churn out poignant op-eds over Yemen which will be ignored by decision makers.
14
@Joshua Schwartz
Yes, but money should not be the only thing that talks. Unless we strive to have a coin of the realm that is based on something other than monetary gain (note, for the corrupt few), we will eventually, and inevitably, lose any tether that we still have to our claims to be a society based on principles of freedom, dignity, and a common humanity. My feeling is that we may have already passed that point.
This may seem "poignant" to you, but if any society does aspire to something beyond money, then it cannot flourish, and ultimately become the most cynical expression of nihilism. This is DJT's world view. Eventually, it will lead us all to become like Petronius' Sybil (quoted by Eliot):
“Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi
in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: Σιβυλλα
τι θελεις; respondebat illa: αποθανειν θελω.”
"For with my own eyes, I saw the Sibyl of Cumae hanging in a bottle and when the young boys asked her, "Sibyl, what do you want?" she replied, "I want to die."
1
@IgnatzAndMehitabel,
In the second paragraph of my first reply, I mistakenly typed "This may seem "poignant" to you, but if any society does aspire to something beyond money, then it cannot flourish, and ultimately become the most cynical expression of nihilism."
I should have started with "...but if a society does NOT aspire to something beyond money..."
My apologies.
1
Thank you so much for bringing this troubling military involvement to more people's awareness. It is easy to overlook how much blood the US has on its hands by helping the Saudis' ruthless campaign.
The war on Yemen is cruel and will also prove as futile as the war in Iraq. It's time for the citizens to again declare, "Not in my name."
71
Of course, the matter doesn’t begin and end with Yemen, about which we care very little. It begins with Iran and ends with Yemen. In order to confront Iran’s supra-regional terrorism efforts as well as put pressure on them to dicker over nukes and rockets, we help Saudi Arabia engage Iran in a two-tiered (for us) proxy war against Iran. In order for us to disengage, we’d need to find other effective ways to apply that pressure. Once Sen. Sanders can provide the solution to THAT quandary, what appears to be a very superficial appreciation of the related realities in the interests of Kumbaya to the exclusion of all OTHER related U.S. interests might be taken more seriously by the Trump administration.
What the Khashoggi murder underlines is that regardless of the allies we choose in that region (other than Israel), we’re going to face formidable challenges pursuing our legitimate interests … because we DO need allies, and NO likely Islamic contenders share our values, convictions and redlines.
Beyond question we should be pressuring Saudi Arabia and even actively supporting them in minimizing civilian casualties in Yemen. Beyond that … where’s the beef, Sen. Sanders? Without Saudi Arabia who could serve as our Islamic ally in the region that is any BETTER than Saudi Arabia? Or are we to abandon the Middle East other than helping maintain a Fortress Israel and seeking to change others by mere moral suasion, distantly and arrogantly offered? That’s been tried. It failed.
4
@Richard Luettgen - No Richard, "it" begins with our overthrow of democratically elected Mohamed Mossadegh in 1953 followed by our support of Saddam Hussein in his war on Iran even our support of Saddam Hussein's gassing of Kurds in Iraqi-Iranian Kurdistan.
Iran has long been a country in which women are able to get a university education and to take on professional roles at a level unthinkable in Wahabi Saudi Arabia.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
4
@Richard Luettgen
Saudi Arabia has no interest or any intention of minimizing civilian casualties. Civilian casualties are on the rise in Yemen and there is famine. Why don't you listen to yourself? "NO likely Islamic contenders share our values, convictions and redlines." Neither does Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is controlling the current US government by financial means. Pompeo came back with 100 million dollars.
Israel wants a war with Iran to be fought by others while it watches and stirs the pot as it did with Iraq. The US has not one thing to gain from war with Iran, not one thing. Israel has nukes and had won every war it has fought and is cozying up to Saudi Arabia. It is now a true Middle Eastern Nation. We can easily do without foreign oil. Leave them to it.
2
Don't let Saudi Arabia fool you. Plenty of stir-up globally by the Saudis. In addition, we very much seem to financially embrace selling weapons to the KSA, no? Did the President not boast about that?
1
Senator Sander’s legislative resolution should rightfully be a “no brainer “, supported by a super majority in both Houses of Congress. Tragically, we are living in the unprecedented Era of Trump where everything becomes transactional and money is king, determinative of our foreign and domestic policies. It is impossible not to believe that Trump’s enrichment, and Kushner’s, by Saudi interests is an important factor in our continuing support of the Salmon regime.
61
@John Grillo, so when LBJ was pushing the Gulf of Tonkin resolution based on lies and expanding the Vietnam War dramatically, which also expanded contracts for military contractors in his home state of Texas such as Bell Helicopter/the Huey, etc., money was not king?
