Will the other western democracies follow suit ?
MBS is just another murdering dictator among a stellar list of dictators that the US has supported over the years ..
as a rule, the war criminals are always on the losing side, that's why Kissinger, Bush, Blair, Howard, etc still walk free today ... will MBS join them or will he be held to account?
2
Where was the moral outrage in this august body over daily reports of starving children, and the wholesale killing of civilians with American-made weapons of mass destruction? The moral compass of this government went missing a long time ago. The long silence of Congress - as the last government entity to have any clout whatsoever over the rogue White House administration - regarding the butchering of the US resident Khashoggi was only the latest reminder. They have finally decided that they have had enough because the optics aren't so good. We the citizens had enough long ago, and we will get our turn to show them just how deep our anger runs. One day at a time.
5
Hey, send some more planes full of cash to Iran. NAW!
1
Now that Congress has reclaimed its Constitutional responsibilities under Article I Section 8 (11), The United States will undoubtedly rein in the "military adventurism" that was the purchase of the military industrial cartel that President Eisenhower warned us against.
With Congress now overseeing our national defense, We can expect a more diplomatic and compassionate foreign policy than the humanitarian disasters that imperial Presidential usurpers have embroiled us in since WWII.
Blood and treasure will no longer be spilled on foreign soils in senseless confrontations that the majority of Americans do not support and do not condone.
It is ironic that the martyrdom of a Saudi national was the catalyst that realigned the balance of power in our constitutional republic.
Kudos to Congress. It's about time.
1
Finally the Senate has stepped up to the plate. Now they need to impeach the criminal in the white house. Trump is a crackpot who should be immediately impeached.
3
Imagine… the hypocrisies we suffer via the whims of our socialist dreamers. I mean our liberal friends associated with the ‘deep state’ putsch seem more outraged regards the disappearance of Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate. Rather than suffering any outrage regards the brutal killings’ of four Americans at the American Embassy in Benghazi on Hillarys’ watch.
Imagine… a firestorm of false accusations by a convicted serial liar aka Michael Cohen. Whose attorney Lanny Davis (just happens to be a cunning leftwing operator and a loyal mouthpiece for the Clintons) will be escorting his client Michael Cohen off to a Federal Prison shortly to serve time for his convictions of lies and tax evasion.
Imagine… you have to wonder who is hustling who, or whose the sacrificial lamb; while Michael goes from one leftwing stooge like George Stephanopoulos extorting monies for his continuing lies. Lanny and his gang of leftwing activist must be licking their chapped lips, with thoughts of sugar plumbs dancing through their heads via the idea of extortion monies paying their legal fees and the mainstream news media serving their leftwing agenda.
2
As Senator Bob Corker stated, "you cannot have a crown prince who's 33 years old feeling that he's able to get away with murdering a journalist inside a consulate. You cannot let that stand."
President Trump said last month about the Crown Prince being involved in the killing, "Maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
The US cannot be "wishy-washy" about this. Otherwise, it sends a signal that authoritarian leaders can do what they want without impunity, no matter what the world thinks. It gives them a free pass. This is a situation where both words and actions matter to condemn what has transpired.
President Trump, why don't you "man-up"? You were so forceful firing people on reality TV who didn't measure up. Start acting like a leader, not a puppet or scared little boy.
2
Ok..now let’s get moving on air lifting food to those people ala the airlift over Germany after WWII. It is time we used some of our wealth and influence in a positive way...then we insist on U.N. folks get in with food and supplies.
We may have acquired a backbone...now we need the vertebrae.
2
Please stop quoting Lindsey Graham as the great voice against Saudi Arabian human rights violations. He voted “nay” and “not voting” against these two resolutions. How often in the past two years has he said one thing and done another?
2
About time we stopped supporting the murderous despots in Saudi Arabia. The question remains however: now that the Senate has finally found some guts, will the House find them, too?
2
It's been a very long time since I've seen Congress show backbone. Pompeo and Mattis have blood on their hands along with the sorry excuse of a president they trot along with.
3
If Khashoggi didn't work as an 'instigator' for the Washington Post, this 'violent royal power struggle' would have disappeared days.
The Senate Foreign Relations committee has long been involved in influencing the internal affairs of every nation, large and small, in the world.....and libs like Menendez roll out the rhetoric about the wonders of Mid-East Democracy.
Trump is reflecting the will of the American People that we should deal only with the GOVERNMENT and not provoking social and cultural change using sanctions to address what the Lib's believe is some kind of divine intervention....all while funding more cruise missiles, but no insurance to cover their collateral damage.
The U.S. has made mistakes in the past backing bad guys that we felt was to our best interest, ex. Marcos in the Philipines The Shah in Iran. I would hope we learned from our mistakes. I Glad The Some in the Senate have come together and made a Statement that is in the Best Interest of the U.S on the World Stage. The Senate sent a message to the Trump Administration doing the right thing Trumps Money.
Today my faith in our democratic process was restored a little bit. It's good to feel pride in our Government again.
1
Cynic that I am, I think these "symbolic" resolutions at the end of the year are passed in part because we are not as dependent on the Saudis for oil as we were. It's safer to tsk tsk while our hinterland is being fracked to death.
Why would I suddenly think positive thoughts about Lindsey Graham, one of the Senate's political yo-yos? And Susan Collins? Spare me.
We have been best buddies with the Saudis for practically as long as I can remember, and I am 80. And not brain dead. (And we used to be buddies with the Shah back in the day. Look where that interference got us. Now Iran, which should be a friend, hates us.)
I fear in the age of Trump and Koch, ALEC, etc., that a return to some semblance of principled governance is an idle hope sad to say. Nevertheless, I long for January and a Democratic House.
Hope springs eternal, as they say, idle or not!
2
What about the other 44 Republican senators that voted against it? That says something about their values.
1
On one hand, the Senate voting against President Trump seems like a miracle. On the other, I am concerned about calling this a "moral" stand. Certainly, the war in Yemen is horrid and the suffering immense. However, there are two countries supporting this civil war, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Neither country has a humane, democratic system and neither have a history of treating those who disagree with the government as protected under some kind of a freedom of speech constitutional provision, law or with just plain decency. The major difference has been the intense publicity around the brutal murder of a US resident/ journalist, where every painful moment of his torture was recorded and released slowly by Turkey leadership, another country with a record of treating those who disagree with its government quite harshly. We just haven't had the "privilege" of hearing every moment of torture of those in Turkey and Iran. We heard about Iran's support of Syria's gassing of its citizens, but no blow by blow constantly repeated for weeks about the death or suffering there. A Trump financial interest in Saudi Arabia is another concern, but there has been Senate silence on the Trump Hotel, which seems to be lobbying central headquarters. My concern is that Saudi Arabia's position will be weakened, Turkey and especially Iran strengthened in that area as happened when Saddam Hussein was "removed" from power. MBS sat on the religious leaders; their power could also increase again.
Jamal Khashoggi didn’t die in vain. His death has played a role in souring senators towards Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, MBS.
The Senate resolution calling for an end to military support to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war, still faces serious obstacles to becoming law. The House, controlled by Republicans for another month, wouldn’t endorse it. The Democrats will take over next month, but the legislative process of passing a resolution would have to begin again. Then it could face a veto from Trump, which would need a two-thirds vote in both houses to overturn.
But the passing of the bipartisan vote in Senate was a clear rebuke to Trump’s handling of policy towards Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and in particular his personal support for MBS. It’s good to know that Trump won’t be able to wage a war, because the 1973 War Powers Resolution seeks to curb the power of a president to take the US into an armed conflict.
2
Is Senator Lee serious: “… we have been led into this civil war in Yemen, half a world away, into a conflict in which few Americans that I know can articulate what American national security interest is at stake,” … And we’ve done so, following the lead of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The U.S. has been bombing Yemen for the last 16 years. Senator Lee has served on the Senate Committee that has oversight on the Military from 2013 to 2017.
If Americans don’t understand why we are waging war in a country it’s because our government does not inform the public and we cannot even rely on the military, CIA, NSA or Presidents to keep Congress in the loop.
Yemen is a start. Next, Congress has to lead a public discussion why our war on terrorism is in its 17th consecutive year and whether or not the use of military force has accomplished anything? What is the exit strategy? Since 2001 (the year we began our military response to 9-11) we have spent $5.6 trillion fighting these wars. We’ve probably have killed millions of civilians. In just the period of 2015-2017, the U.S. military is now conducting this war in 76 countries either as bases to support and supply bombing missions and boots on the ground, counterterrorism training, American combat troops and air and drone bombing. See Map:
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/Current%20US%20Counterterror%20War%20Locations_Costs%20of%20War%20Project%20Map.pdf
5
Now can we start getting food to the children with the money we’ll be saving?
6
Help me out here. Obama sent 150 billion to Iran who kills hundreds of people everyday. Yet Democrats said nothing. We have over 20 countries that commit atrocities we give money and support to. What is really going on
2
Obama didn’t ‘send’ money to Iran - Iranian money was released as part of an international deal that limited their nuclear capabilities. Trump reneged on that deal (which Iran was upholding) as part of his ‘be against everything Obama accomplished’ policy. Of course that made the release of IRANIAN funds worthless.
Glad to help you with the truth - it’s rare in Trump world.
3
@Thomas Lashby
Thomas, you know little of what you speak concerning the Iran issue. The money sent to Iran was a return of Iranian funds taken from international exchange as a sanction enforcement. Those funds were returned to their rightful owner, Iran, as part of the great nuclear treaty Obama and Kerry put together that Trump, in his magnificent ignorance, destroyed.
As to your question of US giving support to countries that commit atrocities, our foreign policy is a failure.
2
@Maxie. That fact has been explained so often and still, to this day, there are individual who, no matter how many times they hear it, refuse to accept or try to understand. Another display of the ignorance of the average American voter regarding American foreign policy, let alone a well aired and very old, true fact. And people wonder how we got to be where we are, and that trump is president?
1
"....symbolic, if stinging.." summarize the pretzel logic of the Senate.
1
It is refreshing that after 2 long years of being nothing but a rug for Trump to walk over; the Senate has suddenly found some backbone and moral outrage over the criminal conduct of Saudi Arabia. It is amazing that the slaughter of innocents in Yemen has gone on with barely a whisper; but the murder of one U.S. reporter and Saudi dissident has awoken the conscience of politicians who finally realize what M.B.S. is really all about. The Middle East has been a case study in barbaric practices since I was born 63 years ago. The idea that all of a sudden they are going to get civilized because we do business with them is a pathetic joke.
32
It’s more because Republicans are waking up to the fact that Trump is weak. The mid-term elections proved Trump will only help you with Trump voters and that group is getting smaller and smaller.
5
@Greg Hodges - Where was the Obama administration during all of the bombing in Yemen?
3
@DEWaldron, can't you folks look this stuff up for yourselves? No one is saying Obama did a great thing in Yemen. No one. One difference between republicans and Democrats is the ability to admit error. You can google "Obama Yemen" if you don't believe me, a lying lib.
The, ahem, point is that trump has been your president for 2 years now. I know it's really fun to yell "Obama!" whenever a topic comes up, but what is trump doing?
6
Excellent decision by Congress. The war in Yemen is more about money and Saudi Arabia's power than containing Iran. Iran is well-contained by Israels's nuclear deterrent. But since almost every president has had his own war, Americans need to guard against Trump trying to unite voters around him with a war on Iran.
2
"While Thursday’s moves were largely a symbolic, if stinging, slap at the Trump administration … ."
I wish this had been at the top of the story, rather than at the bottom.
As I was reading, I kept asking myself what the practical effects of the votes will be … and at the bottom, I got the answer.
Alas, another belated "feel good" gesture by some of our politicians.
2
Don’t tell me the “fever” is broken! Reason? Bi-partisan reason from this congress? Say it ain’t so!
That is step 1. Now they have moral duty to divert the millions (billions?) of US$ that would have continued to be spent on that unholy war to humanitarian aid to help the Yemenis.
3
Don't get me wrong, I am happy these 7 Republican senators showed their better moral compass on this important step in getting back to American humanity but tell me, where was Sen. Lindsay Graham's support of US detachment from this evil war?
After all it seemed he came out of the CIA briefing the most angry from learning the information implicating MSB as the key person responsible for the heinous murder of Khashoggi.
I hate hypocrisy. No one can tell me that Iran is worse than Saudi Arabia. House of Saud has so much blood on it's hands.
5
Lindsay Graham proved who (or what) he was during the Kavanaugh confirmation.
2
“Mr. Trump ... argued that punishing Saudi Arabia for Mr. Khashoggi’s death would risk billions of dollars of American arms sales to the kingdom.”
The US Senate did not think this was a good enough reason to turn a blind eye to what is happening in Yemen at the hands of Saudi Arabia. Give credit to Republican lawmakers willing to defy the president. Money isn’t everything.
4
The Saudis have murdered many people over the years. Because this was a political assassination of someone living in the U.S., they hid it.
But the Saudis often murder people by beheading in public. People who film these can get in trouble, but the Kingdom doesn't deny it. Many were enslaved housekeepers who complained too much.
Bottom line: they are among the most vile countries on the planet. Certainly no better than Iran, and probably worse. My guess, if there was a popular vote to become a Western nation with democracy, freedom of the press, and women's equality (a Western European nation, that is)...50% of Iran would vote yes, and 10% of KSA.
Our foreign policy needs some adjustments. Perhaps even support the overthrow of this entire monarchy. At least stop treating them as friends just because they buy our weapons or aren't openly hostile to Israel.
4
The 41 republican nay votes on this resolution represent an appeasement of sovereign murder, both at the individual (Khashoggi) and societal (Yemen) level.
No doubt that they all prayed hard to arrive at their decision.
5
There seems to be a degree of irrelevancy about the Senate Resolution, because it's not binding upon the Executive Department. (If it were a Joint Resolution, the President surely would veto it. More importantly, though, the Saudi response to it probably is going to be important. Who knows what that response might be?
2
Somewhat shifting the political ground or the “bargaining strength may suggest a gravitational political shift :the highest that can be got?
Doesn’t mean contributory factors humanitarian nature are involved instead I should call it “quasi-rents” represented by increased public demand under the influence of constantly reporting by international humanitarian organizations,and investigative journalism at the very spot.
Trump, of course, wrong on everything, calls MBS “strong.” Such a warped human being. How long must we endure this waste of space?
2
It would seem odd that this piece does not mention Senator Sanders as the driving force behind this rare human rights victory if the NYT previous slights and smears of Bernie Sanders were not on the record for all to see.
2
America has the greatest technology in the WORLD to get us off oil. We have electric cars that are AMERICAN DESIGNED, AMERICAN BUILT, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, AMERICAN FUELED. Quit keeping us addicted to the Russians and Sauds. We know they hate us. Quit buying GAS GUZZLERS.
7
A full page WP ad tomorrow--".... the Saudi journalist with his face illuminated by a candle and reads, “A life is gone. The principles of free expression endure.” Amen
This Senate's act shows clearly the unity of those who represent American people not personal interests with bloody
tyrant Saudi crown MBS.
