U.S. says its time to put an end to Saudi-backed war with Yemen

The Trump administration has launched its most concerted effort yet to pressure Saudi Arabia to end the conflict in Yemen amid growing opposition in Congress to continued U.S. military support for the kingdom’s war there.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in recent days have said the time has come to halt more than three years of conflict between Houthi rebels and a government recognized by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the West. United Nations officials have warned that the war has left half the population of Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, on the precipice of famine.

But the proposals put forth by Pompeo and Mattis are burdened by strategic limitations.

Mattis called for a ceasefire in which the rebels would pull back from Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia and start negotiations within 30 days. But he also said Saudi Arabia had a right to defend itself against Houthi missiles, which U.S. officials say have been supplied by Iran.

Pompeo proposed that the rebels first stop firing missiles at Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and that then Saudi Arabia would stop airstrikes that have killed thousands of civilians.

“It is time to end this conflict, replace conflict with compromise, and allow the Yemeni people to heal through peace and reconstruction,” Pompeo said.

The urgency of that appeal reflects the complexity of U.S. interests on the Arabian Peninsula, weeks after Pompeo certified to Congress that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were making progress on reducing civilian casualties in Yemen. The report was required because the United States helps the coalition refuel its jets and shares intelligence with its military.

But neither officials’ statements had an “or else” attached to it, former officials said.

“If you give your closest ally a pass, and say ‘You don’t need to do anything until the enemy takes the first step,’ that is not a serious proposal,” said Stephen Seche, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen who now is executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “You’ve got to propose both parties need to move simultaneously to implement a ceasefire.”