LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Finding peace in Yemen

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To the editor:

Our tax dollars are currently supporting war crimes being committed in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That support is responsible for widespread destruction, disease and starvation. It has helped to create what is probably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

We want to publicly thank Congressman Eliot Engel for an important action he recently took, which may help to end this disaster. He co-sponsored H.C.R. 138, which invokes the War Powers Act of 1973 to call for a vote of Congress on our continued participation in the war in Yemen.

The War Powers Act of 1973 was created to check a president’s power to commit America to armed conflict without the consent of Congress.

Although the U.S. Constitution lays out roles for both Congress and the president when it comes to war, presidents have — to our detriment — ignored Congress and unilaterally gotten us involved in military ventures in the past.

Congress never voted for the United States to provide military support to the Saudis and the emirates in Yemen. If we withdraw our support, the Saudis will no longer be able to continue their bombing campaign, and a peace settlement will likely ensue.

We are grateful to Congressman Engel for standing up and doing the right thing. We pray that Congress as a whole follows his lead and votes to end our participation in the war crimes in Yemen.

Jacki Fischer
Gene Binder

The authors represent Concerned Citizens for Change.

Jacki Fischer, Gene Binder

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