The Popular Front condemns the brutal American aggression against Yemen and emphasizes that Yemen will remain a thorn in the eye of the aggressors.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine strongly condemns the extensive American aggression against Yemen and stresses that this crime is an extension of the war crimes and genocide that imperialism and Zionism have committed against the Arab people.

We express our full solidarity with the brotherly people of Yemen, extend our condolences for the martyrs killed in this unjust aggression, wish speedy recovery for our injured heroes, and emphasize that the blood of the martyrs will be the guiding light of perseverance and resistance, and will not be in vain. Instead, it will strengthen Yemen's resolve to confront the aggression.

This brutal aggression will not succeed in breaking the will of the free people of Yemen, who, despite the siege and the aggressions they face, have never hesitated in their support for Palestine and embrace of Gaza.

Anyone who supports Yemen supports Palestine and the Arab people's right to confront colonial and hegemonic projects.

We emphasize that Yemen, which stands at the forefront of defending the dignity of the Arabs, will not be defeated, will not raise the white flag, and will remain a thorn in the sides of the aggressors.

We call on the masses and the free people of the world to take to the streets in support of Yemen, condemn this brutal aggression, and emphasize that resistance is the only inevitable option to neutralize the aggressive plans, and that the will of the people cannot be broken by planes and missiles.

Long live steadfast Yemen! Victory to resistance!

Shame on the American and Zionist aggressors and their agents!

#International #Palestine #Yemen #AntiWarMovement

Los Angeles, CA – Hundreds of spirited demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on February 4 to send a clear message that business will not go on as usual while Israel continues to savagely attack Gaza and the West Bank.

Multiple organizations, including Palestinian Youth Movement and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), organized and led the march in a successful effort to disrupt the Grammys, which were being held at the nearby Crypto Arena. The demonstrators were full of energy as they chanted “Israel, Israel go to hell!” and “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!”

Organizers made it a point to call attention to the bombing of Yemen by the U.S., with chants like “Hands of Yemen!” The relentless rain and wind that is currently battering Los Angeles had no impact on the protesters, as many were completely soaked but carried on forward with great enthusiasm.

Many members of Centro CSO from Los Angeles were present, including Gabriel Quiroz Jr from Centro CSO, who said, “We’re here to show solidarity with Palestine. No business as usual as Israel commits genocide in Palestine with the help of the United States. As Chicanos we will always stand in full solidarity with the Palestinian people's right to self-determination! Viva viva Palestina!”

Traffic was jammed up all around the Crypto Arena as protesters blocked luxury black SUVs that were heading to the Grammys. Guests of the Grammys dressed in designer clothes had to walk by protesters who verbally shamed them.

Some of the guests flipped off the protesters, who were by this time completely drenched but carried on with great energy. There was a heavy police presence with dozens of police squad cars blocking the streets around Oceanwide Plaza, which is directly across from the Crypto Arena. The crowd then marched back to Pershing Square.

Centro CSO is a grassroots organization that fights for the self-determination of Chicanos and is mostly based in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles. Centro CSO is currently focused on a campaign to win community control of the police and has a petition to “Boot the Banditos out of East LA!” Centro CSO also has an immigration rapid response team that fights for legalization for all, and education work that fights against the privatization of schools in Boyle Heights and East LA.

If you want to get involved with us you can reach us via social media @CentroCSO.

#LosAngelesCA #AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #Yemen #USPCN #CentroCSO #Feature

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), and National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for a week of action against the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza from February 5 to 11.

The call for the week of actions comes at a time when President Biden states the U.S. is going to step up its military intervention in the Middle East.

A statement from the groups initiating the week of protests states, “The people of Palestine are fighting for their liberation and the people of Yemen are standing with them. The U.S. government is sending billions in military aid to Israel and bombing Yemen. We will never be silent. All of us who stand with Palestine and believe in liberation need to act. The genocide must be stopped!”

“Israel is being defeated on every level – politically, militarily, legally at the International Court of Justice, and in the court of public opinion – so we must continue to apply pressure from the belly of the U.S. imperialist beast,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. “Genocide Joe Biden is on the ropes as well, and the week of action will do what we've been doing so powerfully for four months with our Black and brown coalitions in Chicago and beyond – expose Zionism and U.S. complicity in the genocide.”

Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, states, “The recent decision by the UN International Court of Justice makes crystal clear the utter moral bankruptcy of the U.S./Israel axis waging genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Now more than ever we must demand that not another dime of our tax dollars be spent on a war being carried out by war criminals. It is clear now that a majority of the community of nations sees the U.S., Israel and their allies as perpetrators of war crimes, of crimes against humanity.”

