WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.

A Saudi soldier fires a mortar towards Houthi movement position, at the Saudi border with Yemen April 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom’s air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington.

The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama’s government over Saudi Arabia’s practices in Yemen’s 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.

It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama’s administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.

Still, the decision was not the cut-off in support that Saudi Arabia’s biggest critics had hoped for and much of the U.S. military relationship will remain intact.

For example, the United States will keep refueling Saudi-led coalition aircraft involved in the campaign, and it is not cutting off all arms sales to the kingdom. And, in a nod to Saudi Arabia’s security concerns, Washington will share more intelligence on the Saudi border with Yemen.

The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi movement. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis.

Rights groups say Saudi-led coalition attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.

“I think it’s a signal but too weak of a signal,” said William Hartung of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responding to the U.S. decision. “As long as they’re going to refueling aircraft which is central to the bombing campaign, it’s hard to see that they’re using all the leverage they have,” said Hartung, who authored a report earlier this year on U.S. arms offers to Saudi Arabia during Obama’s tenure.

An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “systemic, endemic” problems in Saudi Arabia’s targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.

“We’ve decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions),” the official said.

“That’s obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties,” the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.

The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.

A Raytheon spokesman referred questions to the Pentagon and State Department. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing he was unaware of the Reuters report.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials.

REFUELING TO CONTINUE

The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.

Human rights groups, which have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets, said the move by Washington was not enough. “This move falls far short of what is needed to end civilian bloodshed and alleviate suffering in Yemen,” said Amnesty International’s Samah Hadid in Beirut.

The rights groups pointed to the continued refueling of coalition planes, which the Obama administration official said for now was “not going to be touched.”

Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California and a leading advocate in Congress for a suspension of U.S. cooperation with the Saudi-led coalition, said he was pleased the Obama administration had moved to cut off some arms sales, but he also felt the administration had not gone far enough.

“It is completely bizarre that they are continuing to refuel Saudi jets that drop bombs on civilians in Yemen,” Lieu said.

SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called “smart weapons” helped in reducing civilian casualties.

But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing.

“It’s not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it’s that they’re not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral,” the official said.

The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition’s air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel.

“Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen,” the official said.

Reuters reported earlier on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war.

In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.

Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen. </s> The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom’s air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington.

The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama’s government over Saudi Arabia’s practices in Yemen’s 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.

It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama’s administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Iran-allied Houthi movement.

Rights groups say attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.

An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “systemic, endemic” problems in Saudi Arabia’s targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.

“We’ve decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions),” the official said.

“That’s obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties,” the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.

The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.

At the same time, the United States has decided to increase efforts to address long-standing Saudi concerns by focusing more on border security, the official said. The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthis.

“They’ve made a very strong request for greater intelligence sharing and more support for their border,” the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi embassy officials.

The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.

Human rights groups have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets. The United States says it has not vetted or selected Saudi targets in Yemen.

The Obama administration official said the United States would not halt refueling of the Saudi-led coalition planes.

“For now that’s not going to be touched. Again, the review could continue and people could make a different decision in the coming weeks,” the official said.

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called “smart weapons” helped in reducing civilian casualties.

Last year, the Obama administration even had the U.S. military send precision-guided munitions from its own stocks to replenish dwindling Saudi-led coalition supplies, a source close to the Saudi government has said.

But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing.

“It’s not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it’s that they’re not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral,” the official said.

The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.

In an effort to reduce civilian casualties, the United States gave the Saudis detailed lists of sites to avoid bombing, Reuters has previously reported. But jets in the Saudi-led coalition have hit at least one target on that list.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition’s air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel.

“Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen,” the official said.

Reuters reported earlier this year on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war.

In the view of some officials, U.S. refueling and logistical support of Riyadh’s air force - even more than the arms sales - risked making the United States a party to the Yemen conflict under international law.

In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.

Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen. </s> The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom’s air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington.

