[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9696-H9697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              WAR IN YEMEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Curtis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee, I have closely followed the recent developments in the war 
between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
  This is one of the world's deadliest wars. Air strikes and other acts 
of war have killed tens of thousands of civilians. Yemen has become a 
wasteland, with widespread disease and famine. An estimated 85,000 
children have been killed or died from malnutrition. The United Nation 
estimates that Yemen is now facing the specter of a famine threatening 
14 million people: half of their population. Three-quarters of Yemen's 
population now requires urgent humanitarian assistance.
  The time has come for us to reconsider our support for this 
disastrous war and to consider the moral imperatives that form the 
foundation of our values, as well as our strategic interests. In this 
instance, I believe both our moral values and strategic interest 
require that we reassess our involvement in this tragic human 
catastrophe. We must reject war and pursue peace.
  The day I was sworn in as a Member of Congress, I joined the House in 
passing a resolution calling on all parties involved in the conflict to 
increase efforts to prevent civilian casualties and to increase 
humanitarian access. In addition, the resolution denounced the conduct 
of the war in Yemen that is, directly or indirectly, inconsistent with 
the laws of armed conflict, including the deliberate targeting of 
civilians

[[Page H9697]]

and the use of civilians as human shields.

  It is my fear that our continued support of this war will only 
increase resentment of the United States and the region. It will 
diminish U.S. security and undermine America's moral authority and 
reputation as a champion of our foundational values such as human 
rights and civil liberties.
  In addition to the horrendous humanitarian costs in Yemen itself, it 
makes the entire region less secure and makes humanitarian disasters in 
the wider region more likely. But more importantly, what is happening 
in Yemen is just simply wrong. It is out of harmony with America's 
values. Ironically, the very reason we want to support a strong ally in 
Saudi Arabia is to prevent this type of situation, not foster it.
  These conditions provide a breeding ground for violent extremism and 
for terrorist groups to expand. Prolonging the war in Yemen only 
strengthens the Islamic state in Yemen and al-Qaida in the Arabian 
Peninsula. Additionally, the conflict undertaken by the Saudi-led 
coalition under the objective of ``eliminating Iranian influence'' has 
achieved just the opposite.
  Iran has been able to use the conflict as an opportunity to establish 
a foothold across the Middle East. They send soldiers to prop up a 
dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria. Additionally, Iran-supported 
Hezbollah is now the dominant political force in Lebanon, and able to 
threaten neighboring Israel, our closest ally in the region, with its 
growing missile and rocket arsenal. This threat to Israel is in 
addition to the ongoing barrage of missiles fired into Israel by Iran-
supported Hamas in Gaza.
  I welcomed Secretary of Defense Mattis' comments in October, when he 
said, ``It's time to stop this.'' He urged all parties to sit down and 
pursue peace. Secretary of Defense Mattis' comments were followed by 
Secretary of State Pompeo's statement in which he said, ``The time is 
now for the cessation of hostilities.''
  I echo Secretary of Mattis' further comments when he said, ``We have 
got to move toward a peace effort here, and we can't say we are going 
to do it sometime in the future.'' We should support the U.N.-led 
efforts to bring peace to this devastated country and urge the Saudi-
led coalition and Houthis to start peace negotiations immediately.
  Ending our support for the Saudi-led coalition highlights the gross 
inhumanity of the war and that we do not support the way the conflict 
in Yemen is being conducted. It underlines our growing concerns about 
the behavior of Saudi Arabia as it affects larger American strategic 
interests in the region and our interest in preserving global 
humanitarian norms. Ending our support for the war will force the 
Saudi-led coalition to reconsider its policies and will signal our 
support for peace negotiations as, as called for by the administration.
  American foreign policy requires a balance between our national 
security and moral values. In the case of the war in Yemen, these 
competing imperatives are not in conflict. Ending U.S. support for the 
war in Yemen supports both American strategic interests and 
humanitarian values.

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