Chrisley Carpio, of New Students for Democratic Society said, “The U.S. and its puppet, the Israeli government, are determined to fund and carry out a genocide of the Palestinian people. They will bomb Yemen, Iraq, and go to war with sovereign countries to maintain their criminal domination of the region. It's imperative that people in the United States do everything they can to damage this agenda, starting with calling for the end of all U.S. aid to Israel. Students across SDS are facing discipline, code of conduct charges, and other threats for opposing this genocide and for standing with Palestine. We won't stop now!”

Endorsers of the national week of action include the Samidoun Political Prisoners Network, National Students for Justice in Palestine, International League of Peoples’ Struggles – U.S., and the United National Antiwar Committee.

#AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #Yemen #USPCN #NAARPR #SDS #Samidoun #SJP #ILPS #UNAC #Feature

New Orleans, LA – On January 16, a group of students and other activists gathered in freezing temperatures outside the federal building to rally against the recent U.S./UK intervention in Yemen.

Islam Elrabieey, an Egyptian speaker representing NOLA Freedom Forums, painted a picture of Gaza, describing “men sleeping on concrete, women and children with the luxury of a tent to protect against wind.”

A broad coalition of student speakers and local community activists gave speeches, punctuated with chants such as “No more war! What’s it for? Peace in Yemen forevermore!” and “Come on Yemen, make us proud! Turn another ship around!”

The main theme of the speeches was total condemnation of U.S. attacks against Yemen being led by “Genocide Joe” Biden. Speakers praised the bravery of the martyrs of both Yemen and Palestine. “U.S. forces continue to be embarrassed by Yemeni forces on rafts posting Tik Toks of their actions,” a speaker for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated.

Despite the extreme weather, the New Orleans community showed up in solidarity with the brave Yemeni forces. Calls for the prosecution of U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken were met with loud applause and cheers of approval. “We deserve to be proud of our nation’s actions as Yemenis and South Africans are proud of their nations,” Elrabieey said.

The protest responded to a national call to action by Students for a Democratic Society.

#NewOrleansLA #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #International #Yemen #Palestine #SDS

St. Paul, MN – On January 19, despite frigid 6-degree temperatures, 60 activists rallied at a busy intersection at the weekly Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) Free Palestine event.

This week it focused on the U.S. bombing attacks on Yemen. Motorists responded positively to the signs which said, “U.S. hands off Yemen” and the chants, “Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around” and “Yemen, Yemen stand your ground turn another ship around.”

After chanting for a half hour, protesters listened to speakers representing several Twin Cities anti-war organizations.

Sorcha Lona, a member of the MN Anti War Committee, spoke of the heroic resistance of Yemen to the genocidal Zionist bombing of Gaza, “The Yemeni Armed Forces, the military of one of the most economically oppressed nations in the world, has brought global trade to its knees. They see the ships sailing in their backyards carrying weapons and supplies to the butchers occupying Palestine and have said ‘no more.’ They’ve stopped these ships and made it clear they will not end their blockade of Israeli ports until the genocide and occupation has been defeated.”

In response to Yemen’s Ansarallah being put to the terrorist list, Lona said, “The people of Yemen standing for the lives and rights of their Palestinian siblings are not terrorists; the United States are the real terrorists, the Zionist Israelis are the real terrorists. The people of Yemen are being killed for standing on the right side of history despite the consequences. There is no possible justification for a second front of aggression, and we must demand U.S. hands off Yemen.”

Molly Wilbur-Cohen, a member of WAMM, spoke as well, “How absurd that Biden hopes that Ansarallah will be nice and stop its activities in the Red Sea. Yesterday Biden was asked by reporters if the U.S. strikes on Yemen are doing anything. He said no, not yet, but we’ll continue until the Houthis stop their attacks on cargo ships. Then, unbelievably, Biden said the U.S. is acting in self-defense and doesn’t want a regional war. Number one, the U.S. is not under attack. Number two, the U.S. would rather bomb the people in Yemen than stop Israel’s genocide.”

The program concluded with a powerful and moving speech by Emily Chu, a member of the U of MN chapter of Students for a Democratic Society . She said, “My mom was raised in Long An, a province in rural southwest Vietnam. The Vietnam war, or the American war as it’s called in Vietnam, was marked by indiscriminate carpet bombing campaigns and deliberate targeting of civilians, primarily affecting the Vietnamese countryside. SDS was also started during the war.”

Chu added, “A popular tactic during the war was to bomb hospitals and afterwards claim that they were housing Viet Cong. The parallels between what happened then in Vietnam and what is happening now in Gaza are impossible to unsee. Just as Agent Orange once denuded the Vietnamese jungles and disabled generations of civilians, white phosphorus now scorches the children of Gaza with impunity.”

Next week, the Minneapolis city council will debate a resolution calling for a ceasefire for Gaza. Demonstrators vowed to do all they can to make sure a strong veto-proof resolution is passed.