The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama’s government over Saudi Arabia’s practices in Yemen’s 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.

It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama’s administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.

Still, the decision was not the cut-off in support that Saudi Arabia’s biggest critics had hoped for and much of the U.S. military relationship will remain intact.

For example, the United States will keep refueling Saudi-led coalition aircraft involved in the campaign, and it is not cutting off all arms sales to the kingdom. And, in a nod to Saudi Arabia’s security concerns, Washington will share more intelligence on the Saudi border with Yemen.

The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi movement. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis.

Rights groups say Saudi-led coalition attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.

“I think it’s a signal but too weak of a signal,” said William Hartung of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responding to the U.S. decision. “As long as they’re going to refueling aircraft which is central to the bombing campaign, it’s hard to see that they’re using all the leverage they have,” said Hartung, who authored a report earlier this year on U.S. arms offers to Saudi Arabia during Obama’s tenure.

An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “systemic, endemic” problems in Saudi Arabia’s targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.

“We’ve decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions),” the official said.

“That’s obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties,” the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.

The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.

A Raytheon spokesman referred questions to the Pentagon and State Department. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing he was unaware of the Reuters report.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials.

REFUELING TO CONTINUE

The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.

Human rights groups, which have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets, said the move by Washington was not enough. “This move falls far short of what is needed to end civilian bloodshed and alleviate suffering in Yemen,” said Amnesty International’s Samah Hadid in Beirut.

The rights groups pointed to the continued refueling of coalition planes, which the Obama administration official said for now was “not going to be touched.”

Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California and a leading advocate in Congress for a suspension of U.S. cooperation with the Saudi-led coalition, said he was pleased the Obama administration had moved to cut off some arms sales, but he also felt the administration had not gone far enough.

“It is completely bizarre that they are continuing to refuel Saudi jets that drop bombs on civilians in Yemen,” Lieu said.

SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called “smart weapons” helped in reducing civilian casualties.

But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing.

“It’s not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it’s that they’re not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral,” the official said.

The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition’s air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel.

“Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen,” the official said.

Reuters reported earlier on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war.

In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.

Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen. </s> WASHINGTON — The United States is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about the killing of civilians in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday, while ramping up support for Saudi’s border defenses and other intelligence-sharing.

The decision to pull back planned sales of precision-guided munitions stems from a review ordered by the White House in October following the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen that killed more than 140 people, thrusting longstanding concerns about civilian casualties into the spotlight. Human rights groups have said the Saudis have targeted houses, hospitals and schools, and have pressured the U.S. to withdraw support for the Saudi coalition, which is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In addition to halting the sales of munitions, the Obama administration is curbing some intelligence-sharing with Saudi Arabia that could be used in ways that would lead to civilian casualties, the official said, while declining to provide details. The U.S. also is looking to “refocus” the training it conducts for Saudi Arabia’s air force to address U.S. concerns about how the Saudis choose their targets.

The Pentagon, the State Department and other U.S. agencies were involved in the retooling of support for Saudi Arabia, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity. The official said the decision reflected deep concerns about Saudi targeting methods and the desire to show that U.S. military aid is not a “blank check.”

Other U.S. support for Saudi’s coalition will continue unimpeded, including refueling of coalition aircraft by the U.S. military. And the U.S. is increasing the amount of information and analysis it shares with Saudi Arabia about threats to the Saudi border, reflecting Saudi concerns about extremists crossing over the border from Yemen to launch attacks inside Saudi Arabia.

Other military sales to Saudi Arabia are expected to continue unimpeded, such as $3.5 billion worth of Chinook cargo helicopters and equipment that the State Department approved last week. That aid was intended to bolster the kingdom’s “homeland defense and deter regional threats,” a nod to Saudi concerns about attacks Houthi rebels have launched across the border in Saudi Arabia.