2
The Republicans are all for the rights of children until they are born. Then we are free to abet the murder and starvation of them. For shame on those who did not vote to stop supplying Saudi Arabia in this massacre.
5
@ExPatMX
How about doubling down on what you wrote by stating that the Democrats are more concerned about illegal immigrants than they are with the welfare of America's lower income citizens and legal residents?
1
"continuing, open investigation into whether Prince Mohammed had, in fact, ordered the killing of Mr. Khashoggi" will make no sense till the Saudis agree Saudi for extraditing to Turkey suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
After all the crime was committed in Turkish soil and the suspects ought to stand trial there.
It's sickening to read the Trump administration playing second fiddle Saudi obfuscate this simple black and white affair.
2
The current web article howling headline, "Senate Votes to Limit War Powers" seems deceptive. The Senate, the article explains in its later paragraphs, hasn't really done anything but take a symbolic vote. A gesture of dissatisfaction by a slender majority of Senators. This is not the Trump/Saudi apocalypse the headline leads us to believe. If there was such a thing as a Times Fact Checker (would be increasingly useful, but since the Times ditched its Public Editor last year, definitely not where the Times is heading), this could qualify as "misleading."
1
Anything that Congress can do to keep America out of this demented religious war Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting has my approval. Of all the horror shows we shouldn't be involved in around the world, this has got to be near or at the top of the list.
4
Step 2: stop going to war in the first place. We are a disgrace of a species
3
A totally meaningless vote since they all knew that the House, with the five or six Dems willing to side with the Republican Neanderthal war hawks, will vote it down.
And notice that it is the death of one journalist that's igniting their passions on the subject, not the deaths of tens of thousands of Yemenis.
Our political class is largely made up of morally bereft cowards.
2
Thank you President Trump for giving the Senate a reason to finally find the spine to say “no” to war. We’d all forgotten they had it within them after all their rubber stamps over these last twenty years in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now PO them on infrastructure, immigration reform and things that matter here at home.
1
Is this article referring to this vote?
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00266
I, personally, would find it interesting to have a link to the roll call vote in articles that reference votes. Like, if I'm looking at the correct resolution, why did Senators Corker and Graham vote nay? Just curious.
1
Paul Ryan makes me embarrassed to be a midwesterner.
It's about time!
1
Warmongers and Trump sycophants Mattis and Pompeo MUST GO.
2
There was picture of Mike Pompeo included with this article.
Every time I see a picture of Pompeo, our top diplomat, I get this creepy feeling that he seems to be silently saying: you look at me like that one more time and I am going to put my hand inside your pants and squeeze them till you cry uncle.
The Senate vote to end the Yemen war is a small step in the right direction, but the world really needs drastic action to end all wars - once and for all.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a linguistic "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds would see the survival of a particular group of people or a belief as more important than the survival of all. Just look at the wars that have been fought through the ages over differences in beliefs. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
1
Instead of sending a message to the president or the world, the best thing that could come out of this is the senate sending a message to itself that IT has the power to control what wars we do or don't engage in. Maybe some senators will get a taste of what it's actually like to "govern" again and realize, "hey, actually _doing_ something feels pretty good" ... instead of the usual outsourcing all their power to the president and spending the rest of their time raising money.
3
@Al Bundy - P.S. most of the US Senate relies on the lobbyists to actually WRITE the legislation. Big Thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders, who has personally written more legislative bills than any other Senator... if you need a bill written, lobbied and passed exclusively by the US Senate sans the usual pay-to-play campaign donor's route: Call on Senator Sanders! Bravo!
Is war essential to power? Is power essential to a country? History certainly shows a yes to both these questions. So maybe it’s time to stop wanting to be the best and biggest and really believe in a union of nations. The future of the world is at stake.
2
When the world can once again count on America for justice, it's a beautiful thing. This move by the Senate is heartening. Be the light. We need this now more than ever.
1
And what does this actually mean? Absolutely Nothing. We will still sell arms to Saudi Arabia and no justice will be served for the horror film murder of a human being who worked to expose the corruption within his country. It will still be business as usual between the corrupt government of the United States and the corrupt government of Saudi Arabia. The wealthy and the powerful never pay for their crimes...unless they are hated by a majority of the other wealthy and powerful. The vast majority of Donald Frump’s supporters don’t care about any of this. They don’t care that Frump denounces his own intelligence agencies. They don’t care about anything he does as long as they keep their guns, keep every single foreigner out of the country, can pollute the air, water, and land, burn coal, pump oil, and a million other horrid things.
1
If not for the murder of Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the Post's persistence for an investigation, the otherwise 16-year United States policy of drone attacks -- with so many innocent deaths and injured -- on Yemen, entangled with Saudi Arabia beginning in March, 2015, would have gone unnoticed or under-reported.
Unfortunately Trump's foreign policy is based on the immediacy and comfort of one-to-one relationships with a regretful lack of geopolitical historical context. He inherited a policy with little or no incentive to evaluated it.
1
You just have to wonder if the Senate is not hedging its bets and trying to keep an out on hot button issues in case the Trump presidency blows up. Even subconsciously the level of scandal around Trump has to have an influence. This may seem cynical since it is so brutally and heartbreakingly obvious that U.S. intervention has played a role in the destruction, murder and starvation of an entire country. That alone should be motivation enough to stop but I give no credit to the Senate, they are a venal and awful collection of political flotsam and jetsam that almost never does anything because its the right thing to do and because basic decency and humanity demands it. When it comes to motivation they are as obvious as Fox News.
Good news! We need to not support the war in Yemen that Obama got us into. He also got us into Libya. Trump has not started any news wars. For that I am grateful. Now if we can get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, started by Bush, that would be great progress.
3
The wonder in all this is that Lindsey Graham seems actually to have grown a spine. And Susan Collins surprised me, too, as lately she has been unable to do the right thing. But the icing on the cake, the cherry on top, is the Senate defying our own home-grown despot. You always knew Trump himself would never defy the Saudis.
3
Why did Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham not join the other Republicans (Mike Lee, Susan Collins, Steve Daines, Jeff Flake, Jerry Moran, Rand Paul and Todd Young) in voting to limit presidential war powers?
3
That it took the Kashoggi murder to turn the tide against Congressional opinion about our alleged ally's slaughter in Yemen shows how morally vacuous our political system has become. When are we going to start asking ourselves: "What has happened to our country?"
5
Bernie Sanders be more presidential than the president.
Just imagine if Hillary and the DNC didnt rig the primary's.
2
Our bloody foreign policy is a disgrace to our country and particularly to our service people who must serve in danger and die on foreign soils, all for what? Oil? Sale of munitions?
From the overthrow of Iran's Democratic government in 1953 to Nicaragua, to Chile, to Vietnam,Cambodia,Laos, to Iraq and now Yemen the United States has left death, destruction and disgrace in the wake of our misguided foreign policies.
Time to stop feeding the beast of the Military Industrial Complex Eisenhower warned us against; time to seek peace rather than take sides in the Mid East religious wars.
9
As a pediatrician, I am saddened that the Congress only acted when there was a response needed to the murder of a Washington Post reporter. Pulling support for this depravity should have come on the moral grounds not political ones.
Naive on my part, perhaps ... but nonetheless I am saddened.
9
You mentioned Paul Ryan in your article and his gamibt to not call a vote to recomment withfrawing logistics support for Saudi Arabia. The House may be able to pass the continuing budget resolution and name a Post Office if nothing else.
Pelosi is right: the House does not have the votes to fund the $5 billion border wall request either, because it would want to approve the estimate of $25 billion in another resolution. At least DHS will get its year-end funding out of the CR.
And Paul? He goes back to Janesville or Milwaukee W to plan his next enterprise. How about starting a hedge fund or consulting outfit with ousted Gov. Scott Walker? Call it the Firm of Willful Want, Inc.
1
The votes mean nothing and will do nothing without Trump's signature, which will never hit that particular piece of legislation. The Senate dog and pony show will now move on to other useless showboating, perhaps another round of Comey interrogations or demands for Hillary's emails.
When are “we, the people” of these United States going put an end to the literally toxic policies of the Republican Party, once and for all? They’ve shown time and again they are unfit to govern.
4
This move by the Senate makes it clear to me that behind closed doors Republicans know that Trump is gone. They are already moving in a different direction so that when the Mueller bomb drops, they will already have distanced themselves from him.
Obviously Trump needs to stay true to the Prince and the Saudis or risk losing their business now and when he's out of office. So nice that the Senate bailed him out, now he can tell the Saudis, "See, I didn't do it!" His ulterior motive is always protecting HIS bottom line.
2
Many lives and many years too late
1
"the values that we hold dear": what took them so long?
5
How does constantly siding w/ Saudi Arabia, Russia and China make American great, Trump?
7
One of our Missouri Senators, Roy Blunt, who has received $19,250 from Saudi lobbyists, voted nay. Do you think there is a connection? (Sarcasm)
6
Not allowing a vote again, Paul Ryan is corrupt through and through.
8
Republicans try to demonstrate that they follow the rule of law and vote to end funds and support of Yemen war only to have Ryan veto it
It’s a farce plain and simple
1
it's just sheer politics.So many children were dying of starvation in Yemen , people were dying of indiscriminate bombing, all these atrocities didn't make a dent in US ,now suddenly just because a journalist was killed in a gruesome manner,west has woken up.Of course this in no way demanises the brutality of the murder of Jamal Kashogjj but hypocrisy shows.
7
Saudi Arabia's concerns about its balance of power in the Middle East with Iran is a major reason why the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA that was authorized by the Security Council in 2015 to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state. If Iran violates JCPOA maximum sanctions would snap back. Recently, the IAEA reconfirmed that Iran has remained compliant with the terms of JCPOA.
Trump's withdrawal from JCPOA and unilateral imposition of maximum sanctions on Iran are a reward to Saudi Arabia for the possibility of deals in the future. But these actions are counter to current U.S. interests. Economic sanctions have little direct impact on the decision-making elite but they have a devastating impact on the people of the country. Reducing Iran's oil exports to zero as pushed for by National Security Advisor Bolton have two possible outcomes: 1) hardliners opposed to JCPOA push out moderate leadership or 2) major instability and regime change. The EU is opposed because chaos in Iran could lead to great suffering in the region and pose a threat to the EU.
What the Senate needs to consider is to vote to stop the disruptive unilateral sanctions that were imposed without their consent and require rejoining the JCPOA. Then the EU and China could join with the U.S. through the Security Council to effectively address non-nuclear concerns regarding Iran.
4
I am a Republican
And I fully support the war resolution.
My only regret is that this Yemen resoultion should have passed 4 years ago when the 44th using Afganistan and Iraq resolutions expanded our role.
The Executive needs to be reminded every once in a while what is clearly written in our constitution before he embarks and not after 4 years.
This after action resolution - inserts will of 100 secretaries of state and defense - may actually now worsen the conflict on the ground that they could have avoided 4 years ago.
As to Khasoggi resolution, I think it says more about politics - than anything we can do to hold responsible - a high foreign government official.
If this means that Congress will next specify that no US funds be used that will have anything to do with this prince - we are the losers.
He ain't gonna anywhere.
2
The senate should be very careful here. Having the power to limit war is an absolute Congressional power. Voting to limit support has the same effect of supporting the opposition.
The opposition here is not your local schoolboy revolt. Anti-American and Anti-Israel.
The Yemen allies include Russia and Iran among others. Incredible vote. Congress limiting war for the first time since Vietnam is a bold stroke, the Senate supporting the Houthi led revolt is pretty incredible. Go slow and be very careful. Helping, and assisting Iran and Russia doesn't quite seem to be in the US interest at all unless that's what the Democrat led vote was intended to do. If it's not their intention, the Senate needs to immediately identify Russia and Iran and the Houthis as non-allies of the US. Sounds more like the Senate got way over their skiis to embrace their hatred of the President.
Yikes!
2
At last, the Senate begins to govern! This Congressional derelict of duty under Trump has been stupefying. The Constitution can fail if we don’t have 3 co-equal branches of government. If the sycophantic Republican Congress just kowtows to the Executive Branch for 2-years straight, we lose one leg of the tripod and Executive power runs amuck. Now begins the correction. Govern federal Congress, govern!
6
Every American should be outraged that it took the Senate to invoke the War Powers Act in order to override a Republican president that either refuses or cannot understand the importance of American leadership and values. It’s even more disgusting that it took two years for the slightest movement toward oversight from the majority in Congress.
3
The USA was willing to support the war in Yemen but unwilling to take in refugees from there.
This follows a pattern where the USA creates a mess and leaves other to tidy up.
7
When I see the sale of weapons to the cesspool of a kingdom curtailed or stopped, THEN I’ll believe there’s more than just lip service disapproval in the actions of the Senate. Until then, this is all just a lot of empty threats and meaningless scolding, nothing more. In order to underline the perception that the Senators of both parties are “breaking” with Trump, The Times overstates the significance of this measure as if to reinforce a point. Nothing happened today to curtail Salman or Trump or Kuschner, and what a motley crew they are.
2
Sadly, I suspect it also reflects the fact that the United States is no longer dependent on the Middle East for oil
2
Although long overdue there is something truly obscene about this vote. Presumably support of this war was so critical to the world order and the protection of our borders that it was worth the devastation and starvation that it caused. Yet we decided to end support over the murder of a journalist. There could be no clearer indication of the lack of justification for being involved in the first place and the utter disregard for the all those suffering and dying in Yemen.
7
As long as we are a major arms dealer tragedies like Yemen are going to happen. We allow these to happen. We allow guns and other larger arms as well as bullets to flow to Mexico and Central America. We support gang activity there and here by buying and glorifying illegal drug use to the point that when reckless or mentally ill people look for an answer, they turn to an illegal drug.
Arms are just one U.S. market that happily kills people with no remorse in the name of profit. Our medical profession is owned by big pharma and happily hooks people on pain pills. The oil companies want nothing more than to blanket the world in smog and deprive us all of oxygen. I guess so we won't think. We deserve Trump, but I wish we didn't.
6
If the purpose of a newspaper article is to inform the reader then every article about a congressional vote should come with a link to how individual representatives and senators voted. The same goes for SCOTUS decisions. (Although, with a maximum of nine votes, the link isn't necessary -- the breakdown will easily fit in the article itself.)
2
Reminds me of Churchill's quote. "America will always do the right thing----after it has tried everything else".
1
I think that the Senate made the right choice in withdrawing aid from Saudi Arabia in the conflict with Yemen, and holding the Saudis responsible for murder. If America is to be a country that advocates for peace and justice, then we cannot go on supporting the Saudi's, despite the financial gain that comes from the sale of arms.
I also hope that this bipartisan decision is evidence that the polarizing atmosphere created by Trump's presidency can be mended, and that checks on the White House by Congress have not become obsolete.
2
The foundation for permanent peace in Yemen should be the same as that for Taiwan: a change-over in the government structure. The UN should provide Yemen the basic outline for a constitution that will facilitate lasting Peace. The constitution should include the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law, and organization and elements such as the four branches. The document should allow Yemen to prosper under conditions of lasting peace. For more, see the Charter for Permanent Peace.
