A Republican U.S. senator was dissatisfied with the support of the United States for multinational coalition forces to intervene in the Yemeni conflict, and tried to prevent the United States from selling $300 million of arms to Bahrain, one of the members of the coalition forces.
However, the bill proposed by this member was strangled in the Senate on the 15th.
As the war in Yemen continues and the humanitarian crisis is severe, more and more Americans feel uneasy about their continued involvement in the war in Yemen. Members of both the Republican and Democratic parties try to put the brakes on the US arms sales projects to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other countries.
[The "signal" is suspended]
Rand Paul, a Republican senator representing Kentucky, launched a bill to prevent the United States from selling US $300 million of arms to the Gulf state of Bahrain. According to his statement, he intended to send a signal to the government that "the United States does not want to be involved in the conflict with Yemen".
The Hussain armed forces occupied Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and the southern region in 2014, forcing President Abdullah Mansour Hadi to seek refuge in Saudi Arabia. The multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched the "decisive storm" operation in March 2015 and has been involved in the Yemeni civil war since then.
Bahrain is a member of the coalition, and the United States has been providing support to the coalition. Many people speculate that American arms sold to Bahrain will eventually be used in the Yemeni battlefield.
The White House threatened on the 15th that President Donald Trump would use his veto power if the Senate passed the bill initiated by Paul. The White House promised in the statement that 300 million dollars of arms would be used to defend Bahrain's territory. In addition, the United States has about 7800 troops in Bahrain, which needs to consider the interests of the United States.
The Associated Press reported that later on the 15th, the Senate voted 77 against and 21 in favor, and the bill was put on hold. Many senators told reporters that although they voted to shelve the bill, they were uneasy about the continued involvement of the United States in the war in Yemen.
[The "unease" is spreading]
In addition, three Republican and three Democratic members of the Congress jointly submitted a bill to the Senate on the 15th, seeking to stop the US arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
There have been many similar voices in the United States before, but President Trump denounced such demands as "stupid", because Saudi Arabia can buy arms from other countries even if it does not import arms from the United States.
In the House of Representatives, Luo Connor, a Democrat representing California, had previously submitted a bill seeking to end the government's support for the coalition forces within 30 days, unless Congress authorized an extension. However, this bill was strangled by Republican bigwigs on the 14th, and Democratic lawmakers generally expressed disappointment.
Tulsi Gabad, a representative of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, said that the United States "should have ended its support for the coalition long ago" and "must stop all support for Saudi Arabia" to stop stirring up the troubled waters of the war in Yemen.
The United Nations is making good offices efforts to facilitate the parties to the Yemeni conflict to hold peace talks in Sweden before the end of this year, so as to prevent the humanitarian crisis from further worsening.
Mark Lokok, the Under Secretary General of the United Nations in charge of humanitarian affairs, warned last month that a major famine was imminent and was estimated to affect 14 million Yemenis, equivalent to half of the country's population. (Yang Shuyi) (Special draft of Xinhua News Agency)