The mixed approach — scaling back support for the Saudis in some areas while increasing it in others — illustrated the complex military relationship between the two countries and Washington’s desire not to abandon the Saudis wholesale in Yemen. While the U.S. has been dismayed by the brash way the Saudis have prosecuted the conflict, the Obama administration has sought to keep the pressure on the Houthis, whose failure to abide by previous cease-fire deals has vexed diplomatic efforts to reduce violence.

The Saudis are leading a coalition of mostly Arab countries fighting on behalf of an internationally recognized government in Yemen. The conflict began in March 2015 and has killed roughly 9,000 people, creating a humanitarian crisis and famine conditions in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest nation.

Fueling U.S. concerns about the Shiite Houthis are their ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia’s chief rival for regional influence in the Middle East. The U.S. accuses Iran of supplying weapons to the Houthis, with the U.S. Navy saying it has intercepted several boats carrying Iranian weapons suspected of being mid-journey to Yemen. Iran has said it supports the Houthis but has denied arming them.

In October, the U.S. involved itself even further in the conflict when the U.S. military launched missile strikes on Houthi-controlled radar sites, in what the U.S. called self-defense following Houthi missile fire on U.S. Navy ships. Previously, American military strikes in Yemen had been limited to drone strikes against the local al-Qaida affiliate.

Yet some lawmakers and human rights groups have suggested the U.S. could be considered complicit in Saudi war crimes in Yemen because of its support for the coalition, which has included advice on airstrikes.

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Thursday that would end all U.S. involvement with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, rebuffing President Donald Trump’s policy of continued support for the kingdom.

As the resolution had already passed the Senate, the vote in the Democratic-led House sends the measure to the White House, which said last month Trump would issue a veto. It would be the second of his presidency.

The vote in the House was 247-175, as 16 Republicans joined the majority Democrats in backing the rare use of the War Powers Act, which limits the president’s ability to send troops into action.

Thursday’s vote marked the first time both chambers of Congress have supported a War Powers resolution.

“The president will have to face the reality that Congress is no longer going to ignore its constitutional obligations when it comes to foreign policy,” Representative Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said before the vote.

Still, neither the House tally nor the 54-46 bipartisan vote in the Senate, where Republicans have a slim majority, would be enough to override a veto.

The four-year-long civil war in Yemen, which pits the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels backed by Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Backers of the War Powers resolution said the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen had made the humanitarian crisis worse, harshly criticizing Riyadh for killing civilians.

They also argued that U.S. involvement in Yemen violated the constitutional requirement that Congress, not the president, should determine when the country goes to war.

Resolution opponents argued that support for the Saudi-led coalition was not an appropriate use of the War Powers Act, because the military provides support such as targeting assistance, not troops on the ground.

They also argued that it could boost Iran, arch-rival of U.S. ally Israel.

Defense Department spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement after the vote that new restrictions on U.S. military support could “increase civilian casualties, jeopardize cooperation with our partners on counterterrorism, undercut UN-led peace negotiations at a critical point, and embolden Iran.”

Getting the measure passed took months, but support grew after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in October.

Both Democrats and Republicans have said they believe Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for Khashoggi’s death. Riyadh has denied he ordered the killing.

House Republicans derailed the resolution earlier this year by tying it to a measure condemning anti-Semitism. They tried to stop it again on Thursday by adding a provision opposing the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement tied to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

That effort failed in the House and was condemned by the House Democratic majority leader, Representative Steny Hoyer, as a “cynical, political ploy.”

Overcoming Trump’s veto would require two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and House. </s> WASHINGTON — The United States is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about the killing of civilians in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday, while ramping up support for Saudi's border defenses and other intelligence-sharing.