#SaintPaulMN #WAMM #Yemen #Palestine

Austin, TX – On Friday, January 19 around 35 students and community members gathered off Speedway corridor at the University of Texas at Austin. As the crowd chanted, “Yemen, Yemen stand your ground, turn another ship around!” and “Gaza, Gaza you will rise, you have Yemen by your side!” several students passing by stopped to join in the chants and listen to speeches.

Crystal Silva McCormick of the Austin for Palestine Coalition spoke of Latin American solidarity with Palestine, saying “Our lucha is Palestine's lucha. We know what imperialism looks like.”

Joshua Sklar of Jewish Voice for Peace emphasized the racist and Islamophobic hate the media uses to justify U.S. terror against Yemen and Palestine, as well as how the U.S. and Israeli governments hide behind accusations of antisemitism to justify their crimes.

“Yemen remains determined in its support for Palestinian liberation and so do we,” said SDS member Ashley Awad before leading the crowd in a round of energetic chants. “We must not stop fighting for an end to the siege on Gaza and a free Palestine!”

#AustinTX #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #International #Yemen #Palestine #SDS #JVP

Around 20 community members and students gathered demanding an end to U.S. attacks on Yemen and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The protest came in response to the January 12 U.S.-British missile strikes on Yemen.

Protesters chanted for a “Free Palestine!” and gave speeches showcasing the history of U.S. intervention in Yemen, the U.S. funding Israel’s genocide, and the University of South Florida’s relation to Israel. University President Rhea Law has come out in support of Israel but has not commented on Palestinian students’ safety, even though attacks on them have heightened.

Community activists were also present, and a member of the New Era Young Lords gave a speech in solidarity with Palestine and Yemen. Speakers made comments on the hypocrisy of the U.S. government failing to fund people’s basic needs in the middle of a housing crisis in Florida, especially critical in Tampa, while having money for military operations across the world. Tampa is also home to the MacDill Air Force Base from where the attacks on Yemen were ordered, in an area of the city with up to 27% resident poverty rate.

Tampa Bay SDS member Eithne Silva highlighted the importance of student protests against U.S. intervention, stating, “The U.S. is unjustly bombing Yemen, a country they were already destroying through a proxy war led by Saudi Arabia, because they are preventing countries from doing business with the apartheid state of Israel.”

Silva continued, “Yemen is doing the right thing by standing in solidarity with Palestine and it’s important for us as students to speak out against more U.S. intervention and endless wars in the Middle East.”

Joining under the slogans, “Hands off Yemen,” “All eyes on Palestine,” “No war on Yemen” and “End all U.S. aid to Israel,” attendees made their demands clear. They finished by inviting people to come to the statewide mobilization to Tallahassee on Tuesday January 30 at 4 p.m. in the Florida Senate Building to “Stand with Palestine” and defeat SB 470, a bill which threatens financial aid for pro-Palestinian students and visa rights for international students.

#TampaFL #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #International #Yemen #Palestine #SDS

Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, January 13, hosted an emergency protest in front of City Hall following the U.S. and UK airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen.

Sara Onitsuka, the chair of Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, spoke to the courageousness of Yemen’s efforts in blocking ships heading towards the Zionist entity in response to the genocide against the Palestinian people. Onitsuka explained that despite Yemen experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world at the hands of Saudi Arabia and the U.S., they are still taking their streets in the millions and standing in solidarity for the self-determination of their Palestinian brethren. Further, Onitsuka believes that U.S. imperialism and propaganda continue to falter through its support of Israel.

Onitsuka stated, “The U.S.’s legitimacy on a world scale will sink just like those ships in the Red Sea.”

Robby Knapp from Students for a Democratic Society of UW-Milwaukee expressed the organization’s commitment to defending and expanding student rights globally. However, this cannot be achieved as the U.S. continues to fund the bloodthirsty military of the Israeli occupation, he argued. Knapp ended his speech with a list of demands of the present organizations, amongst them that “the City of Milwaukee and its common council draft a resolution both condemning the illegal attack against Yemen and calling for the end of the genocide in Palestine.”

Jacob Flom from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization closed speeches by touching on the endeavors of the organization in fighting against U.S. military interventions for the past 40 years. He explained how Palestine has flipped the world’s order on its head. Flom finished by urging attendees to read up on capitalism and U.S. imperialism, stay active and involved in the community, and continue building strong organizations to oppose the status quo.

Despite the short notice, freezing temperatures, and several inches of snow, 30 people took to the corners surrounding City Hall, holding up signs and chanting in support of Yemen and Palestine.

The protest was organized by Students for a Democratic Society of UW-Milwaukee (SDS UWM), Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC), and Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

On January 14, one day after the emergency protest, UWM SDS, MAC, and FRSO drafted a resolution titled, “Hands off Yemen! Free Palestine!” and are proposing that the Milwaukee Common Council take action by doing the bare minimum and adopting this resolution.

