Tag: humanitarian crises

Opinion: Too hungry to weep. The tragedy of Yemen’s starving children

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Opinion: Too hungry to weep. The tragedy of Yemen’s starving children

In 2022, the US committed $1 billion to humanitarian relief in Yemen. Maintaining that level given the worsening situation should be a mere formality.

Yet having spent the past week in Washington with members of Congress and the Senate regarding this crisis, it is apparent that political and fiscal calculations flourish when media coverage is fleeting, and outrage muted. As one Senator sterilely offered during our meeting, “That’s a lot of money.” A lot, indeed. Accordingly, to try to describe the near $110 billion the US has pledged to Ukraine in the last year sends one scrambling for a thesaurus.

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Nevertheless, the wheels are steadily in motion for that outcome, as global aid for Yemen is in staggering decline. Announced on Monday by Secretary Blinken, with unfortunate lack of context, the US government is slashing this year’s contribution to the UN appeal for Yemen by roughly 25% – additionally I’ve been told by multiple sources at USAID that their cuts for aid to Yemen in 2023 could go as high as near 40%, with further cuts planned for 2024.

H/T: Revolutionary Blackout

The article was written March 2nd, 2023. The video was uploaded March 14th on the War Child USA channel. So far, nothing on their YouTube or website.

HUGE. In China-Brokered Deal, Iran and Saudi Arabia Restore Diplomatic Ties

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

HUGE. In China-Brokered Deal, Iran and Saudi Arabia Restore Diplomatic Ties

Regime change for Saudi, or maybe some US-backed terrorist attacks?!

Related:

China brokers Iran-Saudi detente, raising eyebrows in Washington

Though blunting China’s influence in the Middle East and other parts of the world remains a priority for the Biden administration, it is of “two minds” about the latest agreement, said Jon Alterman, a Middle East scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“It wants the Saudis to take increasing responsibility for their own security,” he said, “but it does not want Saudi Arabia freelancing and undermining U.S. security strategies.”

Suspected Iranian Weapons Seized by U.S. Navy May Go to Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The U.S. military is considering sending Ukraine thousands of seized weapons and more than a million rounds of ammunition once bound for Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, an unprecedented step that would help Kyiv battle Russian forces, U.S. and European officials said.

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The challenge for the Biden administration is finding a legal justification for taking weapons from one conflict and transferring them to another. The U.N. arms embargo requires the U.S. and its allies to destroy, store or get rid of the seized weapons. Biden administration lawyers have been looking at whether the resolution creates any wiggle room for them to transfer the weapons to Ukraine, according to U.S. officials.

Suspected Iranian Weapons Seized by U.S. Navy May Go to Ukraine

The earthquake ought to loosen US policy on Syria

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Lifeless bodies pulled from ruins, roads and bridges ripped apart, entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble — these are the classic earthquake images. The latest come from Turkey and Syria, which were devastated by a fierce quake on Monday. Turkey, with a thriving economy, a well-organized state, and rich Western friends, is well equipped to rush relief to victims. In Syria the situation is quite the opposite.

The earthquake ought to loosen US policy on Syria

The US Is Making Billions Being Warlords in Yemen

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

One of Biden’s promises during his presidential campaign was to immediately move to end all support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. In February 2021, Biden stood at a podium at the State Department and proclaimed that the war in Yemen must end. Biden underlined the humanitarian crisis as the key reason the United States withdrew support. An investigation (PDF) by the Government Accountability Office found that the United States is training the Saudi-led coalition, and the US has troops on the ground in Yemen. Biden confirmed that the United States has troops in Yemen in a letter to Congress in June last year. Biden lied to the American people when he claimed that the United States was withdrawing US support for the war in Yemen in 2021.

The US Is Making Billions Being Warlords in Yemen

American-Saudi Agreement on Two-State Solution in Yemen, Dispute over Fate of Islah

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

American-Saudi Agreement on Two-State Solution in Yemen, Dispute over Fate of Islah

Related:

Want peace in Yemen? First, restore the balance of power.