Throughout the past four years, all questions about British military involvement were answered the same way, with claims from the government that there was absolutely no role in the Yemeni conflict.
That position collapsed suddenly over the weekend, when media reports revealed that five British special forces operatives were injured in combat in Yemen, supporting the Saudi invasion. The troops were from Special Boat Service.
This not only revealed that British troops were in fact involved in Yemen, but perhaps more importantly that the government had been lying about it. Now parliament, particularly the opposition, is demanding to know specifics.
This has meant a subtle official shift from “we are not party to the conflict” to them no longer denying that troops are present. Since it’s been established troops are present, and involved in combat, that’s not much of a concession, and parliament is going to be pushing hard to get the truth about involvement in a hugely unpopular war.
British Troops Are Active in Combat in Yemen
Parliament demands answers after years of denying involvement
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