To read the full statement, check out @sds_uwm, @MKEantiwarcommittee, or @FRSO_WI on Instagram.

#MilwaukeeWI #International #Yemen #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #MAC #SDS #FRSO

Chicago, IL – On Thursday, January 18, nearly 150 students rallied and marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago as part of Students for a Democratic Society’s national day of action against the U.S. bombing of Yemen and in solidarity with the resistance in Palestine.

Despite the cold and wind students gathered between UIC lecture centers to show their solidarity with the Palestinian and Yemeni resistance. SDSers led students in chants of “Yemen Yemen stand your ground, turn another ship around!” and “Money for schools, not for war, U.S. out of Yemeni shores!”

SDSer Angel Naranjos began the rally with a speech emphasizing the connections between U.S./Zionist aggression in Palestine and the ongoing immigrant crisis and economic war against progressive governments in Central and South America.

“It is the reactionary and racist, billionaire class of countries like the United States, Britain and Israel who are the direct beneficiaries of the siege on Palestine. In particular, our government, here in the United States, is directly responsible… for the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans, just as they are responsible for displacing countless Palestinians.”

Nadiah Alyafai, a South Yemeniyah member of the US Palestinian Community Network, lauded the heroic actions of the Yemeni resistance, stating, “Yemen has proved to the world this is not just a Palestinian fight. The importance of freedom and liberation lies within the context of everyone's freedom. The Palestinian fight is central to the whole Arab world and to anyone that fights in the name of social justice, because there is no justice or peace in the world without justice and peace for Palestine.”

Alyafai also condemned the brutal bombing of Yemen, stating the U.S. government “would rather bomb multiple cities in Yemen to protect Israel from suffering economic damages than to stop the genocide in Gaza. It is clear that, under capitalism, shipping containers have more sanctity than human life.”

SDSer Erin Boyle condemned the hypocritical lies of Secretary of State Blinken and the U.S. government., stating. “Our state officials have no shame for the blood on their hands, our secretary of state said the South African case against Israel in the International Court of Justice ‘distracts the world from important efforts for peace and security.’ Shame on him. Peace and security for who? Israel continues to rain down bombs on Gaza paid for by us.”

Liz Rathburn of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization emphasized the pressing need for solidarity between workers and oppressed people in the United States and the resistance in Palestine.

“We the working people in this country have more in common with the people of Yemen and Palestine than we do with our own government or with the apartheid regime in Israel, they are waging a revolutionary struggle against the same empire working people in this country need to overthrow.”

After the speakers, activists led students in a march on the UIC administration building to support Students for Justice in Palestine in their demand that UIC cut its ties with Israeli institutions. Before dispersing, students shook the 28-story tower with chants of “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and “Genocide Joe it is time, stop funding war crimes!”

#ChicagoIL #International #Yemen #AntiWar #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #USPCN #FRSO

Chicago, IL – Over 750 protesters braved the coldest weekend of this winter so far on Saturday, January 13 to demand that the U.S. and its allies take their hands off Yemen and end their support of Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

The protesters spoke in favor of Yemen's naval blockade against Israel as well as in support of South Africa charging the apartheid state with genocide at the International Court of Justice. This was the latest in a string of weekly protests organized by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine since October 7, 2023.

In addition to the usual chants of “Free Palestine” and “No more money for Israel's crimes” protesters chanted “Yemen, Yemen stand your ground. Turn another ship around.”

“Yemen’s message to the world is that there will be no business as usual unless the Zionist state of Israel and its partners stop the genocide in Gaza,” said Nadiyah Alyafai, a Yemeni member of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), explaining why Yemen has been blocking ships in the Red Sea that are doing business with apartheid Israel.

Protesters condemned the series of airstrikes that have killed people in Yemen, mostly perpetrated by the U.S. and UK.

“It seems the British did not get enough after we sent them home with their tails between their legs in our war for independence in 1967. So, we will do the same now!” declared Omar Al-Yemeni, also a member of USPCN.

“Yemen is stopping the killing of civilians. The U.S. and UK are protecting their assets. Now the world can see how the Western powers prioritize profit over the people,” said Yasmin from Students for Justice in Palestine. “Meanwhile, South Africa’s decision to bring Israel to the International Court of Justice is a powerful act of solidarity.”

“All the countries who supported apartheid in South Africa are now supporting apartheid in Palestine,” said Kobi Guillory, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “Those of us who are oppressed by imperialism have to unite and fight back.”

Protesters resolved to continue pressuring U.S. politicians to stop their support for Israel’s genocide.

Nadiyah Alyafai added, “We tell Joe Biden: ‘Get your bloody hands off our homelands!’”

