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war powers resolution
Without Approval From Congress, Biden Preps 'Sustained' US Assault on Yemen
"A cease-fire in Gaza would likely end the Houthi attacks," wrote one analyst. "But Biden is choosing war instead."
Jan 22, 2024
The Biden administration is reportedly planning for a "sustained" assault on Yemen after a barrage of U.S. airstrikes in recent days failed to halt Houthi attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
The Washington Postreported over the weekend that the White House "convened senior officials on Wednesday to discuss options for the way ahead" in Yemen, which has endured years of deadly U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing.
"Officials say they don't expect that the operation will stretch on for years like previous U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria," the Post added. "At the same time they acknowledge they can identify no end date or provide an estimate for when the Yemenis' military capability will be adequately diminished."
On Thursday, President Joe Biden admitted publicly that the most recent U.S. airstrikes in Yemen have not worked to deter the Houthis, who say their attacks in the Red Sea won't stop until Israel ends its assault on Gaza.
Even after conceding their ineffectiveness, Biden said the U.S. strikes on Yemen would continue. Early Saturday morning, American forces launched airstrikes targeting "a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and was prepared to launch," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
The following day, CENTCOM announced the deaths of two U.S. Navy SEALs who were lost at sea after a January 11 raid targeting an unflagged ship purportedly carrying Iranian weapons to Yemen's Houthis.
There's no indication that Biden intends to seek congressional authorization for the ongoing, open-ended U.S. military campaign in Yemen, rebuffing calls from Democratic and Republican lawmakers who say the hostilities with the Houthis are unconstitutional and heighten the risk of all-out regional war. Biden formally notified Congress of the latest round of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen a day after launching them earlier this month.
Ordinary Yemenis are likely to suffer most from an indefinite U.S. military campaign; American-led strikes have already disrupted aid operations in the impoverished country.
Analysts have argued that the best way to mitigate the risk of a spiraling Middle East war is to pursue a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 25,000 people—mostly women and children—in less than four months. But the Biden administration has stonewalled cease-fire efforts at the United Nations Security Council, opting instead to allow a humanitarian aid resolution that is failing to deliver for starving and desperate Gazans.
"This administration is off its hinges," said the Yemeni Alliance Committee. "Biden has started an illegal war on Yemen to avoid a cease-fire in Gaza."
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, echoed that message, writing on social media that "Biden is starting another war in the Middle East just so that Israel can continue slaughtering people in Gaza."
"A cease-fire in Gaza would likely end the Houthi attacks," Parsi wrote. "But Biden is choosing war instead."
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'This Is Illegal': US Lawmakers Slam Strikes on Yemen
"The people do not want more of our taxpayer dollars going to endless war and the killing of civilians," said Democratic Rep. Cori Bush. "Stop the bombing and do better by us."
Jan 12, 2024
U.S. lawmakers said Thursday that the Biden administration's barrage of airstrikes in Yemen—launched in coordination with American allies but without congressional approval—was blatantly unconstitutional and dangerous, heightening the risk of a full-blown regional conflict.
"This is illegal and violates Article I of the Constitution," U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
wrote on social media following the strikes. "The people do not want more of our taxpayer dollars going to endless war and the killing of civilians. Stop the bombing and do better by us."
The Biden administration said the airstrikes, which it characterized as a response to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea, hit
more than 60 targets in Yemen. Administration officials reportedly briefed congressional leaders on its plans to bomb Yemen, but there was no formal authorization from lawmakers.
"This is an unacceptable violation of the Constitution,"
said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "Article 1 requires that military action be authorized by Congress."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
echoed Jayapal, writing that U.S. President Joe Biden is "violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval."
"The American people are tired of endless war," Tlaib added.
"Congressional authorization isn't some sort of courtesy, it's a legal requirement for this kind of act."
Article I of the Constitution states that Congress has the power to "declare war," and the
War Powers Resolution (WPR) of 1973 seeks to constrain the president's ability to take unilateral military action. As Brian Egan and Tess Bridgeman have explained, the War Powers Resolution "does not authorize the president to use force," calling the belief that it does "a common misperception."
"It takes a limited view of the president's authority to introduce U.S. armed forces into such situations in the absence of congressional authorization or an attack on the United States," Egan and Bridgeman noted.
The WPR states that, within 48 hours of a military action, the president must deliver a report to Congress explaining the rationale and legal authority under which such an action was launched. The statute clarifies that the president can only take military action under three circumstances: "(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden called the Yemen strikes "defensive," signaling the administration's intention to invoke Article II of the Constitution as its legal foundation for Thursday's bombing campaign. Article II designates the president as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, and it has been used by multiple administrations as a blank check for military action.
Yemen's Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea since October, when Israel launched its devastating assault on the Gaza Strip in response to a deadly Hamas-led attack. The Houthis say they are acting to prevent genocide by blockading ships headed for Israel.
The U.S. and allied nations have been working to repel Houthi attacks on commercial vessels since October, shooting down Houthi drones and missiles and sinking Houthi ships in the Red Sea.
The White House
said Thursday that Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have had "very little" impact on the U.S. economy.
Stephen Miles, the president of Win Without War, called the U.S. strikes on Yemen "deeply troubling," arguing that "it's an action clearly at odds with both the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution."
"Congressional authorization isn't some sort of courtesy, it's a legal requirement for this kind of act," Miles wrote. "And since we're all about to hear a whole lot about 'self-defense' let's be very clear. Under the WPR, presidents are required to seek authorization before knowingly introducing U.S. forces into where combat may become imminent. It was written expressly for situations like this."