1
If the Senate vote denying military support to the SA for its deadly war in Yemen is a rebuke to the Saudis, it is equally a rebuke to Trump also for his shameful support to the SA be it the Khashggi killing case or the Yemen war.
What is happening in Yemen is so despicable and inhumane that it should have made the American public angry that they have played a part in paving the way for bombing of children and civilians and for mass famine. We should have demanded from our legislatures answers to why our hands are dipped in the blood of Yemenis who have done nothing to America. In our zest to sell weapons we forget that it was Saudi Arabia's extreme Wahabism that had promoted extremist ideology throughout the world (and indirectly caused 9/11). If I am surprised by the callousness of our president or senators with respect to this issue, I am even more astonished by the general apathy of the US population. We have willingly given away our conscience to the weapon manufacturers and the legislatures/presidents who benefit from it.
15
Despite all the creepy shenanigans of Mitch McConnell, the Senate has done something right here. Paul Ryan, however, will be meeting those millions of victims of Yemen on his very own judgment day - just a matter of time.
8
What about Jared's financial interests when TRump leaves office there are millions at stake ,they must consider those issues above all. The horror of this war in Yemen engineered by MSB must not overshadow the present and financial interests of the Trump family why else are they in government? A long term interest in public service or an endless pursuit of money in any way possible. Hello Trump University that is teaching America the human price being paid by ignorance hubris and greed.
4
Amazing. The Senate actually does have some spine. The House, not so much...
2
Apparently, Senators Graham and Corker couldn't quite bring themselves to vote for this application of the War Powers Act. Forty-two of their fellow Republicans joined them by voting no or not voting. What part of famine and dismemberment do they not understand? Ending military assistance might have put them off. Chalk up another victory for, largely symbolic gestures. The Senate actually voted to tell the President he is wrong.
The Crown Prince will note the gesture and move on. If something like this passes both chambers convincingly and is sent on to the President, it will put more than a crimple into the U.S./ Saudi relationship and definitely turn his head. I'll know we made it to 2019.
3
Since the full scale war in Yemen has been going on for 4 years, both the Obama and Trump administrations share blame for the ongoing humanitarian crises there. Let’s hope the crisis and war cease soon.
3
The 56 to 41 vote is acceptable, but with only 7 republicans voting with the democrats in rebuking MBS to the atrocity in Yemen and the butchering of an American journalist. So 41 Senators do not view the Saudi conduct enough to warrant condemnation. On their chart of acceptability is a president who views this butchering, when he once claimed in his defense of the Saudi's stating "what we'er innocent of murder".
Could this Senate vote be one small step for reason and one giant leap for humanity.
3
Never thought I’d write this.
Thank you Senator Lee and Senator Corker.
2
When Repubs and Dems can reach across the aisle to pass this type of legislation, they show how we can truly make America great again...
1
Wonderful.
Now if only the Senate Republicans -- those in the 'House' won't matter soon enough -- having 'struck against' MBS (+ and thus ... against 'this much of' Jared and The Donald)could muster the courage to defend the U.S. of A. from the mortal sins of trump and his shockingly immoral and incompetent presidency-of-self aggrandizement, of transactional theft-of-services and 'the coin of the realm,' I could , if w/o welcome, mildly appreciate the 'somewhat' of their 'somewhat suggested' coming-home (even and in much 'despite' of their thus-far-successful efforts to cause and continue their 'domination-by-minority).
3
The pictures that have come out from this conflict of starving children - all bones, nothing but skin over rib cages, blank protruding eyes - have upset and infuriated me so much with our government. How in God's holy name can we be part of such evil? How can we rationalize alignment with this regime? No amount of money or contracts or influence in the region is worth being tied to this sort of evil - mass starvation of tiny little kids. Shame on us for being part of it as long as we have.
6
Saudi air raids were killing men, women, and children by the thousands IN 2015. Awful photos were taken then. It’s only now, after the Saudis killed an American resident, that our Government decides to do the right thing?
3
Would someone help me understand why two Republicans prominently quoted in the article as saying the Saudis must be held accountable did not vote in favor of the resolution? Corker voted nay and Graham didn’t vote. Why doesn’t the report point this out?
3
There was still 41 opposed. That bothers me.
4
So the Saudi's connection to 9-11, its gross human rights violations, beheadings and amputations; repression of women's rights and persecution of religious minorities; its exportation of radical Wahhabism abroad to incite further terror weren't enough.
That America has become suddenly emboldened on account of one journalist being murdered, makes me cynical enough to believe that even this would not have sufficed, were it not for the fact that Trump is president.
Does anyone remember how we lost Iran as an ally? We supported a Shah who could not overpower internal revolutionary forces, despite trying very hard with our help. And look what happened! Now Trump stands behind the House of Saud. Tick, Tock.
If our country is going to engage in real realpolitik maybe it’s time to do some deals with Iran. Oops, I forgot! Obama and the Europeans did that! But it’s all over now, baby blue.!
3
In Yemen tens of thousands are killed, hundreds of thousands injured, a million made refugees, two million internally displaced, ten million threatened by famine... but nothing is done to stop it until one Western journalist is killed. What kind of world is this ?
2
Kashoggi was not a "Western journalist." He was a Saudi dissident and journalist who was tortured and murdered in the most grisly way imaginable for the sole reason that the Saudi crown prince disliked Kashoggi's politics.
It is interesting that our involvement and money are aiding in the deaths of thousands of innocents in Yemen but it takes the death of one man by the leadership of Saudi Arabia to get congress riled up enough to push back on the use of taxpayer dollars that aid violence and economic war on innocent civilians.
1
The biggest shame is that our representatives said nothing about our complicity with the Saudis, sending billions in weapons and refueling their bombers, while our great ally killed thousands in Yemen, leaving millions on the verge of starvation. Only when one person with a connection with the U.S. was killed did we respond.
1
Sorry but what really has me perplexed is that only 7 republicans voted for this. How any human being could look at the pictures of those starving children and not do something to change the situation.
3
I'd like to think the unsettling, powerful photos of the famine created from this war, published here in the Times, helped play a role in the beginning of the end to this war. Straight out of a 60s poster...War is Not Healthy for Children. Praise to you all for making a difference.
Bravo to Bernie Sanders for leading this effort!
1
The humanitarian nightmare in Yemen is unjustifiable, and America has a lot of blood on its hands. The Saudis’ heartless murder of children ought to be enough for us to stop supporting them. By comparison what’s so awful about Iran? If we were friendly with the Iranians they might turn out to be more decent than Russia and Saudi Arabia put together. Iran has a long history as a civilized, cultured nation.
And we don’t even need the Saudis’ oil!
3
You could mention that if a poll of citizens of Saudi Arabia was taken, the overwhelming opinion would be that Mr. Khashoggi got what he "deserved". I wonder if the media and congressional detestation of MBS might be based on his being the first Arab leader who really might be helpful in ending the Israel Palestinian violence. He has been willing to tell the Gazans that they should stop trying to rush the Israeli border and the PA that Jerusalem is not going to be their capital. Yes, his methods are based in the eighth century, the glory days of Islam, but they also were the best news we've heard in decades about a possible end to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and in a theocracy his dictates might actually garner popular support in Saudi Arabia. Would the Western world prefer that the violence goes on while we pretend that Saudi Arabia wants to live by our Western secular standards?
A symbolic gesture at best. It doesn't change the fact that we are allied with a treacherous regime engaged in genocide. This is the behavior of evil empires.
I wonder how the Senate would have voted if each and every one of the Senators were being paid off by the Saudis in the same manner and at the same levels that Trump and his family are being paid off?
1
I'm heartened to see the Senate taking action, but I wish they had stopped Trump 2 years ago, when he not only reversed Obama's stoppage of smart bomb deliveries to Saudi Arabia, he increased the volume of weaponry transferred to the Saudis in one of his very first acts when he took office.
Two years later, 15.9 million people in Yemen wake up hungry every day - and nearly 2 million children are acutely malnourished, like the 12 year old 28 pound girl in Mr Kristof's column yesterday.
The Senate is finally doing the right thing - please help too, if you can, by supporting the United Nations World Food Programme's and UNICEF's battle to save millions from starvation and agonizing death.
http://www1.wfp.org/emergencies/yemen-emergency
https://donate.unicefusa.org/page/contribute/yemen-crisis
2
Once something passes with 67 votes in the Senate, Trump will be toast.
1
What is the American national security interest in Yemen? helping the Saudis and UAE kill innocent civilians, starving them and watching from the sidelines a Genocide cause by various diseases?
Is it some chimera? some group of self styled Al Qaeda operatives? What is it? they minor terrorists can never hit the homeland and yet we are happy killing civilians in a country most Americans don't care about, spell it, or cannot even identify in a map.
This administration, the George W and not to excuse Obama's administrations are responsible for this horrendous humanitarian problem. They cannot wash it away, they are responsible.
1
Saudi Arabia is the antithesis to America. Americans stand for free speech. The Saudi government kills dissenters. America is built on representative democracy. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. Americans push equality. The Saudi government sees women as below men. And the list goes on. It’s disgusting that we ever supported this backwards regime and I pray to God that Khashoggi’s death convinces Congress and the President to sever ties with Saudi Arabia.
Mitch Machiavelli allowed this vote because he knew perfectly well that it would wither on the vine once the House, under the spineless lame-duck Ryan, scuttled it. It does, however, provide the Senate with a convenient bipartisan fig-leaf to cover its collective shame.
As if they really care about mass starvation in oil-poor Yemen!
Wrapped in their mantle of self-serving hypocrisy, they mustered just enough energy to pass a feel-good non-binding resolution to "send a message." Well, that should help them unburden their consciences as they nod approvingly during Christmas homilies back home about humility and charity and camels passing through eyes of needles.
These execrable cowards represent you, America.
2
Rebuke them entirely. With “friends” like the Saudis, who needs enemies?
Look I am very glad of this decision by the US Senate, don't get me wrong. But ever since the international outcry over the murder of Khashoggi I have been despairing of the world's priorities.
Thousands upon thousands of starving children in Yemen is not front page news, nor a good enough reason to withdraw military aid. But the death of a single journalist is?
What does that say about us?
1
It took the cold-blooded murder of a journalist to move the Senate to this vote. The starving children and civilian casualties alone were not enough apparently. If this is what it takes, then at least the poor man's death may not have been in vain.
1
GOOD FOR THE SENATE to pass bipartisan legislation!
1
Trump is the good cop and the Senate is the ‘bad’ cop. This is a nice arrangement for the time being.
Perhaps it's time for Mattis and Pompeo to resign.
1
What's the REAL motivation? The Senate has no compunction about taking away health care from Americans, burdening the poor and middle class with higher taxes while cutting them on billionaires, or letting the mentally ill buy as many guns as they like. Several dozen Senators didn't suddenly develop a conscience or grow a spine. What gives?
Oh, "largely...symbolic" Got it.
1
So if a journalist had not been killed, the Saudis would still have our support while they starved thousands of children to death? We are a country without morals and are going to pay for it.
2
I don't agree with Sen. Bernie Sanders on almost everything, but on this I do. Trump's inexplicable and obsequious groveling before dictators turns my stomach. Enough is enough!
1
How can America be part of anything as awful as starving a,
"7-year-old girl in Yemen", ahmmm, that's routine American hypocrisy.
America has done more than any other nation to consolidate the rights of the downtrodden. America consistently prorates statecraft at the expense of humanity.
Obama started it, Trump is ending it
Contrary to NYT's most readers takes, Trumps foreign policy is actually better than Obama's who, articulate and bright, and elegant and cool never understood how to yield power.
A good day for Congress, with this vote in the Senate and the House vote to recognize Genocide in Burma as well as call for the Reuters reporters to be freed.
Both votes relate in part to the protection of journalists, and it is elsewhere noted that over 250 journalists have been incarcerated in each of the last 3 years, due to spreading authoritarian regimes and propaganda.
The Burmese reporters were only doing their jobs, in fact exposing war crimes perpetrated by their government. The overwhelming number of journalists imprisoned and harassed are only doing their jobs.
Good to see Time Magazine recognize this crisis as well.
1
If the same atrocities were killing off stray dogs in Yemen instead of children- I can only think U.S. response would be louder and stronger.
What..?
We have 10,000 people dying each month in this country because of opiate addiction..
Can you imagine if 10,000 family animals died due to a chemical additive in pet food?
The CEO of Purina would be tarred and feathered by now..
It's nobody's fault it's just who we are..
1
If the death of one journalist will finally put an end to our country's participation in the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians and the brutal starvation of children, then I'm sure Khashoggi would be thankful.
Yet, we must ask ourselves - why now? Why not sooner! Is one journalist's life more valuable than thousands of Yemen civilians?
1
The atrocities in Yemen have been going on for 4 years. How is it that Khashoggi's murder is the only way that we can suddenly have a conscience about what is going on?
1
I reaffirm that we (The United States)have never lost our consciousness and justification in our heart.
2
Well leave it to Congress to do the one thing--the 'Trump wall' included in that--that might actually spread some iota of American goodwill in the Arab world. Many Arabs blame the US for backing the Saudi coalition, and have for years. The logic being that without US support, the Saudis would back off of their aggressive interference in Yemen's affairs, and the imposition of strict Wahhabism and Koranic interpretations that many in Yemen report resenting.
Of course Trump would never be able to grasp any of that, wouldn't have any interest in doing so, and even if he did probably sacked the professional diplomats at State who normally would make this case (although Obama's White House was pretty feckless with this policy, too).
2
I am proud of Senator Kaine for his strong voice in this matter.
7
It’s clear that trumps allegiance is to the cheap condos he can build with laundered money and not to the constitution he swore to uphold.
Those vows have as much meaning as his marriage vows.
4
When it comes to human rights violations, SA is right near the top of the list. We should never befriend a country that treats half its citizens as enslaved property (women). I've never understood that except in terms of oil money (which is no justification). So I'm proud of the unanimous vote by the Senate - this is a USA I can respect.
4
It is well past time, but nonetheless welcome, that those who represent our nation have taken a stand which moves us a bit closer to the light. The shame is this could have as easily been done four years ago.
Government seems to attract those with sticky fingers.
1
Story is missing all the duplicity in the House. The Senate vote may have been different if they thought the House would have to act. But in a farm bill the House blocked the measure. Also the article could mention how many children are dying every day from starvation and disease. Maybe connected defense contributions to how the vote unfolded.
1
First, this was an AMERICAN campaign led by Saudis. It was part of the Arab Spring scheme tailored by the Central Intelligence Agency which tapped Saudi Arabia to conduct the attacks.
Second, there will still be military intelligence and cooperation so what exactly are we cutting?
1
And why is the US so determined to counter Iran via Saudi Arabia? Because the US lost leverage when T-rump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. Bad decisions lead to tight spots that make rationalizing humanitarian crimes easier for many in power, including 41 senators.
