Trump, Democrats face off over Yemen war

President Donald Trump signed several restrictions on US military involvement in Yemen into law earlier this week. There’s just one caveat — Trump is threatening to ignore most of those provisions, prompting swift backlash from Democrats.

Shortly after Trump signed an annual defense authorization bill on Monday, the White House issued a statement objecting to several provisions in the law, including language that would make it more difficult for the United States to continue support for the Saudi-led coalition in its aerial campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

“Particularly in light of the horrific hit against the school bus last week, that’s very disappointing to hear the White House take that approach,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a key architect of the Yemen language, told Al-Monitor. “We should be doing everything we can to try to reduce casualties in Yemen to try to get the parties to the table and to urge the Saudis and Emiratis to do everything they can to avoid the kind of casualties that we’re seeing.”

The new law requires Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to certify that the Saudis and Emiratis are reducing civilian casualties, avoiding the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure, engaging in diplomacy and ensuring the access of humanitarian goods into Yemen. Absent such a certification or a national security waiver, the Trump administration must withdraw its midair refueling support, which is essential for the Saudis and Emiratis to continue their aerial bombing campaign on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.