#ChicagoIL #International #Palestine #Yemen #AntiWar #USPCN

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the cowardly January 11 attack on Yemen by the U.S., United Kingdom, and their accomplices. The large-scale military strike took lives and destroyed property.

It was meant to frighten Yemen’s government and people. But the opposite took place. The government of Yemen has announced that it will continue to blockade shipping to Israeli-occupied Palestine. Backing that decision up were more than one million people rallying in the Yemeni capital city Sana'a.

Yemen’s response to the genocide in Gaza has been nothing short of heroic. Long a target of a brutal war waged by the Western powers and Arab reactionaries, Yemen’s choice to embrace the Palestinian resistance stands as an example to all yearn for liberation and justice.

In Palestine, the Israeli occupiers are losing the war, and the resistance movements in Lebanon and Iraq, along with the governments of Syria and Iran, are helping along the process that will end the occupation once and for all.

So, the Zionists have resorted to genocide. More than 30,000 are dead and they kill more every day. The mass murder is not an accident, it was embedded in the logic of the Zionist project from day one. And the imperial backers of the project, the U.S and Great Britain were, and still are, well aware of it.

Yemen’s courage stands as a beacon of hope where there is the darkness of oppression. It represents a step to a brighter future where the peoples of the Middle East will be free from imperialism and Zionism. When the monopoly capitalists that run the U.S. lose their hold on the Middle East, it will be milestone in the decline of the American empire.

For us in the U.S., standing with Palestine is important. The genocide Palestinians face would be impossible without U.S. backing. What we do here to stop it is important.

We need to stay in the streets and turn up the heat on all those who back Israel economically, with weapons, or who provide political cover to that apartheid state. Representatives of the Biden administration should be confronted about their support of genocide. All U.S. aid to Israel should stop!

There are two sides fighting in Palestine. It is not complicated at all. There is the oppressed and the oppressor. Israel exists on stolen land and borrowed time. The clock is ticking. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

Hands off Yemen! End U.S./U.K. attacks!

#International #Yemen #Palestine #AntiWar #FRSO #Statement #Feature

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN).

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) condemns the U.S. and UK imperialist attacks on the sovereign Arab state of Yemen. The U.S. and its allies have launched several airstrikes on multiple Yemeni cities in the past few hours. The attacks came after continuous provocation by the U.S. to stop Yemen from aiding the Unified Palestinian Resistance against the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. Yemen has vowed to intercept all Israeli and Israel-bound ships until the war crimes against the people of Palestine have ceased.

These attacks are a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty. The U.S. imperialist agenda is being exposed as it strives to destabilize and colonize the region in a continuous effort to support the genocidal, zionist state of Israel.

After the U.S.’ failed attempt to create a coalition to occupy the Bab al-Mandab Strait, it resorted to aerial strikes to further destroy Yemen, a nation recovering from a previously U.S.-funded war waged on them by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – a war which left Yemen devastated and facing a horrific, U.S.-manufactured humanitarian crisis. In addition, as collective punishment by the U.S. and its allies, humanitarian aid to Yemen was suspended.

As a number of Arab governments have been normalizing relationships with the apartheid state of Israel, and passively watching the genocide, Yemen stood up strongly and bravely in support of Palestine, preventing the advance of any naval vessels headed towards Israel. Its actions in the Red Sea, along with attacks from the Lebanese Resistance against the north of Israel, have inspired Arabs and other anti-imperialists and Palestine supporters across the world, in addition to providing real material reinforcement to the Unified Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.

#GenocideJoe Biden is not satisfied with funding Israeli war crimes and having the blood of 23,000 Palestinians on his hands. In the wake of an historic day in The Hague, where representatives of the remarkable state of South Africa offered powerful testimony about the Israeli genocide against Gaza to the International Court of Justice, he also approved these airstrikes on Yemen to murder more Arabs and devastate even more of the nation that has made us all so proud.

History has proven over and over that, wherever the U.S. military advances, destabilization and carnage is left behind, as we experienced in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, and dozens of other countries across the world. The U.S. and its imperialist warmongering allies must keep their bloody hands out of our countries.

#International #Yemen #AntiWar #USPCN #Palestine

The attacks serve as the latest in an ongoing war of resistance by Yemen that began nearly five years ago. On one side, there are Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) and its allies in the camp of resistance including Iran, Syria, and the political organization Hezbollah, and the Palestinian movement; on the other side, Saudi Arabia and their coalition forces – made up in one form or another of the United States, Israel, several Gulf States, and others.

The involvement of the Saudi-U.S. coalition forces represents an intervention into the sovereign affairs of the Yemeni people. Ansar Allah has led the armed resistance against this foreign invasion. With the success of this attack, the tide of the war may have dramatically shifted in favor of the patriotic forces.