3
US support for Saudi proxy war in Yemen began well into the Obama years. It is only now the senate has become a rare awakening of the acute humanitarian crisis in Yemen. My Christmas wish was for the Yemen children to receive plentiful balanced nourishment and end to the war in Yemen and pull back of Saudi war machinery. This is just a small step that will trigger a giant leap to end the barbaric war in Yemen that is over 5 years old now, resulting in devastation. Peace and better conditions for Yemen would be a welcome change in the world.
5
Thanks and respect to Senator Bernie Sanders who worked to get this moral issue of our complicity in the Saudi war on Yemen before the American people and to get bipartisan action in the Senate. It's long overdue for Congress to exercise its constitutional war powers. It is also time for a thorough Congressional review of US relations with Saudi Arabia. Thanks also to the American free press for shining light on the Saudi government's role in the torture and murder of Mr. Khashoggi when our president and his administration would have much preferred it stayed in the dark.
6
I realize this is overall good news, but can we pause for a moment to realize that only 56 of them supported the resolution? It's almost unreal.
A tiny beam of light in a very, very dark world. Gives me some hope that the country I once believed in and was proud of may still exist. Special thanks/props to the Republican senators who have rediscovered their spines !
Let's put our hands together for our politicians putting a lock on Trump;s pocket book, which was sure to continue profiteering, under the table from the Saudi Yemen conflict.
1
An important message yes. How about making it more than a message? Perhaps Amal Hussain and her starving cohort's horrific suffering will be enough to move this issue forward and get the US to stop its complicit enabling behavior. MBS appears to have little issue with inflicting unspeakable horrors on civilians including utterly innocent children. He seems to have no issue with murdering those who oppose his reckless and willful regime. Not the kind of man we want to support, even for black gold and low oil prices. The transactional nature of our ethic-less regime must be challenged, actively and often.
There's one single reason behind our long-term support for Saudi Arabia in this war: oil. Our lust for it has caused America to compromise our foreign policy and ethics for decades.
Perhaps now the push toward cleaner fuels might actually help us clean up our foreign policy as well.
5
No small irony here, that the conversion of Iran into a theological state coincided with the U.S. support of the Shah, while here we see a somewhat similar case where the GOP, blindly, thinks we can get somewhere by supporting yet another despotic regime.
Luckily, the rarity of 7 Republicans showing some integrity has saved our credibility.
Only 7 Republicans voted for the resolution. Surprises included Mike Lee and Rand Paul. 3 didn't vote, and 41 voted against it.
@Dadof2, "Surprises included Mike Lee and Rand Paul"? Is this a surprise. They are two of the more libertarian members of the US Senate, and Rand Paul has consistently expressed skepticism about the amount of money America spends in endless foreign military interventions, especially against nations that never attacked US soil. I think I would have been surprised if it was the other way, i.e., if Rand Paul had voted against it.
1
How could a staunch critic of American forever wars like Rand Paul voting to curb presidential war power possibly be a surprise to anyone who ever paid attention to politics? That's like being surprised that Trump's support of Saudi Arabia's genocide in Yemen is just a continuation of Obama's support of this genocide.
2
Maybe I'm just fooling myself... but I'm glad to see Senate Republicans stand up for what's right instead of following whatever the President says; we need more of this
3
Well, the Senate seems to have established itself as a paper tiger. How to wow voters - vote for a resolution that has absolutely no teeth. All we can expect from Congress? Not in my book.
There is a fine line Trump has to tread here - maintain a strong strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia and yet still condemn them for Khasshogis killing. He should have publicly pushed back more than he did. As for Yemen, there is more than enough blame there for the humanitarian catastrophe. Saudi bombs yes, but the Houthis with Iranian backing are blocking ports of entry and starving the entire country.
'The Senate voted resoundingly on Thursday to withdraw American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, issuing the latest in a series of stinging bipartisan rebukes of President Trump for his defense of the kingdom amid outrage in both parties over Riyadh’s role in the killing of a dissident journalist.'
Great but sad.
Great because they are finally trying to end this brutal war or at least trying not to appear that the US approves of this senseless brutality.
Sad because they are doing it to rebuke 'President Trump for his defense of the kingdom amid outrage in both parties over Riyadh’s role in the killing of a dissident journalist', i.e., if MBS had not personally ordered the killing of Khasoggi, it might still be OK to support Saudi Arabia in it war of annihilation against the Yemenis, because that would stop the Iranians from becoming more powerful. Sad indeed.
Now, if the annual appropriations acts contain no funding to support this inhumane war we will be a step closer to walking the talk.
Too little, too late. But better late than never when it comes to the U.S. doing the right thing, most especially the Republicans.
And, I guess, in a sense, this is a giant step forward for the Republicans in the Senate to break with the stranglehold Trump appears to have over the GOP that if Republicans don't do everything Trump demands, he will sic the zombie right-wing conspiratorial media and his angry cult supporters on them.
So the rule is: Do not punish good behavior, as small a step it may be.
Good job Senate! But not you senators who voted against the measure; you have a lot of moral homework and catchup to do.
The apologist for democracy tells us that it is the best form of government. And yet we read in Nicholas Kristof's columns and other NYT articles about it aiding and abetting the killing of Yemeni children, motivated by strategic goals. Should we be surprised when democracy's apologist's main arguments are variations on the-ends-justify-the-means?
1
Where is the roll call of votes? How could that not be considered important enough to be included in this article? (Washington Post did only slightly better in their lead story, noting that all Democratic senators voted for the rebuke, along with 7 Republicans.)
1
Republicans finally show they are not willing to yield their balance of power to the trump executive. Is there hope after all?
No McConnell! Surprise. Which military contractor has his back? Anything but what is good for the US.
1
This is heartening news. May we turn to fighting climate change and not each other .
So, what will the Republicans in Congress do when Trump gives them the finger and send more military aid to the Saudis? I'm betting that they do nothing.
The mid-year election has allowed our government to function the way it was designed to. Power to the people!
With the level of support Mr. Trump so eagerly gives the Kingdom and MBS, you’d think his evangelical and values voter supporters would be aghast at the moral vacuousness of the POTUS and his position.
Where’s the outrage?
1
I'm confused. What about the farm bill in which Ryan inserted this passage, to pre-empt any ideas of Congress fast-tracking a way out of supporting this war? Did the farm bill pass? This article only refers to Ryan's attempt to block the war powers measure from a vote.
"The provisions of section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546) shall not apply during the remainder of the One Hundred Fifteenth Congress to a concurrent resolution introduced pursuant to section 5 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544) with respect to Yemen."
1
The average person watching the evening news hears that the Senate passed these two resolutions but that they "won't stand a chance in the Republican-controlled House." The average person wonders why then did the Republican-controlled Senate do it?
I think Trump wants to stay on friendly terms with these despots, because he thinks he can make money off them once he leaves office. A Trump tower in every country. It may however become problematic for him to finesse the art of the deal if he is sitting in a Federal prison.
The Senate did the right thing, even though I have seen some conservative outlets try the excuse that Jamal Khashoggi was not a lily-white innocent. It's curious how conservatives are all about law and order and individual freedoms until they see that one of their own (Trump) is cozy with tyrants. Then the excuses for the tyranny come tumbling out.
Killing, jailing, and other abuses of journalists are never to be condoned or excused. End of story.
102
@N Yorker
Must be the "not-lily-white" that bothers 'em. (Shame shame, shame … but nuthin' new).
However, if its an imagined lack of "innocence" perceived upon a reading of those of Mr. Khashoggi's written words that are critical of MLB & Co. ... I would suggest they get hold of some Thomas Paine.
1
@N Yorker
"Killing, jailing, and other abuses of journalists are never to be condoned or excused. End of story."
Unless, of course, if Obama does it. Freedom of the press is too crucial for petty, misinformed partisanship.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/shocked-by-the-trump-aggression-against-reporters-and-sources-the-blueprint-was-made-by-obama/2018/06/08/c0b84d88-6b06-11e8-9e38-24e693b38637_story.html?utm_term=.e8141ca14f7e
1
It's a resolution and nothing else. A scrap of paper that holds no meaning whatsoever especially to the President and his Secretary of State.
2
The votes are great news. The Senate voted for a profoundly important humanitarian purpose and maybe against US interests. It also sent a message to President Trump that not all Republicans will fall in lockstep with his possibly personal interests. And finally, the Senate is exerting itself as one half of a coequal branch of the government.
4
Congratulations to the United States Senate which acted in accordance with American principals and ideals. Damn the men like Pompeo and Mattis and Bush who defend America's involvement in murder and genocide. It is so refreshing to see some of our politicians finally saying, "enough, this is not the American way. There is no amount of profit for Jared Kuschner that justifies this."
29
Surely you are joking. A non-binding "resolution" with no teeth?! The Saudis and the US are guilty of war crimes, which will continue unchanged. This is pure theater just to earn the Saudis to put on a better PR show. Meanwhile the conditions for the people of Yemen are approaching genocidal proportions.
When congress votes on an important piece of legislation, such as whether to support Saudi Arabia, I wish the NYT would print the yeas and nays.
55
Believe it or not they used to do that.
1
Paul Ryan is, and always has been, an American disgrace. Good, no Great Riddance.
89
Please post the list of senators who voted nay. Vote these people out next election. These are criminals against humanity.
99
Helpful but not complete. the Senate knows the bill will not be acted on because the House put an amendment in the farm bill that blocks action. The weasels cover their tracks pretty well.
3
ABOUT FREAKING TIME! I thought these miserable excuses for legislators were never going to stop starving these poor children to death. Just this one picture of the child with absolutely no meat on her bones is enough to make me cry and withdraw our troops years ago. How can they have let it go on so long??? It's not as if we haven't been seeing these pictures all that time, and not as if we haven't known that our relief supplies and medical assistance were not being allowed to get to them all along. Inhumanity we have been participating in. Thank god were are finally out.
40
@Seagazer101
It's unconscionable that the world sees the horrific starvation of children in Yemen and does nothing to alleviate their suffering. Withdrawal of US military assistance to Saudi Arabia is the first step to ending this war or at least getting food and medical supplies to Yemen.
1
Finally a shred of decency emerges from the US Senate
49
When the USA uses capital punishment it uses lethal injection.
When Saudia Arabia uses capital punishment, they crucifie and behead. Still 41 senators voted to support Saudia Arabia.
It’s despicable.
43
The fact that the Senate has finally stood up to Trump shows that they believe Trump is weakened, that he is on his way out of the White House.
40
So if Khashoggi walked out of the Saudi embassy alive, what then? Yemen has been a giant "Mad Max" movie for many years. It's basically the Badlands of S. Dakota on the Arabian peninsula and no one has been able to control more than 50% of the country. Much like Afghanistan it's "warlord nation" and if IRAN didn't come along making trouble the Saudis wouldn't be nearly as concerned with Yemen. The only hope for this doomed country is UN Troops to be deployed to keep the warring sides apart.
2
"..the White House needs to counter growing Iranian influence in the Middle East."
Oh, my, not the Iranian bogeymen, again! Are they the new Evil Empire?
Our government simply must have a country it can use to stir up fear amongst the masses. They can't use Saudi Arabia for that, because of all that juicy oil.
Iran had the gall to oppose the U.S. by locking up some diplomats for a year, and we Americans are nothing if not a vengeful people. Never mind that we subverted their democracy in 1953; never mind that they have continually tried to work with the U.S., including the nuclear pact; certainly we should never mind that the Saudis spread the retrograde version of Islam that spawned al Qaeda and ISIS. We love them because they sell us oil!
But now Congress is upset because they chopped up a journalist? They didn't care about Yemen before, and they don't care now. Declaring Saudi Arabia a terrorist state would show the world something more than this hand-wringing grandstanding.
48
This is good. It's about time the Senate showed some backbone against Trump.
Of course, this opens the door for more Russian support for the Saudis. All I can say is that we have to start someplace to disengage from the endless conflicts in the region. And Yemen is a no-win situation for America.
Now the President needs to abide by this vote and stop tweeting and name calling and cozying up to murderers. He needs to act like a President. While he still can.
21
The U.S. should NEVER have been part of this human tragedy. We should NEVER become involved in these situations without Congress passing a war resolution.
It appears increasing likely that Jared Kushner and Donald J. Trump are being bankrolled by the Saudis. Will the grifting never stop?
41
Please provide a list of the senators who did not vote to end this travesty.
44
Is it possible that the United States is finally regaining its sanity?
9
Oh, so the Saudis had to kill a journalist before congress had a moral awakening about the hundreds of thousands of dead in Yemen. I guess better late than never.
33
I hope Congress has the spine to really deal a strong rebuke to Saudi Arabia. Not just a symbolic gesture. The Trump administration's weak and sniveling kowtowing is sickening. The Saudis need us WAY more than we need them. Stand up straight Trump and impose American values on the murdering MBS. End the starvation of the people of Yemen. Everything can't be about lining your pockets.
7
@Catalina That is like trying to squeeze nectar from a rock, there is no American value understood or available to give from a man such as 45.
Good. I hope they vote the same way in January when the Democrats control the House.
10
This article would have benefited from the inclusion of the names of the Republican senators who voted for the bill.
30
Who are the 40 who voted against? Names please.
15
Nobody on either side of the issue seems to want to mention the tens of billions of dollars the Saudis are pouring into our defense contractors' pockets. We are not giving them aircraft parts, missiles to shoot down Iranian missiles, mid-air refueling services or anything else. We're selling all of it to them at great profit. How can this not be a factor in our involvement? If Congress really does pull us out, it will be the first time in my long life that they've acted against the interests of the military industries that put jobs in their districts and states (while so many other priorities go begging).
10
Finally, prudence got the upper hand, doing what's right for a change.
1
Interesting that Bernie Sanders’ efforts are not mentioned. Wonder why ....
9
You can be sure that if Hillary Clinton was currently in the White House, Saudi Arabia would have encountered dire consequences for this murder. But Sanders trashed her to such an extent that that isn’t happening. Sanders put his own interests over those of the Country and had a good deal to do with putting a lunatic in the White House. It would please me tremendously if we never heard from him again.
When I saw the photograph in The Times in late October of Amal Hussain, the starving 7-year-old girl in Yemen who died days later, I thought, what are we doing? How can America be part of anything that causes this? I knew of the situation from news reports, but in this world we’ve got nowadays, you read or hear the words “humanitarian crisis,” and you just mentally chalk up another one. And that says something about me, too.
The Senate did the right thing, with or without the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. If our alliance with Saudi Arabia is so critical, then we have to find a way to continue it without being a party to mass starvation and incomprehensible suffering. I know that sounds naive but the simplest truths often do.
Amal Hussain and the other emaciated children pictured were full-fledged human beings who shared this planet and time with us. Their images will haunt me forever. I pray they knew moments of happiness.
360
Thank you for writing this. It’s exactly my thoughts as well but put more perfectly than I ever could.
19
@Alan When you pray, pray for Arnal Hussain's mother. She too was sick, denge fever?, and did not have the strength to walk the 15 miles to Doctors Without Borders. I am sure she berates herself every single day. As for moments of happiness, i am certain children and parents did have their moments. If they didn't, there is no God.