4
@John Grillo Trump is awful, but the U.S. government’s indefensible support for Saudi Arabia is not a product of the “Era of Trump.” This has been going on for a long time, and it will continue to go on, long after Trump leaves office, if we don’t put aside partisanship and face the fact that our government, not any particular president, is complicit in Saudi Arabia’s depravity.
1
Thank you, Senator Sanders, for having a moral conscience and leading on this issue. You write that the State Department's advice was overruled by Pompeo's staff, who argued that failing to make the certification to Congress "could endanger United States arms sales to the Saudis and Emiratis". Aiding and abetting mass slaughter of people in order to keep up arms sales — the very nadir of immorality. Many have noticed that the murder of one man, Mr. Khashoggi, drew far more outrage than the killing of thousands of innocent civilians in Yemen. There's been much analysis of the reasons, but when all is said and done, it is choking on a gnat and swallowing a camel, which is irrational. Khashoggi's death must not be for nought, our collective repulsion at the Saudi's brutality must now turn to end US complicity in the war in Yemen.
159
Finally some much needed leadership in the US Government.
Leadership is in short supply with this administration.
This war will go no better than Iraq and Afghanistan. We have no reason to be there except to sell more arms to a questionable ally. Thank you Bernie Sanders raising the issue.
89
@Scott Right. US together with Saudi Arabia have destroyed Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and killed millions. US has killed enough people and Saudi arabia too. Both must be stopped from destroying anymore country. US at once should stop selling arms to Saudi. It would only make US' sins against humanity worse.
1
Depend on Congress?
In 2 years McConnell and Ryan
Have got Heaven’s Angels all cryin’,
They decry if you will
Mankind’s right to Free Will,
With Trumpian outrage complyin’.
Ethos and morality gone,
As mega-monstrous Trump lies spawn,
Does Murder trump Money?
Come on, don’t be funny,
Nationalism is our future’s Dawn.
26
Thank you Bernie Sanders for bringing attention to this horrible war in Yemen and the immense suffering of the Yemeni people. We need more voices to draw attention to what is happening in Yemen. I pray that you will continue in your efforts and be successful in stopping at least our countries support and complicity in this war. You need to go on wveeu network and inform people of this upcoming vote. Sadly I believe there are many Americans that have no idea the of the suffering we are inflicting on an entire population of civilians. starvation, cholera death.
91
Mr. Sanders has been criticised as not being effective, on the grounds that his proposals have not passed Congress. This example gives the lie to that. Sanders is on the side of America and most of Congress is not; that's why they rejected this obviously right and necessary resolution. The fault, dear Senators, is not in your Sanders, but in yourselves.
364
To The Honorable Bernie Sanders:
Dear Sir,
The war taking place in Yemen has been declared by the U.N. as the greatest atrocity against mankind in contemporary times. It is in fact a slaughter, as America, once the leading democracy of the world, goes into Isolationism.
A few weeks ago, twenty two million civilians from Yemen were fleeing for their life, trapped and with no place to go for safety. We appear to have few allies at this time, and we are retrenching.
One hears of a lot of broken hearts over the plight of Yemen, and listening, it is clear that many Americans are not able to place this Middle Eastern country on the map.
Our Congress has been weakened over these last two years by the uncertainty of an erratic administration and internal chaos. It is the worse of times, where we might still hope for the moral restoration for our country, but hope requires strong leadership and a sense of direction.
We are impoverished in spirit and when reading earlier the words of Louis D. Brandeis, 'The most political office is that of the private citizen', it fails to address an understanding for The Human Condition.
Farewell to Yemen; America is failing in its Constitution to do right for those oppressed at home, and unless we have a strong president at the helm of our nation, we will be much on our own.
93
The numbers from the UN,14 million people will starve by THIS December.70% of the country depends on food and water aid.Before this war started,30 % of the population depended on food and water aid.This past summer they suffered the largest cholera epidemic in the history of the world's cholera epidemics.I want my taxes to go to infrastructure repair,education and healthcare,not to financially support murdering millions of civilians.Thank you once again Senator Sanders, for not only identifying the facts,the truth,but also for advocating for all of us,in America.
383
our meddling either direct military intervention or arms sales to nations that want to be fellow bullies has forever bothered me. Unfortunately it's in our very DNA here in usa and we like spreading this defective gene promiscuously around the world. ah the good fight! usa usa usa usa.....
My heart aches - for our country which has lost its way. How sad it is that the Congress is not doing the job for which we have entrusted them to do. Is it really just all about money? How very sad indeed.