The conflict in Yemen has produced the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today, with tens of thousands of people dead, many more wounded, and millions either on the cusp of starvation, victims of disease brought on by the war, or on the move as they flee for safety. Despite the magnitude of the crisis and the fact that the fighting has been raging for nearly five years, the U.S. corporate media has hardly covered Yemen at all. Until now, that is.

Over the last several days, mainstream media outlets have released story after story about this massive strike. A key piece to this narrative being spun by the Western press is that the attacks did not originate from Yemen, but Iran instead. The Iranian government has denied these allegations. As ever, U.S. President Donald Trump was quick to address the situation. The administration claims to be looking into the situation. Trump declared that they are “locked and loaded, depending on verification,” implying that they’re more than ready to retaliate directly in some capacity.

Combining the denial of the Iranian government with the bluster of President Trump leads to the conclusion that the pinning of the attack on Iran is a part of the broader U.S. shift toward open military aggression. The situation represents a danger not only to the people of Iran and the greater Middle East, but to all peace-loving people on the planet.

The demands of the anti-war movement in the U.S. must be clear: No to war on Iran! End military aid to Saudi Arabia! U.S. hands off Yemen!

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Iran #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #Yemen #SaudiArabia #Houthis #DonaldTrump

Yemen’s progressive, national democratic Houthi movement is resisting a war of aggression led by Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Yemen #MiddleEast

The Anti-War Committee calls on its supporters to demand Congress and the Trump administration immediately cease all support for Saudi Arabia’s military assault on Yemen.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia, with the support of President Obama, began waging a ruthless war against Yemen, with the goal of protecting Saudi and U.S. shipping, oil, and imperialist interests in the Middle East. The invasion began in reaction to the September 21 Revolution of 2014, when the Houthi movement for Yemeni self-determination, which for years had protested growing Saudi influence over Yemeni society, led a takeover of the most populous areas of Yemen including government institutions in the capital Sanaa. The war has been waged by a so-called “coalition” of Saudi-aligned governments in the region, together with the United States, and has involved a brutal aerial bombing campaign, a ground invasion and a blockade of Yemeni seaports.

While the ground assault has failed to capture significant territory from the Houthi-aligned forces, the aerial assaults—which have persisted for nearly four years—have destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure along with countless lives.

War on Yemen has Created a Grave Human Rights Crisis

International monitors have documented Saudi bombings of Yemeni refugee camps, hospitals, funeral processions, school buses, and many other civilian targets. Casualties from individual bombings have climbed into the hundreds; tens of thousands of Yemenis are estimated to have been killed overall.

The U.S./Saudi coalition has also blockaded seaports of the Houthi-held areas of Yemen, preventing food and medical supplies from reaching millions of people. As a result, famine has spread across Yemen, with international aid organizations estimating that hundreds of children die of malnutrition daily, and that 14 million Yemenis—half of the pre-war population—are at risk of starvation.

Adding to the carnage, the U.S./Saudi war and blockade have caused what international medical groups have deemed the worst cholera outbreak in human history, with over one million cases and thousands of deaths.

End U.S. Military Intervention!

None of this could have taken place without the initiative, weapons, intelligence, and approval of the United States. The U.S. supplies targeting information and intelligence for Saudi attacks, refuels Saudi planes in the air, has deployed Navy destroyers in the blockade, and supplies arms and training to Saudi forces. There are even U.S. “boots on the ground” near the Yemeni border. As of early 2018, about a dozen Green Beret commandos were stationed in Saudi Arabia along the Yemen border.

Historically the Saudi regime has proven itself a willing partner of NATO powers, chiefly of the United States. The war on Yemen is no exception, as it willingly aids the US in its bid to cement its domination of the oil-rich Middle East and the strategic Gulf of Aden shipping lanes, where Yemen’s southwest coastline forms a narrow choke point connecting Europe to Asia’s ports. Both the US and Saudi Arabia have also been eager to portray the war on Yemen as part of their long-standing beleaguerment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which neoconservative warmongers and regime-changers for decades have sought to punish for its rejection of Washington’s diktats.

In 2017, Trump and Saudi rulers crafted a US arms sales deal totaling $350 billion, all to fuel the profits of CEOs and shareholders of big corporations like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. These arms sales continue the direct complicity of the United States government in Saudi war crimes against Yemen.

Khashoggi’s Case Sheds Light on Horrors of War in Yemen

Meanwhile, the outcry from U.S. media and political leaders about the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been naive at best, and hypocritical and deceitful at worst. While his murder has led to some increased scrutiny of the war on Yemen, the shock being expressed belies the U.S. government’s years-long collusion in exactly the sort of violence and human rights abuses Khashoggi was silenced for writing about. Unsurprisingly, on November 14, House Republicans moved to block a vote to end US military involvement in Yemen under the War Powers Act. While a separate bill in the Senate would end arms sales for Saudi use in Yemen, the bill simultaneously threatens to levy even more sanctions on Iran—sanctions that are already choking off medical and humanitarian supplies—over its alleged support for the Houthi movement. We demand an end to US wars and blockades, with no exceptions!

