In August, Saudi Arabian warplanes attacked a busload of school children in northern Yemen, killing at least 51 people. The victims were overwhelmingly children, and has served as a major reason to oppose the war. This is doubly so because the Saudis used a US bomb in the attack.
President Trump is now looking to shrug this entire story off, chalking it up to the Saudis not knowing how to use the bombs right, saying he would have a talk with them in the future. He added that “I wouldn’t be having people that don’t know how to use the weapons shooting at buses with children.”
Saudi officials offered a few conflicting stories, initially saying it was a legitimate military target, then saying it wasn’t legitimate. The civilian toll has been soaring in Yemen in recent months, so clearly there has been no policy change related to the killings.
President Trump’s sudden decision to speak on the matter suggests the US remains more or less fine with the present state of affairs. If anything, the argument that the Saudis don’t know enough about the arms he’s so eager to sell them suggests his go-to reaction will be to increase US support in teaching the Saudis, something which has consistently sucked the US deeper into the war, and done nothing to keep civilians alive.