The decision to pull back planned sales of precision-guided munitions stems from a review ordered by the White House in October following the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen that killed more than 140 people, thrusting longstanding concerns about civilian casualties into the spotlight. The official wasn't authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

Human rights groups have said the Saudis have targeted houses, hospitals and schools, and have pressured the U.S. to withdraw support for the Saudi coalition, which is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In addition to halting the sales of munitions, the Obama administration is curbing some intelligence-sharing with Saudi Arabia that could be used in ways that would lead to civilian casualties, officials said, though they declined to offer details. The U.S. also is looking to "refocus" the training it conducts for Saudi Arabia's air force to address U.S. concerns about how the Saudis choose their targets.

Other U.S. support for Saudi's coalition will continue unimpeded, including refueling of coalition aircraft by the U.S. military. And the U.S. is increasing the amount of information and analysis it shares with Saudi Arabia about threats to the Saudi border, reflecting Saudi concerns about extremists crossing over the border from Yemen to launch attacks inside Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis are leading a coalition of mostly Arab countries fighting on behalf of an internationally recognized government in Yemen, against Houthi rebels that the U.S. says are receiving arms supplies from Iran. The conflict began in March 2015 and has killed roughly 9,000 people, creating a humanitarian crisis and famine conditions in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation. </s> Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted in support of S.J.Res.7 on Thursday, April, 4, 2019, a resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen. The Congresswoman has been a leading voice in Congress calling for an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, which Congress has not authorized, and which has created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion.

Just before the vote, Rep. Gabbard spoke on the House Floor urging her colleagues to recognize the urgency of this crisis and to vote to pass the legislation.

The House of Representatives voted 247-175 to pass S.J.Res.7, and it now heads to President Trump for his signature or veto.

“Right now the United States continues to support Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war in Yemen. This support has been ongoing since 2015 and yet has never been authorized by Congress. It must end now.

“U.S. support for this war has resulted in dire consequences. Just last week the Saudi coalition bombed a hospital, they’ve bombed school buses, weddings, markets, funerals. Tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians killed. Millions more are in dire need of humanitarian aid, starving and sick without access to food and water or basic medicine. This has created the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.

“We’re voting later today on an important bill to finally, finally end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. We need to put politics aside. Lives are at stake. We cannot afford to delay. I urge my colleagues to recognize the urgency with which we must act to vote against any attempts to delay or block this bill and vote to pass S.J.Res.7 today.”

Background: Rep. Gabbard is a leading voice for peace in Congress, advocating against counterproductive, regime-change wars. She has called for ending support for Saudi Arabia, pushed for additional oversight on acquisition and cross-service agreements (Section 1271 of the FY19 NDAA), supported three resolutions in the 115th Congress (H.Con.Res.81, H.Con.Res.138, and H.Con.Res.142) that sought to stop U.S. military participation in Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis in Yemen, in addition to bipartisan legislation (H.R.7082) that would immediately stop all military sales and aid to the government of Saudi Arabia, and more. The congresswoman also led a letter calling on former Speaker Paul Ryan to schedule an immediate vote on a bipartisan resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Last congress, Reps. Gabbard and Walter Jones introduced H.Res.922, which would reclaim Congress’s constitutional right to declare war by:
• Defining presidential wars not declared by Congress under Article I, section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) as impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
• Prohibiting the President from perpetuating ongoing wars or supplying war materials, military troops, trainers, or advisers, military intelligence, financial support or their equivalent in association, cooperation, assistance, or common cause without first receiving congressional authorization. </s> Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

The veto — the second in Trump's presidency — was expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it. But passing the never-before-used war powers resolution was viewed as a milestone for lawmakers, who have shown a renewed willingness to assert their war-making authority after letting it atrophy for decades under presidents from both parties.

"This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future," Trump wrote in explaining his veto.

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump's close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival.

Many lawmakers also criticized the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the United States and had written critically about the kingdom. Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October and never came out. Intelligence agencies said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the killing.

The U.S. provides billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen. Members of Congress have expressed concern about the thousands of civilians killed in coalition airstrikes since the conflict began in 2014. The fighting in the Arab world's poorest country also has left millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Trump said the measure was unnecessary because except for counterterrorism operations against Islamic State militants and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the United States is not engaged in hostilities in or affecting Yemen.