8
@Alan I too ,worry that we are inundated with horrible atrocities from around the world, only to feel slightly numb after awhile. The USA cannot be a party to this and to any other wars that cause innocents to die horrible and painful deaths. I have taught several children from Yemen and I am thankful they are not living through this. They are the lucky ones.
11
I am waiting for Trump to defy the Senate and ignores this vote. That act, will get impeachment rolling. There is a precedent, Andrew Johnson did not get approval for making changes to his cabinet, with Senate approval; thus defying the Senate. Andre Johnson survived the final impeachment vote.
Trump, defying the Senate, plus other incidents (some bordering on "high crimes and misdemeanors"), will not survive impeachment proceedings.
So, go ahead, so called "president", defy the Senate. You will be out of office, and prosecuted a laundry list of things. And, you will get much more than a three years sentence.
7
@Nick Metrowsky Defying the Senate’s will, which doesn’t have the force of law, has no practical sigificance.
The war in Yemen is completely immoral and must be stopped at all costs.
21
Finally! The Republican Senate showed some spine and did not prostrate themselves before President Trump with his progressively increasing inhumane decisions and actions. How can a Leader of the free world justify that little, shriveled, dying girl or explain her away? And she is not alone. There are 100s of thousands like her. At least Khashiggi's death has not be in vain. The Senate acted in response to the macabre killing of Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia. Although the deaths of Yemenis and the slow deaths of the children should have been reason enough to cut off all ties with Saudi Arabia. We Americans seem to have lost empathy and humanity. And when will we stop blaming Iran, our boogeyman? The last I know, they have not treated children so inhumanely. What have become?
12
Way way overdue, and far too "symbolic" but at least some credit to the Senate for taking some steps -- however inadequate -- to address sickening torture, murder, dismemberment of a US resident and the most absurd lying about it by Bin Salman and his gang. Also, ongoing warfare, destruction and famine caused by Saidi's belligerence -- behind the cloak of an "alliance" with the USA and loads and loads of US arms.
Now how about a resolution asking for a "Crimes against Humanity" trial in the International World Court? And calls for the detention of criminal mastermind, pending trial. After all, he's a flight risk and a serial offender!
10
And a big thank you to Sen. Bernie Sanders for doing what so many said couldn't be done. Please give him credit, NYT.
33
Finally, congressional action to be proud of. It's been 2 years coming.
5
Why did it take the murder of one journalist to stop our support and complicity in murdering tens of thousands of people in Yemen?
So few people in the USA understand what the US military does abroad in our name. The issue is less the armed forces who dutifully carry out their orders, but those in the silence, politicians and bureaucrats who have the power to tell them what to do.
18
Let's also not forget that this campaign started with Obama. We must hold the government accountable for its support of wars in general. I am glad this is ending!
83
@Pho3nix - Does it really matter who started it? The results are there for all to see and Trump has had the mantle for the last two years. Even if Trump was blinded by the Saudi's, what happened to James Khashoggi should have been a wake-up call. Instead, it reinforced our belief in his utter venality.
10
@Pho3nix: the US have been on the warpath
since their very inception. so why single out #44?
2
@Pho3nix
Yes , politically speaking, everything bad can be laid at the feet of Obama! How convenient, to have a scapegoat!
3
If Trump means what he says, that he doesn't want the US involved in other country's wars, he won't fight this. If he does its yet more proof Saudi Arabia owns him because he owes them.
205
@northeastsoccermum There's no "if/then" with this potus. He is not to be believed; the entire GOP admin is based on lies (you know, that 4-letter word media ignores). We'll be fortunate if we escape conflict with anyone until they leave. And, yes, he's in bed w/SA.
5
@northeastsoccermum
So far, unlike many past American presidents, Trump hasn't initiated any wars abroad. And despite all his blathering, he's been a peacenik. And that's more than can be said for Obama, who initiated American support for the Saudi war in Yemen.
2
@Michael What does Obama have to do with this? A bipartisan group of Senators are trying to stop Trump from supporting the Saudi war in Yemen. Two choices: Trump for the war vs Senate, trying to stop it. Which side are you on?
7
Its about time we cut the US cord to the Saudis. Anyone who watched that chilling wide-smiles greeting between MBS and Putin, can easily see what thugs these leaders are.
We're on our way to thugdom ourselves. About time the Senate stood up to this dangerous transactional president.
Long overdue! Now Senate--why not stand up to him on other things, including passing legislation to protect Robert Mueller.
Sure McConnell will balk, but he won't be able to ignore an increasingly frisky Senate.
17
When will we learn that supporting tyrants leads to disaster?
15
Looks like our congress does have a conscience, after all. Teeny tiny bit.
7
It’s high time that the U.S. Congress clawed back some of their Constitutional responsibilities for war-making. This is not a vote against Trump per se but rather a vote for the restoration of the U.S. Constitution.
4
One has to wonder how do Republicans reconcile between pro life in America and pro killing of innocent civilians in Yemen.
27
"Its immediate effect was largely symbolic..."
Yes, it symbolizes how the republican party has surrendered to Vladimir Putin.
4
Graham's quote is hilarious. I can relate. This is exactly how I feel about the GOP.
“The relationship with the crown prince is so toxic, so tainted, so flawed that I can’t ever see myself doing business with Saudi Arabia in the future unless there is change there,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, told reporters on Wednesday.
8
@Addie The USA should extricate itself entirely from the middle east and leave them to their own devices. You never know how lucky they could get.
I was looking to see who sponsored this bi-partisan bill and read through the article twice. Saw a lot of quotes, but couldn't be sure if they're the sponsors.
So I googled and learned in was Bernie and Sen Lee, two political odd-fellows.
Is the reason the sponsors weren't given any credit because it's Bernie? Are we going to see another anti-Bernie bias in 2020? Sorry if I have an itchy trigger finger on this, but I sincerely hope there will not be a repeat of 2016.
30
@allseriousnessaside
It says right in this article that the resolution was written by Mr. Lee and Senator Bernie Sanders, about 6-7 paragraphs in. Read it a third time.
1
@dlb
Thanks dlb. Apologies. I hope there's a level playing field this time around. Happy to be corrected.
1
If it weren't for oil, what would our position be regarding the war in Yemen? A few weeks ago, in this paper, it was reported that the United States is now the largest exporter of petroleum products. So, let's keep more of that oil at home, and refuse to purchase Saudi Oil. That'll hurt their economy and make them tow the line
5
@R.F. If the Saudis weren't writing us checks every month for billions of dollars worth of weaponry and other assistance, what would be our position on the war in Yemen? Follow the money -- always follow the money.
6
"But the action signaled a growing sense of urgency among lawmakers in both parties to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the brutal killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to question a decades-old bipartisan tradition of Washington averting its gaze from human rights abuses and other wrongdoing..."
Representative of our distorted priorities is the order of the above goals for limiting war powers: 1) "punish" Saudi Arabia, 2) "question...the tradition of Washington averting its gaze from human rights abuses." It's indicative of our moral cowardice and "it's complicated" hesitations that the former somehow finally makes the latter possible.
4
Sad that we have come to a place where we cheer or government for doing the right and decent thing instead of taking it for granted. No extra credit for doing what they are suppose to do.
7
Can we be sure that Trump did not collude in—or even request—the murder of someone who was part of an institution (the media) he claims to be an “enemy of the people”?
6
@Lifelong Democrat If not trump then Jared?
2
Finally it’s a start!!! If the US is now capable of our daily operations without any oil from the rest of the world then we can now decide who we do business with. We should have done this a long time ago, but now we need to help the innocent people that have been hurt with our weapons. We know there are people starving and dyeing everyday in Yemen that the Saudi’s refuse to help. We can see them from our satellites so let’s help the organizations that help the suffering. We can do better!! So let’s do it!
3
I hope this is a positive sign of change that will last. Whatever forced this stand by the Senate, the principled one prevailed, although too late for many innocent victims. The images of suffering children were painful to bear.
It is maddening that we have to appreciate legislators for doing the just and humane thing when that should normally be expected of them.
Those who did not support this legislation should be exposed and condemned for their disregard for the suffering we assisted and ignored.
200
@MG . I have been searching all over the internet to get the names of the senators who opposed this legislation without any success. I want to know who they are because then I'll know when push comes to shove - and that time is as sure to come as the Nuremburg trials - who will be among those tried for acts against humanity.
5
@harvey perr...Better save room for Obama at the top of your list of war criminals. Better throw John Kerry on the pyre, also. Lots of fuel for the blame flame.
Finally...we should never have been involved and now nearly 20 years of fighting the mess that GW Bush and the Cheney Neo-Cons started that destabilized the world....we keep paying precious tax $ while our country is falling apart and people keep dying and for what? To be mercenaries for Big Oil? Let the primitive minded "Royal" Saudis work out their oil mono-economy and try to become diverse and self sufficient, we need nothing from them, and they have nothing we need......they depend on outsiders for labor, oppress women, and the are one of the top 10 most polluted toxic countries in the world. The killing must end, at least the USA should not be aiding the slaughter of innocent men, women and children.
22
Regardless of the heinous act of Mr. Khashoggi, the Senate did the right thing. Too bad the House didn't. Children are dying of starvation in Yemen because their parents can't buy food, not because there is no no food. That alone should make our representatives want to limit support for this war.
However, it didn't, so we have to take what we can get. The Senate vote is important because it's a rare instance of Republicans standing up to Trump.
4
Why does Trump cling to his support of the Saudis and specifically the Crown Prince? Pompeo, Mattis and Paul Ryan are aiding in the genocide in Yemen by supporting Trump. Does Trump have a financial interest in Saudi Arabia?
4
Reading an interesting book, "The Harm Done By Religion". That doesn't mean exclusively the Christian religion either. Just look around the world, and often these local wars are between religious sects.
I keep repeating this: The only wall that needs to be built is replacing the Wall between the Separation of Church and State - in every country.
4
@Pat Boice A lot of times, religion is a pretext for other issues. Blaming all conflict on religion is simplistic.
3
@Ellen Agree. That's why I don't blame all conflict on religion.
@Ellen Where in the above comment is religion blamed for all conflict? Im not reading anything like that in that comment. Odd.
1
Meanwhile everyone has forgotten that Jared Kushner offered Saudi Arabia help to get out its message. Incredible and unconscionable even for this morally-bankrupt, tawdry, sleazy administration.
10
“High Confidence “ in U.S. Intelligence Community terminology applies to confidence in sources of information. It “indicates that judgments are based on high-high-quality information from multiple sources.” The CIA has high confidence that the evidence it has gathered in the Khashoggi murder is accurate.
However, the CIA judgment based on the evidence it has gathered is that the Saudi crown prince “likely” ordered the murder. In CIA “estimative language,” judgments of likelihood range from “Almost No Chance” to “Almost Certainly” The “Likely” assessment ranks below “Very Likely” and “Almost Certainly.” When the CIA says it is “likely” that the Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s murder, it doesn’t mean it is “very likely” or “almost certain.
Source: Annex B (Estimative Language) of the U.S. Intelligence Community report to Congress on Russian meddling in the 2016 election. https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf
1
Look at those Republicans who chose to do something moral - something precisely their role as deemed by the Constitution.
So adorable.
3
Wow, we've achieved bipartisan consensus on not helping starve children to death. Big round of applause for that.
6
@Dan
Do we know if the “no” votes were bipartisan?
NYT - post the votes of each Senator.
I demand that the press start pressing Trump, anyplace and everywhere they can question him, to tell us why he supports this war. Stop asking vague questions, ask direct ones that demand he outline reasons for his position. "Why do you support this war?" Ask it each time there's a chance. Don't waver. Make him answer it over and over - not only to show he has no real reasons to muster, but to show how little he's paying attention to this and so many events.
11
Are the senators who voted to withdraw U.S. military assistance to Saudi Arabia willing to take responsibility if the Houthi rebels follow up on their threat to close the Strait of Mandeb? Oil tankers bond for Europe pass through the narrow strait on their way to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Choking off the crucial sea lanes would plunge Europe into crisis.
@William Case
Instead of worrying about hypothetical worries, lets save the millions at risk of starving to death right now.
"Its immediate effect is largely symbolic." That says it all.
2
Where do I find the list of senators who voted for and against?
5
@Kris
On the internet page for the U.S. Senate--www.senate.gov, under Recent Senate Roll Call Votes.
Congratulations on the Senate for voting to withdraw US military support for Saudi Arabia. While your article states that it's a largely symbolic move, the vote still sends an important message to Saudia Arabia and the crown prince that behaviour of the type that saw the appalling execution of James Khashoggi won't be tolerated by civilized nations. Perhaps things are changing for the better. While President Trump doesn't seem that interested in human rights, perhaps the Senate in your country can show him how it's done, Republicans and Democrats alike.
284
@David Ahern, I disagree. Sending a message would be taking up the issue when it would not be symbolic and have real consequences. Symbolic gestures tend to increase the poor behavior they pretend to correct as the overwhelming psychological research shows. However, by the comments here, it was successful in its real goal: propaganda for the masses.
23
@MJ Symbolic gestures keep the masses quiet while the coffers of Lockheed-Martin and General Dynamics overflow with the Saudi money that pays for this "war."
19
@MJ
Refreshing to see someone share my opinion.
Sometimes I despair that the American people will never wake up.
This vote is another example of our corporate owned governments' shenanigans, designed to fool you, me, and tens of millions of Americans.
19
Kill 10,000s of civilians and create 4-year famine: no big deal
Kill ONE journalist: well, NOW WE MUST TAKE ACTION!!
11
Ditch Saudi, keep Iranian nuclear deal. Problem solved. Wait, Trump is pandering to his Evangelical base. What does Evangelicals think of the Kashoggi dismemberment? Or Yemani holocaust? I guess millions lives won't matter to them as long as Israel is protected.
14
Only the beginning but a start!! GOPOUT!!!
2
NY Times: can you report which Republican Senators did not support this?
20
Bernie Sanders showed strong leadership on this issue, pushing hard for a resolution for several months. Of course, the NY Times doesn't mention his name here. He doesn't get credit for successes. He's the angry socialist who hates the rich and can't get things done. Right, NY Times?
30
@Mike Miller, wrong, he pretends to be an angry socialist but is happy to stand with Lockheed's budget-busting F-35 fighter jet and the increasingly scandal-laden Vermont Air National Guard any chance he gets, regardless of the F-35 basing's negative impact on the working poor; working class; elderly; and immigrant refugees, the very demographics Bernie pretends to care about. Decent mayor when he led Burlington but those days are long over. People who live in Vermont are well aware of Bernie Sanders.
2
@Mike Miller — Are you equally outraged that they didn’t credit Mike Lee (R-Utah) with the co-sponsorship?
Here is a link to the roll-call vote:
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00266
Lindsay Graham curiously not present for the vote.
1
@Debbie: May be the reason is Lindsay Graham is still looking for a job in the Trump Administration.