No Ban, No Bombs, No War!

While continuing the war on Yemen, President Trump has outlawed Yemenis from traveling to the U.S. under his racist Muslim ban. It is criminal for the U.S. to bomb and attack other countries and then turn away refugees when the U.S. has destroyed their homelands! It is outrageous for Trump to ban Yemenis from traveling to the U.S. while destroying their country and starving their people. Trump, since the campaign trail, has painted the Middle East and Muslims in general as “terrorists” and this anti-Muslim rhetoric and this racist travel ban are legitimizing the increase in hate crimes and hate speech against our Muslim neighbors. We cannot be silent in the face of this bigotry! We need to speak out against the racist Muslim ban and the foreign policies which cause refugees to flee.

Take Action!

We at the Anti-War Committee know that the Congress will only end US support for Saudi Arabia if we demand with a united voice: STOP SUPPORTING THE WAR ON YEMEN!

Call Senator Amy Klobuchar at 202-224-3244 and Senator Tina Smith at 202- 224-5641 to tell them to vote against all aid to Saudi Arabia and to voice opposition to US coordination in the war on Yemen.

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Jacksonville, FL – On Dec. 4, Yemen’s Houthi movement reported they had killed former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a military operation just outside of Sanaa, the capital. Both Saleh’s own party – the General People’s Congress – and Saudi media confirmed Saleh’s death.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called the successful roadside attack on Saleh a “historic, exceptional and great day, in which the conspiracy of betrayal and treason failed, this black day for the forces of the aggression.” Saleh, once part of the resistance against the nearly three year U.S.-backed Saudi-led war on Yemen, switched loyalties on Dec. 2, abandoning his former Houthi allies.

The Saudi-led coalition resumed bombing of Sanaa just hours after confirming Saleh’s death, effectively reimposing a Saudi blockade on the war-torn nation. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a savage war against the Houthis and the people of Yemen, with the backing of the U.S. Their blockade, which was briefly lifted to allow international aid workers to deliver food and medical supplies, has drawn widespread condemnation for effectively sentencing millions of Yemenis to starvation and death.

Saleh and the Houthi movement

Yemen is the poorest country in the Persian Gulf and has fought against foreign domination and colonialism for much of its history. In 1962, Yemen won its independence from Britain but divided into two countries – north and south – just five years later. A revolution in southern Yemen led by socialists and communists gave birth to the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, while the north remained firmly aligned with Western interests. Saleh became president of North Yemen in 1978 and oversaw the reunification of the nation in 1990.

Reunification brought economic and political ruin to the south, which led to a civil war in the early 1990s. But Saleh faced other challenges in the country’s north with the emergence of the Houthi movement. Founded as a liberation theology movement similar to Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Houthis drew widespread support from Yemen’s poor and religious minorities and quickly became a leading force against Saleh’s pro-U.S. government.

Brutal political repression and harsh economic inequality marked Saleh’s 33-year rule. Fearing the traction gained by the Houthis, he ordered a wave of political arrests in June 2004, which culminated in the extrajudicial execution of the movement’s founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. While cracking down on dissidents, Saleh simultaneously cooperated with Washington’s War on Terror – first with the Bush administration and later allowing the Obama administration to conduct drone strikes in his country with impunity.

The Arab uprisings of 2011 eventually spread to Yemen, and a series of mass protests forced Saleh out of power. However, another Saudi/U.S. puppet, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, stepped into the power vacuum and continued Saleh’s repressive, pro-Western policies.

War and the united front

On Sept. 21, 2014, the Houthi movement drove out Hadi’s government and seized power in Sanaa. The popular national democratic revolution struck fear in neighboring Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf monarchies, which formed a coalition and launched a savage war against the Houthis. As the Houthis mobilized the nation against the Saudi-led coalition, Saleh sensed an opportunity to regain power. He joined the Houthi-led united front and pledged his support for the effort to defeat the Saudi-led attack.

Despite unleashing savage destruction on Yemen, the war effort has not gone well for the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition. In almost three years of fierce bombing, they failed to dislodge the Houthis from their strongholds, instead drawing widespread international condemnation. Already facing giant budget deficits from the global slump in oil prices, the war in Yemen has driven Saudi Arabia further into economic crisis with no end in sight.

As the Houthis’ power grew stronger in the face of war, Saleh became increasingly concerned that victory against the Saudi-led coalition would see the Houthis come to power in a national democratic government, rather than a restoration of his rule. Reports in recent months indicated that Saleh’s forces began conducting back-channel talks with the Saudi-led coalition to negotiate a settlement to the conflict – a settlement that did not include the Houthis in power.