He said there were no U.S. military personnel in Yemen accompanying the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthis, although he acknowledged that the U.S. has provided limited support to the coalition, including intelligence sharing, logistics support, and — until recently — in-flight refueling of non-U.S. aircraft.

The president also said that the measure would harm bilateral relations and interferes with his constitutional power as commander in chief.

He said the U.S. is providing the support to protect the safety of more than 80,000 Americans who live in certain areas of the coalition countries subject to Houthi attacks from Yemen.

"Houthis, supported by Iran, have used missiles, armed drones and explosive boats to attack civilian and military targets in those coalition countries, including areas frequented by American citizens, such as the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," Trump said. "In addition, the conflict in Yemen represents a 'cheap' and inexpensive way for Iran to cause trouble for the United States and for our ally, Saudi Arabia."

House approval of the resolution came earlier this month on a 247-175 vote. The Senate vote last month was 54-46.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that Trump's veto "shows the world he is determined to keep aiding a Saudi-backed war that has killed thousands of civilians and pushed millions more to the brink of starvation."

Kaine accused Trump of turning a blind eye to Khashoggi's killing and the jailing of women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

"I hope my colleagues will show we won't tolerate the Trump administration's deference to Saudi Arabia at the expense of American security interests by voting to override this veto," Kaine said.

The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, acknowledged the dire situation in Yemen for civilians, but spoke out in opposition to the measure when it was passed. McCaul said it was an abuse of the War Powers Resolution and predicted it could disrupt U.S. security cooperation agreements with more than 100 countries.

Trump issued his first veto last month on legislation related to immigration. Trump had declared a national emergency so he could use more money to construct a border wall. Congress voted to block the emergency declaration and Trump vetoed that measure. </s> “This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East,” the statement said.

“Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.”

Hours earlier, Prince Mohammed met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who characterized Saudi Arabia as “part of the solution” in Yemen, which has been ripped apart by civil war.

Before the start of the meeting, a reporter asked Mr. Mattis whether he planned to raise concerns with Prince Mohammed about civilian casualties. Mr. Mattis said the United States was working with other countries to pursue a political solution in Yemen.

He said Saudi Arabia has supported the government in Yemen’s capital, Sana, which is recognized by the United Nations. “We are going to end this war. That is the bottom line,” Mr. Mattis said. “And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula.”

The strife in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, began in 2014, when Houthis, Shiite rebels aligned with Iran, invaded Sana. Those rebels later ousted the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of the United States, who was once praised by American officials as a leading partner in the fight against terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbor and a major regional power, began a concerted bombing campaign in early 2015 to help push back the Houthis. But that campaign has long raised the ire of human rights organizations for repeated bombings on civilians, something the Pentagon has admitted it has little oversight of.

One of the last acts of the Obama administration, in December 2016, was to block a transfer of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about civilian casualties that American officials attributed to poor targeting.

That decision blocked the sale by Raytheon of about 16,000 guided munitions kits, which upgrade so-called dumb bombs to smart bombs. It was roundly excoriated by Raytheon and Saudi royal officials.

Since taking office, President Trump has developed a far friendlier relationship with the royal family, and the crown prince in particular, than President Barack Obama had.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Dana White, said Mr. Mattis did not bring up the mounting civilian casualties in Yemen during his discussion with Prince Mohammed. Instead, she said, the defense secretary discussed the continued cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia through additional training and military education.

“Clearly,” said Sarah Margon, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, “the Trump administration has failed to understand — or simply doesn’t care about — the gravity of the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. Instead of using their leverage smartly to push the visiting Saudi crown prince to stop abuse, the White House is signaling support for large-scale abuse — by unconditionally backing Riyadh with millions more in weapons sales.”

Ms. Margon called on the Senate to “step up to the plate and make clear U.S. support will not go unchecked this time around.”
The United States is to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen amid concerns over rising civilian casualties.