As Donald Trump embarks on his first international trip, including to Saudi Arabia, stand with us to end US support for the Saudi-UAE led war in Yemen.

The Trump administration has approved the resumption of sales of precision-guided munitions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a heartless reversal of the previous administration’s freeze over concerns about heavy civilian casualties. Now, Trump & co. are offering a $110 billion weapons deal to one of the world’s leading human rights abusers, and just days ago, the administration approved a $2 billion arms deal to the United Arab Emirates, the US and Saudi Arabia’s closest ally in the devastating war in Yemen. The US should not be selling weapons to major human rights abusers and some of the most undemocratic and repressive governments in the world..

Yemen is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and the US-backed Saudi-UAE led coalition is responsible. Since their bombing campaign in Yemen began two years ago, more than 10,000 people have been killed, and millions have been forced from their homes. As a weapon of war, the Saudi Coalition is inflicting starvation on the population by blockading the country’s ports.  Fourteen million out of 26 million Yemenis are food insecure and Yemen is standing at the brink of famine.

Right now, all eyes are on the Port of Hodeida, which is a main entry point for a vast majority (70%) of Yemen’s food, medicine, and aid which 80% of the population depends on. Coalition forces have already imposed a blockade on the port and destroyed many of the vital roadways and bridges in Hodeida province. Now, many fear a military attack on the port, which would threaten the lives of over a million children already suffering from malnutrition. In response to the threat, the United Nations and aid organizations are busy preparing humanitarian contingency plans.

The attack can be prevented. As Reuters stated, “the coalition of Gulf Arab countries might still be waiting for a go-ahead from its Western allies [to] launch the Hodeida offensive.” The US must act now and use its influence to stop provoking militarism and start using diplomacy in Yemen.

In 2016, UFPJ and our partners, helped kick-off a campaign to challenge the problematic US-Saudi alliance and recently, we have supported the leadership of some members of Congress who have stood up to the war-makers in Washington on Yemen.

In September of last year, your calls, letters, and coordinated efforts pushed 26 senators to support a bipartisan proposal to block a pending $1.15 billion United States arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

"We are complicit and actively involved with war in Yemen. There's been no debate in Congress, really no debate in the public sphere, over whether or not we should be at war in Yemen", said Senator Rand Paul at the time. “We are currently doing inflight refueling of bombers, Saudi Arabian bombers that are bombing in Yemen. We are helping to select sites and we actually have had Special Forces involved in these decisions in the theatre as well."

"There have already been thousands and thousands of civilians killed", said Senator Chris Murphy. "If you talk to Yemenis, they will tell you that this is perceived inside Yemen as not a Saudi-led bombing campaign, which it's broadly advertised in the newspapers, but as a US bombing campaign or at best a US-Saudi bombing campaign. There is a US imprint on every civilian death inside Yemen, which is radicalizing the people this country against the United States."

That Senate resolution failed, but in December growing pressure amid concerns over the Yemen War led the Obama administration to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

In March, Congressman Ted Lieu and Congressman John Conyers, Jr. led 52 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “urging him to use all diplomatic tools to help open the Yemeni port of Hodeida to international humanitarian aid organizations to allow them to deliver critical food, fuel and medicine into northern Yemen”,

Weeks later, Representatives Mark Pocan, Justin Amash, Ted Lieu, Walter B. Jones, and Barbara Lee were joined by 55 of their peers in a letter to the President stating that: “engaging our military against Yemen’s Houthis when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers clearly delineated in the Constitution. For this reason, we write to request that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) provide, without delay, any legal justification that it would cite if the administration intends to engage in direct hostilities against Yemen’s Houthis without seeking congressional authorization.”

“Administration officials have proposed the US. participate directly in an attack on Yemen's major port”, said Rep. Mark Pocan. “Such an attack could push the country into full-blown famine, where nearly half a million children in Yemen are facing starvation”.

“President Trump does not have the authority to send US forces to battle the Houthis in Yemen, period”, Congressman Ted Lieu said. “Once again, the Administration appears ready to ramp up US involvement in a complicated civil war without a clear strategy in place or the necessary authorization from Congress. A unilateral decision for direct US involvement in Yemen would be met by swift, bipartisan opposition”.

While Donald Trump goes to Saudi Arabia to sell weapons to the murderous Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, tell Congress that US should be working for a ceasefire and peace negotiations instead.

Peace activists are pressing forward through protest, lobbying, vigils, and even fasting to end to the war in Yemen. Our movement must continue to lead with actions to prevent an imminent attack on Hodeida, to stop arming and aiding the Saudi led coalition, and to support the work of humanitarian aid organizations on the ground in Yemen.

Enter your information and click the button that says "Start Writing" to send a letter now! Tell Congress:  No weapons to Saudi Arabia! No attack on Hodeida! Stop supporting the Saudi-UAE led war in Yemen!