Sic semper tyrannis

The tenuous alliance between Saleh’s forces and the Houthis came to an end on Dec. 2, when the former Yemeni ruler formally switched sides and vowed to destroy the Houthis. In a televised broadcast, Saleh blamed the Houthis for the nation’s problems and called on forces loyal to him to fight his former allies. President Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia at the outset of the war, announced his forces would also join the fight against the Houthis in Saana.

Saleh’s opportunist betrayal drew criticisms from patriotic elements in his own General People’s Congress party. Street battles erupted in Saana between the popularly supported Houthis and small pockets of Saleh’s loyalist forces.

Just two days later, Houthi media reported the death of Saleh in a roadside ambush outside the nation’s capital. In a video posted to social media showing Saleh’s body, Houthi supporters chanted “Your revenge, Sayyidi Hussein,” a reference to the Houthi founder hanged by Saleh in 2004.

With Saleh eliminated, the resistance to the Saudi-led coalition presses forward. The Houthi movement aims to create a democratic, non-sectarian republic, and Saleh’s death rules out the possibility of a return to the status quo. In recent years, elements in southern Yemen have joined the Houthi-led united front, and a successful rocket attack on Riyadh’s international airport – a staging ground for Saudi warplanes – in early November demonstrated the resilience of the insurgency.

Carnage in Yemen

In early November, the Saudi-led coalition announced a comprehensive total blockade of Yemen, closing land, air and sea ports to aid workers and journalists. Yemen imports 90% of its food and medicine, meaning this blockade essentially starves the Yemeni people, who already face firebombs and Saudi-backed death squads waging war in their country.

Aid agencies briefly resumed deliveries of food and medical supplies after Saudi Arabia briefly lifted its blockade of the country. However, the renewed Saudi bombing of Sanaa on Dec. 4 effectively reimposed the same blockade – with all of its ghoulish consequences.

Death and destruction continue to rain down on Yemen since the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition declared war in early 2015. By January 2017, the war had killed over 10,000 civilians and injured 40,000 others, according to a report by the United Nations. This number has almost certainly risen in the last year.

But the carnage in Yemen isn’t confined to military casualties. The war skyrocketed the price of fuel and drove up the already high price of imported food, water and medicine, bringing with it starvation and disease.

UN officials and more than 20 aid organizations say that Yemen will face the world's largest famine in decades as a result of the Saudi-led war and blockade, making it larger than the monstrous famines in South Sudan and Somalia earlier in 2017. Out of Yemen's population of 28 million people, about 20 million “do not know where they're going to get their next meal,” said one UN official in November.

The war has taken a particularly high toll on Yemeni children. Every ten minutes, a child in Yemen dies from conditions stemming from war, according to UNICEF. 50,000 will die from famine by the end of 2017, and another 400,000 will require treatment for acute malnutrition, according to the Save the Children charity.

Yemen has suffered the worst outbreak of cholera in well over a century as a direct result of the war. More than 900,000 people have contracted the deadly disease as a result of the nation's devastated water and health care infrastructure. Modern medicine basically eliminated cholera in the 20th century. However, deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure by Saudi warplanes has destroyed wells and plumbing, leading to a staggering 400% increase in the price of water in much of the country. The lack of affordable clean water and the resulting cholera epidemic stand to get much worse as the Saudi blockade continues.

Support from the U.S. and the United Kingdom allows the Saudi-led war on Yemen to continue. Since the beginning in 2015, the U.S. and the U.K. backed the campaign by selling arms, refueling warplanes and providing international diplomatic cover. Most of Saudi Arabia’s arms come from the U.S. and the U.K. Under Trump, U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia increased from previous highs under the Obama administration. Similarly, Britain has seen a 500% increase in arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the course of its three-year war on Yemen, according to a report by the U.K. Independent newspaper. Other imperialist countries, like Sweden, have stepped up arms sales to core partners in the Saudi-led coalition.

The camp of resistance in the Middle East

The Houthi-led united front in Yemen belongs to the camp of resistance in the Middle East. Anchored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, it includes the Syrian Arab Republic, Hezbollah and other patriotic forces in Lebanon, the Palestinian liberation movement, and other progressive groups in the region. Together they form the largest bloc of resistance to the U.S. and its allies – Israel, Saudi Arabia and most of the gulf monarchies, and Turkey.

While comprising a key part of this camp, the Houthis are not foreign puppets of Iran like the Saudis claim. They are a national democratic movement with deep roots among the Yemeni people, heroically fighting to free their nation from foreign domination and slaughter. As outrage grows over the U.S. role in the massacre of Yemen, working people should stand in solidarity with the Houthis and demand the end of arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition.

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