TRUMP’S SUPPORTERS AREN’T OK WITH TRUMP AND HIS ASSOCIATION WITH SAUDI’S MBS

…Some results of the war in Yemen

Senators vote to consider a measure to end US involvement in Yemen

It has been disgusting that the president has been defending the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and his connection to the murder of The Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

Fortunately, even though the US Senate is controlled by the GOP, the Senate still voted 63-37 as a procedural step and an unprecedented challenge to the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.  The vote was to advance a measure to end the US military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 

The US Air Force had already stopped re-fueling the Saudi fighter jets in-flight, that were fighting and bombing Yemen.

There was a special briefing of US Senators in the Capital building, but the White House had apparently ordered the director of the CIA to not attend the briefing.  This was because the CIA had already said that their investigation had concluded that they were “highly confident that MBS had ordered the killing of Khashoggi”.  Being a big supporter of MBS, the White House didn’t want that information offered up at the briefing.

Many senators, both Republican and Democrat, were concerned that a US president had kept the head of an important US investigating operation from attending a briefing of a senate over-sight committee.

The senator’s frustration peaked shortly before the vote, when these senators met behind closed doors specifically to discuss Saudi Arabia, Khashoggis murder and the war in Yemen with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.  They were all surprised when it was stated that the CIA Director Gina Haspel, was not going to be attending the briefing.

When the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo was asked why the head of the CIA was not attending, all that Pompeo would keep repeating is that “I was asked to attend, and here I am.”  Finally, when the secretary of state was again asked why the CIA wasn’t attending, Pompeo said: “You’ll have to ask the White House.”

Haspel’s absence so incensed lawmakers that one of the president’s closest congressional allies threatened not only to vote for the Yemen resolution, but he also threatened to withhold his support from “any key vote”, including a government funding bill, until Haspel was sent to Capitol Hill for a briefing.  “I am not going to blow past this,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Anything that you need me for to get out of town,  I ain’t doing it until we hear from the CIA.”

In an additional statement, CIA spokesman Timothy Barrett said “the notion that anyone told Director Haspel not to attend today’s briefing is false.” He added that Haspel, who traveled to Turkey to listen to a recording of Khashoggi’s killing and review evidence in the case, had fully briefed congressional leaders and members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had sought to make a clear case for continuing US support for Saudi Arabia’s brutal military campaign in Yemen.

But even though the spokesman for the CIA said the congressional leaders had been briefed, only one of the 14 Republicans who had voted to move ahead with the backing out of Yemen resolution has been briefed.  Trump, Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have all pointedly said they have not listened to the tape, and see no reason to do so. John Bolton says he didn’t listen to the tape of Khashoggi’s murder because ‘I don’t speak Arabic’.

The pressure is now squarely on Trump not just to dispatch Haspel to the Hill, but to also take concerted steps to hold MBS accountable before the Senate makes its next move, which is likely to come this week.

“There’s ways that the administration, even rhetorically, can help change the dynamic,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) said shortly before Wednesday’s vote. He added that while “Saudi Arabia is an ally, of sorts, and a semi-important country, we’ve watched innocent people be killed. . . . We also have a crown prince who is out of control.”

As usual, the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s conduct in the civil war in Yemen has drawn international condemnation.  Sec. Pompeo struck an unapologetic tone, arguing that without US involvement, the humanitarian crisis there and the threat posed to US interests and Americans “would be a hell of a lot worse.”  He also argued that the resolution could thwart negotiations to secure a cease-fire. 

“All we would achieve from an American drawdown is a stronger Iran and a reinvigorated ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” said Pompeo.  “Try defending that outcome back home.”

However, this is an argument that the majority of the lawmakers disputed.

As pressure to reduce US military ties with the Saudis has increased, the Saudi’s have emphasized that it has other options, including with Russia.  But lawmakers have tired of such strategic arguments, arguing that Trump should prioritize the defense of American human-rights ideals, such as condemning the killing of a journalist, instead of looking the other way.

“I’m all for realpolitik, but that suggests that you accept the truth,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said of Khashoggi’s death, adding that, “If Mohammed wasn’t directly involved, he certainly knew of it.”

The resolution seeks to invoke the War Powers Act to end US military support for the ­Saudi-led coalition, which human rights groups that accuse the Saudi’s of supporting in Yemen, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.  If the push is successful, it will be the first time since the act was passed in 1973 that it has been used to end a foreign operation.  This puts the Senate in uncharted legislative territory.

Several Republicans have guessed that some senators would try to soften the resolution with amendments. But some senators worry that the effort could spin out of control.

“This would be a process like the budget vote-a-rama,” Corker said, referring to round-the-clock amendment votes that regularly accompany the budget process. “Except we’re firing with real bullets; these are real laws.”

Even if the Senate passes the resolution, it stands little to no chance of clearing the House, where the current GOP leaders have already intervened once this month to block voting on a similar measure.  Senate leaders may pressure lawmakers to hurry through the resolution process, as it could complicate a Dec. 7 deadline to pass the funding bill of the federal government.

Some Republican senators feel that if momentum builds around the Yemen resolution, leaders could feel the need to include punitive measures against Saudi Arabia in the must-pass funding bill.

Several senators from both parties think the funding measure could be a vehicle for bipartisan-backed proposals to end arms transfers to Saudi Arabia and impose sanctions on those implicated in the conflict in Yemen.

One can only hope for this, but with the House Republicans still in power until next year, don’t bet on anything getting through either House in Washington.

Copyright G.Ater 2018