1
Will wonders never cease? A heavily Republican-laden Senate expressing disgust for a cozy ally that wrought genocide against an overmatched, impoverished neighbor?
It will be interesting to learn how President Trump’s “adviser,” Jared Kushner, reacted; probably an hysterical, apoplectic response to this rarest show of diplomacy. He’ll probably cry to his father-in-law, “we’ll be ruined without Saudi money!”
I also wonder if Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof’s emotionally-wrenching piece with the photo of wraith-like Abrir might have moved the normally hard-hearted, lust-for-money Republican Party to shame? Not pity, certainly, but every “small step for mankind” is a blessing, whatever its disreputable source and/or motive.
15
These miserable generals somehow called the adults in the room continually are revealed to be the murderous criminals that they have been for decades.
7
Finally the Senate is coming to it's senses
3
One small step for man .....
3
Trump, in NBA vernacular, was dunked over and posterized. The beginning of the end for the grifter from NY.
3
A thunderous round of applause for Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan: such an odious coward that he hopes to slink out of power without the stains of US support of these murderous war criminals.
We all need to remember who Paul Ryan is at heart, because he will not stay retired. He is a morally bankrupt poser, pretending always to lament the sad state of our Union, while doing everything in his power to support those who are breaking it apart (the freedom caucus, Donald Trump, dictators and strongmen who meddle in our nation's elections and commit flagrant murders). He is the worst sort of coward: one who tries to make his weakness seem reasonable and right. Shame on you.
36
@John Couldn't agree more -- we all need to remember exactly what Paul Ryan has done as Speaker, before he inevitably tries to backpedal and whitewash everything. Don't let him back into politics.
8
When is Washington going to acknowledge Saudis kill Americans? 911 comes to mind. Bush 41 holding hands with Saudi King Abdulah? Now Yemen's humanitarian crisis? The connection with Saudia Arabia supplied with US BOMBS and a strip of land for US forces for what purpose, Iran?
Saudi's lack of Human rights, suppressing women, infidels and free speech. Time to cut ties with another autocratic government.
15
@al; All the Presidents from FDR to Trump supported the Saudis, the difference is how they were willing to go, to do so.
Best news in while.
2
This should be obvious. The vote should have been 100-0. Trump needs to be impeached, charged with treason and put in jail.
25
This despicable Trump administration shows its true colors and greed by picking money over human rights. Never again will I believe the people who beat the war drums saying the USA is defending human rights. What a lie just another way for them to brainwash us.
4
Mohammed bin Salman. Vladimir Putin. Kim Jong-un. Rodrigo Duterte.
Donald Trump's dream team of despots. I can't for the life of me understand why he hasn't been trading love notes with Ali Khamenei. They're all birds of a feather.
If on Idi Amin were still around...
7
Remarkable that Bush 41 could Shepard the end of the Cold War with the USSR but Trump needs a genocidal war to control Iran!
1
Typical NY Times bias. No mention at all that Bernie Sanders played a key role here and has been working on the measure, building support, for a year. I guess they will refuse to report anything that conflicts with their narrative that he is an ineffectual outsider with no foreign policy experience. Shameful.
3
Sanders was mentioned as a cosponsor of the resolution. Good for him. But he's a senator, not a saint. Why are you and others complaining so much about the lack of PR on his behalf?
2
@SMKNC Re-read the article. Sanders is not mentioned. He deserves credit as he has been one of the main driving forces. This is a major foreign policy accomplishment, hopefully bringing an end to a horrible war.
1
@Nick
You're wrong, Sanders is mentioned, its in the 6th or 7th paragraph from the top. You may want to re-read the article.
Memo to Saudi Arabia and MBS:
You can't murder journalists any more and not expect blow back. Sorry. You are a regime run by repression of human rights with a paranoid view of your own country and the world. Also, we are not too happy that you have spent a billion dollars or more educating Muslims around the world that it is their religious duty to kill non-believers. Your oil does not make you our friends.
6
A very rare opportunity to say “yahoo!!” - some puolitical spine spotted amongst a few Republicans!!
1
"Its immediate effect was largely symbolic, after the House earlier this week moved to scuttle it, all but assuring that the measure will expire this year without making it to Mr. Trump’s desk."
There's always next year. If the Senate redoes this again, and the House is controlled by the Democrats,then hopefully the 2 can enact legislation to pass the legislation.
4
OMG! They're A L I V E !
9
Good job Senate! Now look to the armaments profiteers and forbid them from lobbying. Otherwise the cart will still drive the horse.
4
I certainly understand the anger over one person, Jamal Khashoggi, at the hands of the Saudis.
I’m still waiting for the seething outrage and war over the 4,000 deaths (and still counting) at the hands of the Saudis from 9/11.
11
I think that the fact that the Senate is being celebrated for displaying a modicum of spine in the face of a horrendous crime and a devastating proxy war only illustrates how low the bar has been set in terms of having a moral compass. This should have been a no-brainer with full bipartisan support. As for the House, the day of reckoning is upon them.
6
This vote is nothing more than a colossal presumptuous joke, by pretenders in the Senate and the House, that they are concerned.
For decades. Congress and most branches of our corporate owned government have been herding the American citizen like so many sheep, successfully convincing most that government cares about them.
Wake up, people, please, this government is engaged in an agenda which completely ignores the wishes of the masses, and is entirely focused on using everything available to it, to garner further obscene wealth and beggar the masses while doing it.
Cannot be said simpler than that.
6
@Mel Farrell I agree. Hopefully this changes the momentum a tiny bit at least.
This is the kind of bills we have been waiting to see since 2016! Atta Boy America!
Congratulations to the courageous Republicans who stood up to a Drunk with power strongman. As Senator Menendez, rightly states "We cannot sweep under the rug the callous disregard for human life and flagrant violations of international norms the Saudis are showing." May they be as courageous when the time comes to save democracy itself from a similar strongman.
1
We have a serious economic problem when the only 'stimulus' is to sell weapons to a country that supports our President's wealth. Impeach and divest him of all his ill-goten wealth.
2
Let’s see if the GOP is truly willing to break with Trump on Saudi Arabia once the Dems take over the House
1
Finally! Maybe the Republicans in the Senate are waking up to reality.
As a liberal my moral conundrum is this: am I supposed to cheer this action by the “lame duck” session of the U.S. senate, but still think the power grabs by lame duck sessions at the state level in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina stink?
Why would the Republican House scuttle the deal? They are lame duck anyway. The damage to the President is already done. I'd like an explanation as to why the GOP are moving in half-measures.
McConnell stalls. He then suddenly reverses course under clear pressure. Paul Ryan preemptively sinks the plan without ever voting. Again stalling.
As if this dance wasn't orchestrated. Republicans leaders are taking the public for a walk. My guess is they want to use Yemen as a bargaining chip with House Democrats in 2019. The longer the crisis lasts, the more desperate Democrats will be to bargain. Republicans are baiting liberals with mass childhood famine. That's my guess.
Ask yourself this question: When has Mitch McConnell ever done the honorable thing simply for the sake of honor? I think his military record alone answers that question. Everything else from there is down hill.
7
Key words here:
"largely symbolic"
"the measure will expire"
"voice vote"
This is not even close to enough. Don't give them credit until they do their jobs!
316
@matt
It is not symbolic if it stops us from participating in further starving the children of Yemen. Khashoggi is far less important than they are.
1
@Seagazer101 and @Matt
Both of you can be right in your assertions. Let's hold those useless legislators feet to the fire, elect more women and tighten our election laws.
I will always remember Mr. Khashoggi walking into the Saudi Consulate only one of us knowing what awaits him.
And seeing images of Yemen children, I cannot believe how those 'grandfatherly' legislators put their gray and balding heads on their pillows at night. SHAME! RESIGN.
@matt There were still 41 republicans that voted against this, including Mitch! The Times article needs to make this clear and realize there is still a long way to go before the Senate vote really means anything.
So, now the U.S. is calling on another nation to “moderate its increasingly erratic foreign policy." That's rich.
183
@Stephen Miller
Thank you for redeeming Stephen Millers everywhere
1
This may be a start, but it is no way close to being enough. These poor, starving children need more than this. The world knows what is happening. Every day the suffering worsens. We can demand more from our leaders, symbolic gestures make me sick. Stop this cruel madness now
173
@Linda We should bring those children food. Food not bombs.
1
Finally the legislative branch has demonstrated at least nominal independence from the executive. Looking to more of the same next year, including boatloads of subpoenas.
1
But what does Jared say?
1
Here’s a thought -wait till the Dems take over the House. Then let’s stop all arms sales to SA and use the $5B for humanitarian aide to the survivors in Yemen. If any money is left over, how about legal and life needs to the separated children in cages all over the US.
1
@Susan Levin No! Instead, let's use the $ 5B to fund the wall!
At last! Some spine, some brains...now all we need is heart!
5
Has Speaker Ryan made any statements regarding his decision to protect Prince MBS from the US Senate?
2
It's about time someone in the GOP showed some spine.
The failed Trump administration's unwillingness to deal realistically with Yemen because the USA doesn't want to lose future arms sales to SA is beyond disgusting. It is nothing short of depraved.
It also demonstrates extraordinary ignorance about how weapons systems fit together. The backbone of the Saudi military is American manufactured equipment...you can't just bolt any old spare part onto an American airframe or other vehicle. We won't lose sales (as if that were actually important) because they can't afford to junk everything they've bought from us in the past.
Depraved and dumb. What a combination.
2
And not a minute too soon. Thank you, US Senate. To think of the architectural heritage that has been destroyed, unique in the world just like its animal kingdom and the fauna. All those people going hungry in a country which is mostly arid making agriculture extremely difficult.
This should not be about Jamal Kashoggi. He should not have died in the first place, but please please execute this vote right now to end this sad affair!
it's impossible that the McConnell and the hoard of republican senators allowed this vote for ethical reasons, so who are the republicans working for in this vote? Ah, Russia.
2
Congress needs to vote to remove ALL support, including halting all arms sales, for Saudi Arabia until the Crown Prince is tried in an international court of law. The Saudis are not our friends. Never have been. Never will be. Anyone actually paying attention knows this.
346
@Trg
I've always wondered why the international court has not been used more readily. It was used to try crimes against humanity after WWII and after the Bosnian War.
Since then, the crimes committed in North Korea, Syria and Yemen have been observed and leader's left to continue their cruel actions without fear of the world community.
20
@Trg Succinctly put. The same applies to the Chinese.
2
56 to 41. why was it that close?
3
My heart sings to see the Senate on both sides of the aisle find its powerful voice and rejects the fear to use it. This is a very good day for America and what it stands for.
2
Senator Corker's comment does not suggest that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia is guilty, but only that American courts, with their reputation for bias against people of color would have found him so as quickly as they are known to do.
Still, Republicans are trying to wash their hands of the blood they have on them since 9/11 when Saudis attacked us in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. and committed innumerable war crimes in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the terrorists. "Lady MacBeth's " hand sanitizer would be a good stocking stuffer for our naysayers in the Congress?
1
As noted, more political theatrics with Saudi Arabia while thousands die in Yemen.
Maybe, I'm missing something but the international response seems muted as well.
1
Stinging rebuke? Baby steps on the road back to a functioning representative democracy. Republican senators up for re-election in 2020 will be sweating home state polls to see if their vote moved the needle a teensy little tiny bit down or up. If the needle moved up, perhaps the senators will become bold enough to take another teensy little baby step away from protecting our baby president as he seeks to further disassemble our government and hide from the special prosecutor.
The sky didn't fall!
8
Wow. Some semi-principled legislative action. Shocking
The President said he was against nation building wars so what is he doing in this disgusting Yemen Civil war?. Get out of there Donald and also Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. The Bush/Cheney/Bolton Neocons Neocons will not let him.
1
Perhaps I'm missing something, but if the House won't go along with the Senate this year, isn't it likely that a Democratically controlled House would go along with the resolution in 2019?
@Sledge, not likely. It was Democrats in the House who crossed the aisle to support Paul Ryan's rider to quash their war powers responsibility. There were not enough Republicans to pass it.
1
George Steinmetz shot this crazy photo of a private hunting reserve in the middle of the dessert for the Saudi royal family. It’s used once or twice a year at most.
This one picture gives you a sense as to their state of mind: Whatever they want they just get or they just do. There’s no sense of consequences or moral obligation to humanity or anything.
Thank you Senator Sanders!
1
I keep waiting for one of these articles to explain just what make KSA so "strategically important" to us. That was true twenty years ago, but since we moved our military bases out after the invasion off Iraq, they've become nothing but a nuisance. Obama was right to pivot towards Iran and hold the Saudi's feet to the fire.
3
While I applaud the vote, I wouldn't call 56-41 resounding! Putting opinionated spin on a news article, again, the old grey lady?! Not my uncle's, New York Times, anymore!!!
2
When you consider the majority that Republicans hold in the Senate and the consistent apprehension to check the executive branch; that is a resounding passage.
Justice for journalist Jamal Khashoggi! Down with the Saudi monarchy and down with their U.S.-funded genocidal war against the people of Yemen!
5
Yes!
1
Amen,Amen,Amen
Now withdraw your support for the Trump administration, you morally confused people, you.
4
As Senate votes to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, see my take here on its horrors https://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-arabs-prefer-look-away-rather-take-responsibility-1153094 & also see my other piece about how #Trump encourages Saudi Arabia's / MBS's gross misconduct there & w/ Khashoggi murder http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/trumpism-and-tribalism-run-amok-middle-east PLZ SHR!
1
Yes, non-binding and all that, but nevertheless a rare whiff of moral character and spinal fortitude from lawmakers who have shown little courage or idealism in the past two years. May their tribe increase.
Mattis and Pompeo stressed the importance of the KSA to keep Iran in check, I don't see much difference between the two especially when it comes to terrorism and spreading radical Islamism, an overwhelming majority of terrorists are Sunni Salafists and Wahhabis. The US should not be a close ally or support them military and the same goes for Pakistan.
Yes, Yes, Yes. We finally see a bipartisan group of Senators who have the backbone and integrity to stand up to the bullying of Donald Trump. Hopefully, we will see more of this in the days and weeks to come.
Let's give a special pat on the back to your colleague, Nicholas Kristof, who several hours ago appealed to everyone's decency.
Let's don't forget one critical development.
US middle east policy is entirely tied on Saudi-Israel Alliance.
This will be great challenge for US to change future middle east politics.
Saudi dismissing yemen as an independent country and violating international laws. Israel is doing the same thing for Palestinians.
I cannot exactly see placing all eggs in this alliance basket is the only way. we have already big troubles with Iraq.
Saudi's are thinking , they can buy all Muslim nations consent with money, we will see until where that plan will work.
Again Bernie Sanders has showed moral courage and wise leadership. It's a start on the road to peace.
1
I have mixed feelings about this vote.
On the one hand, it is a hollow victory after the House voted against a similar resolution. On the other hand, this vote is a monumental achievement if we consider what it portends: a possible similar move after the new Congress begins its session. Plus, it is very significant that so many Republican members were willing to defy the administration.
