Alwaght- US defense secretary Jim Mattis defended Washington's military support to Saudi-led coalition that has launched a bloody aggression against Yemen.
Speaking of US assistance to the Saudi-led campaign that has claimed lives of over 14,000 civilians Jim Mattis told Journalists on Thursday "We believe our policy right now is correct for doing this”.
The west-backed Saudi regime along with its regional allies has launched a military campaign against neighboring Yemen since March 2015, displacing over 2 million people and driving the already poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula to the verge of famine.
The Pentagon's head claimed the US assistance for its oil-rich kingdom was ultimately aimed at bringing the war toward a negotiated resolution.
“We need to get this [Yemen aggression] to a negotiated settlement,” Mattis told reporters, as he flew back to Washington from the West Asia.
A bipartisan group of senators, Republican Mike Lee, independent Bernie Sanders and Democrat Chris Murphy, are attempting to take advantage of a provision in the 1973 war powers act that allows any senator to introduce a resolution on whether to withdraw US armed forces from a conflict not authorized by Congress.
Their resolution would force Trump “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen,” except operations against al-Qaeda or associated forces. Those are authorized under a 2001 congressional authorization.
Riyadh regime has repeatedly faced criticism over its indiscriminate airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure and the blockade of Yemen that brought the war-torn country to the brink of famine. The UN says there are 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
