US to stop refueling Saudi coalition planes indiscriminately bombing Yemen

RT
Sat, 10 Nov 2018 14:27 UTC

© Global Look Press / US Air Force

A US Air Force F-15 aerial refueling

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is opting to refuel its aircraft independently going forward, ending a controversial collaboration with US military assets.

The Saudi Press agency released a statement on Saturday explaining that the coalition was able to "increase their capacity" for refueling their aircraft and would do so independently going forward. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis confirmed the decision was made in consultation with the US government.

On Friday, Reuters reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Washington was considering ending the refueling of coalition aircraft in Yemen, citing both the coalition's own increased capabilities and growing international outrage over the human consequences of the war in Yemen. Opposition to US collaboration with the Saudi coalition in Yemen has increased following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Saudi-led coalition has been accused of targeting hospitals, water infrastructure, and other civilian targets, and raids on wedding parties and the recent bombing of a school bus have sparked international condemnation. The US and UK have both been criticized for continuing to sell arms to the coalition despite their targeting of civilians and alleged war crimes.

According to the UN, some 14 million Yemeni people - fully half the country's population - are dependent on food aid for their survival, and more than 400,000 children are suffering from serious malnutrition. The destruction of civilian infrastructure has facilitated the growth of the worst cholera epidemic in history. The Saudi-led blockade of the port city of Hodeidah threatens to make things worse, as it is the entry point for most of the country's food aid and medical supplies. Tens of thousands of civilians have died both as a result of airstrikes and because of starvation and disease.

Comment: There is a bit of perception management going on with this latest development. Before the Saudi announcement there was news with statements making it appear as if the U.S. were the ones behind the decision. For example:

US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN) said in a news release on Friday that according to a provision in the US defense budget, the United States cannot refuel Saudi coalition planes in Yemen until Riyadh makes a good faith effort to end the conflict.

"As a first step, we call on the Trump administration to immediately end US air refueling of Saudi coalition aircraft in Yemen," the senators said on Friday. "If the administration does not take immediate steps ... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session."

Meanwhile, two US officials, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Friday that Washington could completely suspend the refueiling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen. In particular, the report said that the issue was under consideration by both countries and suggested that such a decision could ultimately be made by Riyadh, given its own refueling capacity.
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The Pentagon warned Saudi Arabia that it could withdraw its military and intelligence support for the operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen after dozens of civilians were killed in a strike on a school bus in August, CNN reported earlier, citing US officials.

Saudi Arabia knows it's better to dump than be dumped, however. So it was actually the Saudis who "requested" for the U.S. to stop the refueling, because they now had the capability to do it on their own. That was fine with the U.S., who would rather avoid having to punish their head-chopper allies in the Gulf:

"We support the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the U.S. Government, to use the Coalition's own military capabilities to conduct in-flight refueling in support of its operations in Yemen," the statement [by Mattis], published on the [Defense] department's website, read.