As for the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia, this is no simple matter. The US has made deals with the devil for a long time - consider our alignment with the Soviets during WW2 to defeat Nazism, and then our support for toxic regimes in South Vietnam and in Iran. In fact, it is Iranian backlash against our support for the despotic Shah that is a major factor in Middle East dynamics today.
In Iran and Vietnam (and many other nations), our strategic goal was to curtail the spread of communism. Today the goal is to curtail the spread of terrorism linked to extremist religious philosophies. (Ironic, actually, given the religious views of the Saudi regime.)
Bottom line is yes, sometimes we have to choose our dance partners with extreme caution, and often with major concerns. But the most important challenge is determining where that line is between defeating evil and abetting it.
And our record in determining that line is not all that good.
4
"The nonbinding measure also calls on Saudi Arabia to “moderate its increasingly erratic foreign policy” ..."
Can we now address a domestic measure for the same?
1
The stark contrast between the photos of Mike Pompeo and that starving child are symbolic of how our country has lost its way.
Where is our humanity and our basic human decency?
4
We should NOT be providing military aid, or direct military support, in any conflict without the express approval of congress. Why has congress been allowed to cede this power to the president?
Before the US declared war against the Axis in WW2, Roosevelt had to resort to subterfuge to provide older (salvage) US warships to the British. He was not permitted to provide this aid directly until the US declared war. (History buffs can correct me if I have stated this incorrectly)
Perhaps those in congress spend too much time on the phones raising campaign money to perform their constitutionally mandated obligations.
6
And thank you to all the courageous journalists/photojournalists who have risked their lives to keep bringing us the searing images of the massacres perpetrated by the Saudi bombings and the thousands of Yemeni children dying of starvation, and not allowing Congress to ignore our shameful role in giving aid to the murderous Saudi autocracy.
It would also be nice to think that Jamal Khashoggi can rest more peacefully in his grave, knowing how instrumental his death has been in beginning to bring an end to the slaughter in Yemen.
5
Finally, a show of backbone! Could it be that the imminent arrival of a Democrat-controlled House has motivated the Senate to take action independent of Trump?
2
I would like to give credit to R-Utah Senator Mike Lee for coming together with Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. to sponsor this bill. It's not often I agree with my conservative Senator from Utah, but this was very important. Now let's give this thing some teeth!
388
@Kathy Adams Could you please get rid of Orrin Hatch? Anybody who knows anything about neurology can plainly see that he’s slipping into dementia. He has lost his mind.
4
@Kathy Adams
Bernie Sanders never lets go of the bone. Bless him
This is a belated but welcome move by the Senate to assert the authority of the legislative body. The Executive Branch, Trump and Pompeo have been running a Saudi policy at odds with the will of the American people.We do not want to be complicit in the starvation of thousands of children and we do believe that a journalist working in the United States was brutally murdered with instructions from a Saudi Prince, MBS.Too bad the House would not take this important vote- that will change in a month!
140
@JanetMichael, we are already complicit.
5
@JanetMichael It’s happening on Jan 3, which is exactly three weeks from today. Yes, I AM counting...
4
@MJ
I'm not! I've been protesting the United States' participation in this obscenity from day one. Maybe you are, but don't include me.
1
It will make Mr. Trump very angry that the Senate is not bending to his will. Perhaps he will see it as another reason to bail out of the presidency the same way he has bailed out on numerous endeavors in his past. After all, his lawyer has turned on him, his friend David Pecker has abandoned him, and Stormy won't go away. Junior and Jared continue to face possible indictment, and The House will be Democratic in January. And now the Senate won't do his bidding? No wonder he can't find a Chief of Staff.
8
So, a meaningless gesture by Republicans suddenly pretending outrage about about the years-long Saudi sponsored massacres in Yemen, so they can appear as if they think independently or care about the millions who are starving. Wake me when the party of Trump does something that actually helps our flailing country, or anybody truly in need.
2
The Saudi’s have been no friends to the US since 1973 at least, and all that spending here? Is our own coming back diminished.
1
I don't consider 56 - 41 to be resounding enough, considering that an American resident and journalist was hacked to pieces with a saw and "disappeared".
30
What a joke! To say that the US is upset about the human rights violations committed by successive Saudi regimes - supported wholly by the US - is farcical.
What is the strategic significance of Saudi Arabia exactly? In terms of security, it is massively overblown. Supporting the Saudis has had a net negative effect and will continue to do so for decades to come. I'm sure the typical reply would reference Iran. Iran has no conventional capability, decades of US led sanctions has ensured that. In terms of nuclear options, what is the Iranian play? Attack Israel, the Saudis or any other ally and the game is over. Bluster from the Iranians is a domestic play for legitimacy for a population that justifiably sees the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel as a threat.
At what point did we forget the overwhelming military, technological and nuclear superiority of the US? Even prominent realist scholars agree that there is no way in which this plays well for the Iranians and they know it. They seek to prevent regime change or influence - completely understandable considering their history with the US.
US foreign policy needs to move towards something akin to a benevolent ruler, in which sovereignty and human rights are genuinely protected from unilateral intervention. Only then will states opposed to the US see them as not as a threat but as a mediator in international affairs.
11
Yes! Yes! Yes! The Saudi royals may have bought the President and his family, but they can't buy the whole country.
At last some good news from this muddled Congress!
3
"Blessed are the Peacemakers..."
1
It's refreshing to finally hear a strong moral rebuke to these Saudi atrocities. Recent stories about the "princelings" Mohammed bin Salman and Jared Kushner scheming together on how to defuse and ultimately bury the Khashoggi murder were beyond disgraceful. Since when does the Oval Office operate a protection plan for foreign murderers? And what does our GOP Congress have to say about the tens of thousands of children who are being systematically starved to death by the Saudi's...if a US-made bomb does not befall them first? The GOP loves to say we are a Christian country. Prove it!
12
Do I sense the start of spinal growth? It’s about time. Let the rebukes continue.
5
I think this is a right step and action long overdue. The support for Saudis, however, has not started with Trump. He just brings it to the surface. Even our media had been silent up to recent events about the tragedy and starvation of children and civilians that is going on in Yemen. For months the news outlets overseas are full of devastating images of the war in Yemen and the manmade starvation of innocent life there, including the death of 85,000 children. How many nano seconds of news coverage have we seen about this disaster on our evening news in the last two years????? Does the Oil money have this much influence on our news organizations to silence them to this extent ? We are talking about starvation of more than one million humans including death of 85000 children due to starvation.
4
Explain to me why the NY Time can't call the killing what it really is, a MURDER.
1
You may wish to count the number of times this article used the words, “killing,” and “brutal.”
a largely symbollc gesture...doesn't sound like it will feed many starving children of famine.
2
The republicans inserted a clause in the "farm bill" making it illegal for the house to vote to cut off aid to Yemen war in this congress. Disgusting.
The senate voted decisively, and the house can't even bring it up. This is a window into how congress works to thwart the will of the people.
27
@betty durso, yes, absolutely disgusting but should be noted it was a bipartisan move in the House. The Paul Ryan inserted clause/farm bill would not have passed but for the support of 10 or 12 Democrats who crossed the aisle. Because enough GOP, such as Justin Amash, Thomas Massie, Dave Brat, etc. refused to support the outrageous quashing of war powers responsibility. Too many Democrats continue to talk one way and vote another.
5
@GRH
I just watched Nancy Pelosi in a press conference tout the farm bill and never mention that it quashed the Yemen war legislation. How disheartening.
6
ALL war is war against children.
War destroys their homes, schools , families, food supplies, water. Future
It starves them. To death.
I am beyond sick and tired of my hard earned tax dollars being spent so grown-ups, mostly men, can throw bombs around , and little dead and starved and orphaned kids are simply "collateral damage."
I am also sick of my tax dollars being used to separate and incarcerate little brown kids.
Speaking of my tax dollars at work - where are Trumps tax returns ?
28
Want to bring Saudi Arabia and the entire cast of authoritarian
oil states, including Russia, to their knees. Stop using oil.
If there is a will there is a way.
3
So they finally grew a spine.
Where is the Resolution condemning Turkey for its role in imprisoning journalists in 2018. Another story in today's Time's says Turkey is one of 3 Countries responsible for jailing hundreds of Journalists. Think all of them left their cells alive in Turkey after that phony staged coup? Standing up to SA is fine and well now how about we take on Erdogan and do something to chasten him? Any takers in the Senate? Graham? Menendez? Anyone?
1
We have the nerve to chastise the Saudis for their "...increasingly erratic foreign policy..."? Amazing. What, pray tell, of our own increasingly erratic foreign policy?
The Saudis surely will sweeten the contribution pot for lawmakers who oppose punishing the kingdom. They may already have done so. If we did not know already that our representatives and money-grubbing president have been totally bought by their benefactors, this seals the deal.
The headline got my hopes up. But, I should have known. Trump doesn't care one iota about the Senate's symbolic slap. And the Saudi prince cares even less than Trump.
After Congress has shown already that they are okay with bombing and starving 10's of thousands of children, I'm not going to suddenly be impressed that a few of them are feigning indignation over the torture and death of Khashoggi.
I honestly don't know how any of them can sleep at night. Corrupt degenerates.
You know who else should moderate their increasingly erratic foreign policy?
USA! MAGA!
Senate recognizes that blood is thicker than oil.
1
Political asylum in Saudi Arabia for Trump and Kushner may now be off the table.
1
Read between the lines, folks, keep your eyes open. This has nothing to do with America's interests. Who in America cares about the houthis?
It has everything to do with Trump and Kushner enriching themselves through Mohammed Bin Salman and his fellow Saudi murderers. Trump and Kushner will back MBS no matter what because he is the golden goose. There is only one motive and it is a word found in our Constitution. EMOLUMENTS.
8
I respect for the US Senate just posted a healthy gain.
For me why does Pompeo bring to mind Orwell's "Animal Farm?" Oh, I know why. He is linked, inextricably, to Trump.
Is 56-41 really a "resounding" vote against abetting
Saudi crimes? Saudi Arabia has cold-bloodedly murdered a journalist, is killing civilians in Yemen and contributing to mass starvation there as well. Yet 41 senators couldn't bring themselves to vote in favor of limiting our support for these crimes against humanity. 97-0 or even 90-7 would have been a resounding repudiation of the Saudis.
Shame!
2
I am happy to see that at least some Republican and Democratic senators have discovered that many of us in the "heartland" of America are outraged at our nation's support of the murderous regime in Saudi Arabia. The killing of a journalist is outrageous and unacceptable and our country should respond accordingly
143
"Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million.
Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much."
"I make a lot of money from them."
"They buy all sorts of my stuff. All kinds of toys from Trump. They pay me millions and hundred of millions."
"I love the Saudis."
"Many are in this building (Trump Tower)."
The Donald Trump Saudi Arabian Doctrine........human rights, decency and humanity be damned.
392
This part of president behavior is not just immoral , it is abhorrently crass.
54
@Socrates The Trump Crime Family turns our national anthem into "Love for Sale."
33
@Socrates Do these admissions by Trump put him in direct conflict with the Emoluments provision of the Presidency?
34
It is all about the money that Trump's friends and family can make off of the relationship with the Saudis.
34
The United States has tried to justify its heinous support of the Saudi attacks on Yemen by claiming that the Houthis are "Iranian-backed rebels." This is a lie.
The Houthis are Zayidi Muslims, a Shi'a sect. The Zayidis ruled Yemen from the 9th Century until the 1970s with the reunification of North and South Yemen.
Zayidis also live in Southern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi concern about the Zayidis regaining power in Yemen is that the Saudi Zayidis would be activated and supported by a Zayidi regime in Yemen, and would threaten their own rule. So they decided to try to bomb the Zayidis out of existence.
But the Zayidis have proved resourceful and resolute. They have effectively won the civil conflict in Yemen, and would be able to rule the country and stabilize the political situation if it were not for the Saudi genocide.
Iran has provided some limited aid to the Shi'a Zayidis, partly because no one else in the world was willing to do so, but this is a total side-show--a massive exaggeration designed to provide better optics for American support of this horrendous Saudi action, and the despicable support the United States has lent to it.
Bravo to the Senate for finally objecting to the humanitarian crimes being committed by the Saudis and for calling an end to American support for the killing of innocent civilians through bombs and starvation.
45
Finally, a bit of sanity from our government
10
Not good enough and a response for US consumption only. Symbolic gestures are meaningless to MBL and the Saudi's.
1
As badly as I feel for Mr. Khashoggi, it’s just sad that his tragic death was the catalyst for so many other senators, aside from Bernie Sanders. While I’m happy they’re finally fighting the horrific bombings, this action should’ve taken place years ago. Defense contractors’ profits are not more important than Yemeni men, women and children suffering from countless (preventable) diseases and nearly starving to death. Millions upon millions of said Yemeni people’s lives have been destroyed. Hopefully, the US government can hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its atrocious actions.
Whether it be Sen. Sanders, your congressman or congresswoman, or you, yourself, we need to keep the pressure on them to say this is not acceptable. Our tax dollars should not ever go to such inhumane actions. Let us make sure it never happens again and ceases as quickly as possible!
28
@Tom, very true, although Bernie Sanders is not quite the saint he is made out to be. Among many Vermonters, he is known as Senator F35 Fighter Jet, for his quiet but iron-clad support for Lockheed's budget-busting F35 fighter jet, including basing it in Vermont's most densely populated area, regardless of negative impact to health and home values of thousands and thousands of constituents. Most of whom consist of the working poor; working class; elderly; and immigrant refugees, the very demographics Bernie pretends to care about. This may explain why Bernie now refuses any interviews with local media (for example, Vermont's "Seven Day's" newspaper, etc.) and prefers to talk about abstract things at the national level.
8
I would like to send a congratulatory note to those Republicans who voted in favor of this measure. How do I find such a list?
At last we have the Senate do what is right.
Now let's go a step further and STOP THE SALE OF WAR WEAPONS TO THE SAUDIS!! American weapons are being used to kill babies and children in Yemen. Turning a blind eye to the gruesome murder of Khashoggi and mass murders of the people of Yemen is not an acceptable strategy under any circumstance. Moral values are more important than strategy. Ultimately, permanent peace will be attained from moral righteousness, not from strategy.
21
About time that the Senate shows some spine and removes the US from furthering the tragedy in Yemen. Now if Pompeo and Trump would find a spine and place sanctions on the Saudis for the murder of the Washington Post journalist in an attempt to restore and iota of what the US has lost by supporting bin Salman and his murderous regime.
1
Keep in mind that the principal reason Trump supports Saudi Arabia is because his son in law, the clueless princeling, is wheeling and dealing with the Saudis. Making money is all they care about.
13
Actually,a more devastating and far more destructive American support for Saudi Arabia has been in Syria ,where the Sunni Saudis and their buddies wanted to annex the Alawite,non-Sunni Syria ruled by Bashar Assad ! The war resulted in the worst humanitarian disaster of the century with nearly 3 million butchered and over 5 million made wretched refugees.The terrible civil war,which began in 2011, is still going on.
