In the remains of a society shattered by war, families waste away waiting for fuel and food and medicine that may never come. This is not in Ukraine, but Yemen, where Western TV cameras are few.
Another contrast is that, while the U.S. government has rightfully supported the locals’ spirited defense against foreign aggression in Ukraine, in Yemen it is the foreign aggressors in Saudi Arabia who get our security assistance and American-made weapons. Although President Biden last year vowed to stop arming the Saudi offensive, there are loopholes large enough to fly a formation of fighter planes through.
While strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine shock the world, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has struck residential buildings and other nonmilitary targets, and for about a year maintained a brutal fuel blockade against the whole country. The result, according to the World Food Program, is a situation where 2.2 million children under 5 years old are at risk of acute malnutrition.
The issue is complicated by the fact that the Saudis are a U.S. ally and the Houthi rebels on the other side are supported by Iran, but this does not excuse the abhorrent targeting of civilians. Biden must use his leverage over the Saudis to ensure they, at the very least, lift the blockade. Enough is enough.