202
@Faye Morgan
Yes, Faye it really is all about the money.
It's known as blood money.
1
Forget about the Presidency - why can’t this guy have more power in the Senate, where he’s so desperately needed? Intelligent, moral, energized - but one gets the sense nobody listens to him there. There should be 40 people presenting that bill; not 2 or 3.
313
@James, some people are listening, but it's a stretch to expect Congress to control the President's whims and wishes as originally expected. Getting 44 votes was pretty good. But not enough! U.S. out of Yemen NOW!
44
@James They work for their donors interests not their continuents! Bernie Sanders works for the country. He is the real deal!
5
@James: Because the Senate is based on party lines and Bernie just ain't a member of the party.
2
Sanders likes to present himself as anti-war, but his actual record is much more ambiguous.
His support of Clinton’s military actions in the 1999 Kosovo War caused one of his advisers to quit. When antiwar activists occupied Sanders’ office in 1999 because of that support of Clinton’s war policies, he had them arrested.
In 2001, Sanders did not support the vote in Congress to oppose the war in Afghanistan. Congresswoman Barbara Lee stood alone! This vote was followed by his support for appropriations to support boththe war in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2003 he supported the resolution that gave support to George W. Bush in both Iraq and in the larger war against terrorism.
More recently, he voted yes on the following bills:
Making it easier to go to war with Iran (RC #133)
May 22, 2013
Piling on more Iran sanctions (RC #215)
Nov 30, 2012
Lowering the threshold for war (RC #197)
Sep 22, 2012
The "nuclear option" of Iran sanctions (RC #216)
Dec 01, 2011
And yet while he was campaigning in 2016 he called for a realignment in which we pivoted toward Iran.
Mixed messages.
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@Karen You are trying to make Senator Sanders out to be a hypocrite. Is there a single pacifist in the United States Congress? I don't believe Senator Sanders has ever claimed to be. He, like all members of Congress, have to consider our national security and our other interests abroad when deciding to support or oppose individual bills dealing with military actions. They should also consider the morality of those actions. I would trust Sanders more than any other to make those judgments.
15
@Karen
I believe Sanders voted NO to the Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003.
He also believes a military should be prepared, but used as a last resort, hence his mixed voting record. On Yemen, it is clear (and welcome) that he says we should be out.
6
@Karen
Not so much anti-war, Bernie Sanders admits that the US be prepared to use military force when needed. In Yemen, he is clear the US should withdraw.
I also searched his record on the Iraq war and he voted against in 1991 and again in 2003.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/bernie-sanders-u-s-prepared-use-mi...
His voting record may be mixed, but there's more to the story than you are telling.
6
Thanks Sen. Sanders for speaking up on Yemen when so many have been silent. The genocide by the Saudis of Yemen is truly horrific, yet is being done as you mentioned with the aid of our weapons, fighter refueling and logistics.
Also it goes much further than Yemen. Saudi Arabia is the worlds largest financiers of Islamic terrorist groups, yet they are our friend. These terrorist have caused much suffering in the world, not to mention even killing our soldiers
This is all about oil. Our alliances are based on oil. Oil is also contributing much to global warming. We are burning coal, drilling in our oceans and fracking for oil, causing much harm. The Democratic Party should be the ones fighting back, yet they are not because of their donors. The Democrats have become the party of fracking and even accept donations from fossil fuel corporations.
Clearly it is long past due for a massive green technology revolution, that is good for our environment. This is the answer, to our oil addiction, global warming and a jobs program of great jobs. Yet the Democratic Party is silent.
135
Thank you for your words Senator Sanders. They were powerful and precise such as : ''Above and beyond the catastrophe that this war has created, there is the fact that American engagement there has not been authorized by Congress, and is therefore unconstitutional. '' - and there you have it.
I seem to remember President Obama going to the republican controlled Congress a few years ago to initiate war action in Syria. The republican controlled Congress said no, yet the U.S. has boots on the ground there and is providing military hardware and intelligence, just as it is with Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
This President reacted to the assassination of an American journalist with indifference and openly mused that a single life could not hold up an arms deal worth a 100 billion dollars. (that number keeps going up, and I think is at near 500 billion - such is the President's way to dramatically over exaggerate in all things)
The question is how many lives does it take to stop such deals, and whether they have to be American or not ? Of course, any life lost is too many, but in the geopolitical neocon game of arms deals, money and oil, nothing seems to get in the way.
The only way forward to change any of it is to establish a Democratic Congress that will push back on the blank check of war that has been established since essentially 2001.
Furthermore, the United States can no longer be the world's policeman, nor can it be the world's bully.
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