2
So this all theater, just like the rest of our "reality TV" government. Trump can ignore the vote, since the House has ensured that no bill will ever reach his desk. And since they know that their votes won't make any difference, Senators can vote whichever way they think will get them more votes. And you wonder why so many Americans simply hate their government.
25
I was excited by this development until I read to the third and fourth paragraphs which show this to be just more political showmanship - appearing to take a stance with the full knowledge that nothing will ever come of it. More or less SOP at this point for Washington which is why we find ourselves in a world that seems to care about human rights but couldn't actually care less. A world where dictators high five each other at G20 meetings (G7 used to be for democratic market economies) while the democratic nations tear each other up. Still, I guess we should be pleased that there's ornamental concern shown.
8
Forty-one senators think what we and the Saudis are doing is OK? What's wrong with us?
9
Khashoggi's murder is a terrible act, however, the tipping point of US support behind the Saudis war should have happened long before.
432
It’s because they murdered a person with power, who happened to be a former member of their “club” and United States resident — as a journalist. When they murder thousands of innocent Yemeni civilians and push millions more towards starvation and impending death, the US (except for a few good congressmen and congresswomen) looked the other way. Our government values private profits of arms dealers over gigantic swaths of an entire country. And we have the gall to call ourselves the morality police.
I’m happy SOMETHING is being done. But this mostly symbolic gesture isn’t enough. Ryan and his cowardly cronies are still stopping this, despite being in a lame duck. That’s how badly republicans love their donors over basic human decency. Democrats aren’t except from blame either, but clearly republicans and their “family values” are worse.
Reminds me of what Chomsky said about Watergate. Nixon only was forced to resign because he subverted and took on incredibly powerful people. If it wasn’t an attack on the Democratic Party, it would’ve been a footnote in history as Nixon served out his term.
Would any republican senator have eve done this vote if not for Khashoggi’s brutal death? I feel terribly for him, but he had power. That’s the catalyst to this whole “vote.” MbS should never have been allowed to murder a US resident journalist, but action should’ve been taken against the Saudis the minute they started bombing innocent civilians. Our reps value donor profits over ppl.
8
@Tom Exactly. Our government and society are ok with killing and brutality as long as it doesn’t harm the powerful and privileged.
5
It's about time! The Saudis needed to be punished for the murder of a journalist who was an America resident as does the Trump administration for its blanket support not just for a ruthless young ruler who ordered the assassination, but for a war that's turned into a major humanitarian crisis. The U.S. needs to step back from sub-contracting its Middle East foreign policy to the ambitious and reckless Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who along with Israel has been pushing for an even war in the region with Iran. It's time to pullback from what would be a disaster of major proportions and to reset our entire Middle East policy from a military one to a diplomatic one.
115
@Paul Wortman "Trump administration" and "diplomacy"??
Finally, a sane and stinging rebuke of Trump and the Saudis. American residents and journalists cannot be brutally assassinated by foreign dictators without severe consequences. Further steps may be needed, but this is a decent start.
147
This war has been a disgrace from the beginning and this vote (among others) long overdue. The fact that 41 senators were opposed is discouraging; but this action can be a step in the right direction (away from Trump's sinking ship) for the senate and the country.
23
Unfortunate and shameful that enough Democrats in the House of Representatives crossed the aisle to join Paul Ryan's rider that intentionally quashes House of Representatives from being able to exercise their war powers, leaving this, as the article says, a mere symbolic move. This is not the kind of "bipartisanship" the nation is looking for. What is it going to take for the Democrats to stand together as a unified conference against the permanent national security state and military-industrial complex?
28
It’s about time! Yemen is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in recent history from US backed bombing. I am so tired of the military industrial complex being so greedy that they’d destroy millions upon millions of lives, by looking the other way, as Saudi bombs Yemen almost out of existence.
This is why we need Bernie at the forefront of policy making. He is a fighter for what’s right. It’s sad that only a handful of US Senators would even stand up to the defense industry.
But to everyone who signed and is on board with this bill: Thank you!
4
One has to wonder why Trump and his family are so indebted to MBS and Saudia Arabia that they would defend the indefensible.
With this ruling, and more to come in January when the Democrats take over leadership of the house I also wonder if there will be "kompromat" that MBS and Saudia Arabia will now release to "punish" the U.S. in general and Trump in particular.
13
In votes like this, I would like to know the names of the Senators who "cross over", whatever the issue, whichever Party. I think it would be helpful for voters.
57
I would go further. Link the vote tally in every NYT story to a list enumerating the party and vote of the Congress members.
20
@Susan
It's rather easy to Google vote flights these days.
4
@McGloin'
But then Google will know you care
6
Finally, movement in a positive direction. Policy that speaks of America‘s reputation for justice and leadership. Common ground. Let’s get back there.
1
56-41: I wish that the reporters would have provided a link to the actual votes, for I want to know who those 41 Senators are. The war in Yemen started under Obama and continued under Trump. So, both parties are at blame for the death of innocent Yemeni children. It is about time that our elected officials TRULY represent our values. Support the peace talk, ship food and medicine, stop shipping the Saudis bombs and missiles.
56
@Jean Kolodner ~
There have been a number of votes on issues related to this today.
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/votes.htm
5
Ryan's handiwork:
By three votes, the House of Representatives advanced a farm bill, but not before the Republican leadership slipped in a provision that would turn off any possibility of the Congress's fast-tracking an effort to turn off American aid to Saudi Arabia due to that country's abominable war in Yemen. And this, at roughly the same time that the Senate apparently was moving to pass a War Powers resolution limiting U.S. participation in this humanitarian atrocity.
12
@David Henry, there were not enough Republicans to pass it. Required 10 or 12 Democrats to cross the aisle because of a handful of principled GOP like Justin Amash; Thomas Massie, etc. (more libertarian like Rand Paul). What's shameful and outrageous is that these Democrats willingly crossed the aisle to torpedo their own war powers responsibility with respect to Yemen. So, yes, blame it on Chamber of Commerce/Koch Brothers GOP like Paul Ryan, but the Democrats deserve their share of blame for shamefully enabling him. The Democratic conference refused to stay unified and, once again, put the abuses & interests of the permanent national security and military-industrial complex first. Be it Hillary Clinton and her vote in favor of Iraq; Bernie Sanders and his support for the budget-busting F35 fighter jet, etc., what is it going to take for the Democrats to stop talking the talk and then walking the neo-con, war-monger walk? Given their precedents like Woodrow Wilson and LBJ, apparently they just can't abandon their abusive relationship with the war machine.
4
@GRH
The GOP is the villain, not some rogue Dems.
3
What's wrong here? The Senate defying Trump? Can this be the ghost of Christmas future, that Congress will finally take action? Key word, "finally." But we'll take it and encourage more of the same kind of action to restore some modicum of integrity to our country.
1
General Mattis should know that kowtowing to an unstable authoritarian in hope of maintaining some level of influence always fails in the long run.
I'm of course talking about Trump. Mattis going along with Trump's lies about MBS will not prevent his continued loss of influence with Trump or his inevitable firing. It certainly hasn't stopped the destruction of his reputation.
At some point you're not the last adult in the room. You're just one more enabler.
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American values could make America great again. This is a start. Stop Trump from decimating any more of our American heritage.
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American weapons manufacturers
are under direct control of the Pentagon, they are held hostage by the Trump administration, and they are forced to sell their wares to Saudi Arabia.
OR ‘’They Really Don’t Care.’’
Which is it?
I’m willing to consider their point of view.
What is it?
So the Senate - in a symbolic move that will do nothing - took this vote for the killing of a single man. The thousands of deaths of Yemeni civilians, malnourished children were fine, but this one killing was over the line. I cannot even process this. Why doesn't the article remind readers that - in addition to the weapons sales that profit the military-industrial complex -the US has a military base in Saudi Arabia? The base should be closed, arms sales ended, and the alliance dissolved. That would be a serious move. This was a cynical vote.
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Does this really mean anything? trump will still do as he pleases because he thinks money is more important than any life from any country. He is thinking of what he loses financially if the US cuts off the Saudi in Yemen. He complains about the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, but he totally supports the Saudis in any war they want to start. Plus he wants to brag about being friends with a Crown Prince, something he can't be.
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Don't suddenly fall for the idea that the Senate has seen the error of its ways They know this bill won't pass the House, let alone get past Trump's veto. It's staging because they know the people don't approve of their performance.
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@Julie Becker Well hopefully it will be reintroduced in jan 2019 when the Dems have a majority in the house.
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@Julie Becker
If Trump were to veto this, I suggest there will easily be enough votes for impeachment.
The KSA is potentially more dangerous than Iran, and less important than ever as the US has ramped up domestic shale oil production. They are no longer a necessary strategic partner for energy supply. No need to treat them with kid gloves anymore.
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It's a start. It is long past time for the US to give up it's war mongering. I know this decision is not that, but it is a step in the right direction.
We are tired of war. We are tired of being the bad guy. We are tired of our government using our tax dollars, and deepening the national debt, to fight oil wars and ideology wars. Our country is falling apart! We want our resources to be used in helping, not used to kill and maim and destroy.
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@Baruch I wish people who consider voting Repub would read this and act accordingly.
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@Carl Ian Schwartz
If you are insinuating that the Democrats would not be involved in Yemen or as involved with the Saudi’s then don’t forget that our involvement in that war started with Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton consistently helped coordinate huge arms sales to Saudi Arabia on her many visits.
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The significance of the vote is that 1 month after Trump's claim of an epic victory in the Senate, the "sleeping dragon" has awakened and asserted its constitutional authority. Should this coalition hold, neither House nor Senate will yield the power of the purse strings. This is similar to the situation in the Vietnam War just before the Senate passed the Church Amendment prohibited our ground troops from entering Laos and Cambodia: the beginning of the end.
There will be more actions and more votes, but we can now see that American values are not dead.
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Let's not give the Republicans who supported this resolution too much credit. They are just the first wave of rodents deserting a sinking ship.
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To understand Trump's deference to Saudi Arabia, follow the money. And, follow what money can buy--
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html
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Wow! The US Senate showed some moral fiber! How we ended up as allies to a despotic and evil theocratic monarchy in a proxy war against another despotic and evil theocratic pseudo-democracy is beyond me. We should get the hell out!
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@Concerned One: We saw dollar signs and that was ALL it took to get involved. Trump lives for money as that's all life has been to him and his, so starving and dead children mean nothing. He just doesn't care and never will. Makes one wonder what type end he will face?
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That 41 sheeple chose to continue following their mob boss is unconscionable.
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@Michael Neal
How do you think they got into office in the first place?
Whew!! All it took was an American Journalist from Saudi Arabia, lured into a Saudi Embassy, drugged, strangled, cut up like a fish by 15 dudes who work for the Prince, Tapes, Video and Direct Witness Accounts to get our fare public servants to see the light. Fifteen is the number of Sauds who butchered 2996 Americans and citizens of the world killed that day on 9/11 and 1411 since and climbing. High Five Yourselves!
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@T. Lum
You make a very important point!
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Succinctly put!
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Ryan and his Republican lackeys are despicable cowards.
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@roark
Thankfully, Ryan won't be back next year!
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Huge mistake. Saudia Arabia is fighting a war against All Qaeda and the radical Houthi's who are an Iranian backed Shite group. There must be other ways to sanction the Saudi's.
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@james Actually, the Saudis are paying and supplying arms to Al_Qaeda to fight the Houthis.
As reported at Fox https://fxn.ws/2Gel9VB
and alternatively on Al Jezeera https://bit.ly/2vmvbw7
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@james So 85,000 civilian deaths are keeping us safe from a religious war?
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You are taking the enemy of my enemy is my friend theory to its maximum expression of immorality!
Widespread murder, famine, massacre -- these wrongs do not rank high on President Pathological's "No-no" list.
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The only thing our president cares about is himself. He’s pathologically ill in that regard. Most likely from narcissistic personality disorder. Which is why we need to always pressure our representatives to never allow such a preventable humanitarian crisis to happen. I’m ashamed my tax dollars went to the bombs that killed innocent civilians simply because Saudi Arabia buys “our” (defense contractors’) money.
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@Jim Steinberg
Trump himself claimed he could shoot someone
on fifth ave and get away with it so, it stands to reason
murder is not a high priority on his list.
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It has been reported that at least 85,000 children have starved to death in Yemen. This is an unfathomable tragedy. All those precious young lives lost and we do nothing. In fact, we aid their killers for oil.
A journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered by the Saudi government and all of the sudden, we got religion and say no more.
Honestly, I don't get it. We support genocide because it is believed to be politically expedient. Then all of the sudden, one murder, as horrible as it was, causes us to change course and a bipartisan effort arises to stop our involvement in the war.
What this tells me is that human life means nothing unless and until it becomes a political football that can be tossed around for gain.
Meanwhile, millions more are on death's door from continued starvation. Last years soybean crop is piled up on the ground with no place to go and these people have nothing to eat. It will soon rot. How many more will die before that happens.
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@Bruce Rozenblit
Those thousands of Yemenis died in war. Thats how we expect things to go.
Jamal Kashoggi was lured into a consulate (a consulate, really?) and then murdered and had his body dismembered. They still havent recovered his body. Thats not supposed to happen.
While a fictional movie, the Dark Knight makes the case well that people only panic when things dont go according to plan. Yemen is going according to plan. What happened to Jamal Kashoggi was a shock to plenty of influential people.
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@Bruce Rozenblit
Because of our profoundly unfortunate public attitudes and worse official policies towards Iran.
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@Bruce Rozenblit
Yes, I agree. Human life often means nothing. All of us are guilty--people are homeless in Seattle and San Francisco, and you and I toss a couple of bucks to the Red Cross hoping to help. Then, we write comments berating Jeff Bezos and Silicon Valley for not being responsible citizens. That's all we can manage to do in our own country. People in faraway places starving to death? We can't cope, so we just look away.
What happens, as always, is that there's a tipping point. I raised an eyebrow when the prince locked up his Saudi relatives in the Riyadh Ritz Carlton and extorted their billions back from them with the supposed goal of stamping out corruption. This happened right after many conversations between the prince and Jared Kushner. Not that I'm making an association here, it just seems strange that American foreign policy in the Middle East is opaquely being defined by two youngish men with a lot of money and nothing else going for them. The Khashoggi murder is, very simply, the last straw. The prince has the Trump family in his pocket and thinks he can get away with anything.
The prince is aligned with Trump and his family for nothing other than personal gain and a personal agenda regarding Israel and Iran, and even worthless Republicans with no moral character, Republicans like Lindsay Graham, finally have had enough.
So, yes, we 'got religion.' I hope our Democratic House members are as sick of the Saudis as I am.
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The U.S. should never have supported or participated in that war at all. Instead of withdrawing support for the Yemen war crime operation, we should have been talking about cutting the cord from Saudi Arabia altogether.
This isn't even a bandaid. It's hypocrisy with senatorial gloss brushed on top.
When it comes to Saudi Arabia, we've always been total shills.
Shame.
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Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-2ZW
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