The Washington Post has revealed new details about how the U.S. has played a critical role in supporting the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Post reports a substantial portion of all air raids conducted in the war were “carried out by jets developed, maintained and sold by U.S. companies, and by pilots who were trained by the U.S. military.”
The Saudi-led air campaign alone has killed nearly 15,000 people in Yemen, striking homes, hospitals and other civilian targets. The U.S. support has continued under three presidents: Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The State Department and the Defense Department have failed to assess civilian casualties caused by a Saudi-led coalition in the catastrophic war in Yemen and the use of American-made weapons in the killings, according to an internal government report.
The report from the Government Accountability Office focuses on attacks in recent years by a Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Houthi rebels for control of Yemen. The alliance, which includes the United Arab Emirates, has carried out deadly strikes using combat jets and munitions that have been supplied and maintained largely by American companies with the approval of the State Department and the Pentagon.
The report spans the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, covering the period from 2015, when the war against the Houthis began, to 2021. It is the second major report by a U.S. agency that lays out government shortcomings in preventing civilian casualties in Yemen. In August 2020, the State Department inspector general issued a report that said the department had failed to take proper measures to reduce civilian deaths.
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