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the worsening cycle of violence in the Middle East is why she "called for a cease-fire early."
"Violence only begets more violence," Lee added. "We need a cease-fire now to prevent deadly, costly, catastrophic escalation of violence in the region."
This story has been updated to include comment from Rep. Barbara Lee.
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Congress Should Introduce a New Yemen War Powers Resolution this Month
And over 70 organizations agree.
Mar 04, 2023
We have seen much recently about the Ukraine war anniversary. But this is also the anniversary of other wars: March marks the 8th anniversary of the war on Yemen and the 20th on Iraq. Members of Congress, including Senator Bernie Sanders, should introduce a Yemen War Powers Resolution before this war enters a 9th year.
On March 1st activists in 10 cities across the United States protested at congressional offices and beyond, calling on their lawmakers to bring the harmful U.S. role in the Yemen war to a rapid and final end. Over 70 organizations called for and supported the protests.
During Wednesday’s protests, activists called on Sanders and other federal lawmakers to introduce a new Yemen War Powers Resolution this month. If brought to the floor for a vote, Congress could order the president to end U.S. participation in the catastrophic conflict, which the U.S. has enabled for eight years. Sanders sponsored last year’s bill, but when he moved to bring the resolution to a floor vote in December, he was shut down by the Biden administration.
In December, Sanders pledged to return to the Senate floor with a new Yemen War Powers Resolution if he and the administration were unable to agree to “strong and effective” action that would achieve his goals.
Without meaningful public action from Biden at this point, the time is now for Sen. Sanders to make good on his pledge. For over 10 months, Saudi Arabia has not dropped any bombs on Yemen. However, this could change anytime. If the United States continues to support the war, it will be implicated in Saudi aggression if, and likely when, the conflict escalates.
Without meaningful public action from Biden at this point, the time is now for Sen. Sanders to make good on his pledge.
Approximately two–thirds of the Royal Saudi Air Force receive direct support from U.S. military contracts in the form of spare parts and maintenance. TheSaudi-led coalition has relied on this support to carry out these offensive strikes in Yemen. The United States has no sufficient compelling interest in Yemen that justifies implication in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Since March 2015, the Saudi Arabia and /UAE)-led bombing and blockade of Yemen have killed hundreds of thousands of people and wreaked havoc on the country, creating one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. 17 million people in Yemen are food insecure and 500,000 children are experiencing severe wasting, also known as severe acute malnutrition.
For years virtually no containerized goods have been allowed to enter Hodeida, Yemen’s principal Red Sea port Hodeida. Containerized goods include essentially everything other than food and fuel. This has helped cripple the economy and prevented critical life-saving medicine and medical equipment from reaching people in need.
This humanitarian crisis has worsened since President Biden took office. Admittedly this is not entirely his fault. The Biden administration took some initial good steps forward, including reversing the Trump administration’s policy to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and reversing an arms transfer in the works when Biden took office. The war in Ukraine and global wheat shortage have hit Yemen hard; the country relies heavily on imports. Climate disasters have also exacerbated the effects of the conflict in Yemen. But the Biden administration does bear partial responsibility for the continued suffering in Yemen.
Despite President Biden’s February 2021 commitment to end participation in Saudi offensive operations in Yemen, the U.S. has continued support for the war. The U.S. has continued to provide spare parts and maintenance for the Saudi air force, which increased the frequency of airstrikes on Yemen in 2021 and early 2022 – after Biden took office.
Without a negotiated settlement, nothing prevents Saudi Arabia from restarting airstrikes in Yemen. With apparent never-ending and unconditional U.S. military support, Saudi Arabia lacks an incentive to once and for all completely lift its blockade of Yemen and withdraw from Yemen.
In 2018 Saudi dictator Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the murder of a U.S. journalist and then lied about it. Just last year Saudi Arabia manipulated global energy markets to raise fuel prices and empower Russia in its immoral and illegal invasion of Ukraine. These are just a couple recent demonstrations of a history of destructive activity by Saudi Arabia that is harmful to the United States and its allies. The Biden administration was correct in October when it called for a re-evaluation of the US-Saudi relationship, urging Congress to propose measures to hold Saudi Arabia accountable. Passing the Yemen War Powers Resolution is a chance to do exactly that.
Organizations that signed the call to protest the war March 1st included the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, the Yemeni Alliance Committee, About Face: Veterans Against War, Veterans for Peace, Progressive Democrats of America, the Libertarian Institute, Avaaz, CODEPINK, Peace Action, United for Peace and Justice, Democratic Socialists of America International Committee, Women's League for International Peace and Freedom – US Section, among over 70 organizations. Over 100 national organizations – humanitarian, veterans’, libertarian, and others – wrote to Congress as recently as December urging their passage of the Yemen War Powers Resolution. Bernie Sanders should re-introduce his resolution.
Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, the power to raise and support armies is reserved for Congress. No Congressional authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) has been issued for Yemen. The War Powers Resolution empowers Congress to invoke its constitutional war powers authority to end unconstitutional U.S. participation in wars like the war in Yemen.
The bill prevents a resumption of offensive Saudi airstrikes in Yemen by prohibiting U.S. involvement in them. This legislation can promote a negotiated settlement and long-term, lasting peace between the warring parties.
Saturday, March 25 will mark the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Saudi-led coalition's bombing of Yemen. To mark the occasion, US and international groups will hold an online rally to inspire and enhance education and activism to end the war in Yemen. Join grassroots organizers on March 25th at 12pm Eastern. Register now.
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