Trump vetoes plan to halt aid
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has vetoed a resolution the US Congress passed to end military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
The veto – the second in Trump’s presidency – was expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it.
But passing the never-before-used war powers resolution was viewed as a milestone for lawmakers.
“This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future,” Trump said.
Congress has grown uneasy with Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to isolate Iran.
Many lawmakers criticised him for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the US and had written critically about the kingdom. Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October and never came out.
Intelligence agencies said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the killing.
The US provides billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
Congress members have expressed concern about the thousands of civilians killed in coalition air strikes since the conflict began in 2014.
The fighting in the Arab world’s poorest country has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
Trump said the measure was unnecessary because except for counterterrorism operations against Islamic State militants and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the US was not engaged in hostilities in Yemen.
He said there were no US military personnel in Yemen accompanying the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranbacked Houthis, though he said the US provided limited support to the coalition.
The president said the measure would harm bilateral relations and interfered with his constitutional power as commander-in-chief.
He said the US was providing the support to protect the safety of more than 80000 Americans who lived in certain areas of the coalition countries subject to Houthi attacks from Yemen.
“Houthis, supported by Iran, have used missiles, armed drones and explosive boats to attack civilian and military targets in those coalition countries, including areas frequented by American citizens, such as the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Trump said.
“In addition, the conflict in Yemen represents a ‘cheap’ way for Iran to cause trouble for the US and our ally, Saudi Arabia.”
House approval of the resolution came earlier this month on a 247-175 vote. The Senate vote last month was 54-46. Democrat senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said Trump’s veto showed he was determined to keep aiding a Saudi-backed war.
Kaine accused Trump of turning a blind eye to Khashoggi’s killing and the jailing of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia.
“I hope my colleagues will show we won’t tolerate the Trump administration’s deference to Saudi Arabia at the expense of American security interests by voting to override this veto,” Kaine said.
The top Republican on the house foreign affairs committee, Michael McCaul, acknowledged the dire situation in Yemen for civilians, but opposed the measure when it was passed.
McCaul said it was an abuse of the War Powers Resolution and said it could disrupt US security co-operation agreements with more than 100 countries.
Three lawsuits have already been lodged over the crash, by the families of two Americans, including consumer activist Ralph Nader’s great niece, and a Rwandan.
| Reuters African News Agency (ANA)