Three Senate Democrats have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to challenge him over the high civilian casualty rate in the US’s bombing campaign in Yemen, which the Trump administration launched on March 15.
US airstrikes on Yemen have hit residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure, taking a heavy toll on civilians. According to the Yemen Data Project, at least 63 civilians were killed, including 11 children, and 150 were injured by US strikes from March 15 to April 15.
On April 17, the US launched its deadliest attack on the Ras Issa fuel port, killing 80 people, mainly civilian workers and some paramedics, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry. Aid groups warned the strike on fuel infrastructure could push the millions of Yemenis already facing food shortages into famine.
According to The Washington Post, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) said in a letter to Hegseth that such a “serious disregard” for life calls into question the Trump administration’s ability to conduct military operations “in accordance with US best practices for civilian harm mitigation and international law.”
The senators asked Hegseth to account for the number of civilians killed already and asked him to describe what efforts the Trump administration has taken to mitigate civilian harm, if any. They also asked whether the Pentagon was even tracking civilian casualties in Yemen.
The Pentagon has shared virtually no details about its attacks on Yemen, and Trump administration officials have claimed the bombing campaign has been a “success” even though the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have shown no sign of backing down in the face of daily US airstrikes.
The Houthis have maintained they won’t end attacks on Israel or their blockade on Israeli-linked shipping unless there’s a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. A senior member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau has said the Houthis would stop attacks on US warships if the US stopped bombing Yemen, but there’s no sign the US is considering the offer.
Sen. Van Hollen said the high civilian casualties were likely helping the Houthis, who govern an area where about 80% of Yemenis live, gain support.
“As military leaders have made clear: if you don’t minimize the loss of civilian life, not only are you potentially violating international humanitarian law, but you’re undermining the goals of your mission … you only fuel more anger at America among the population when you kill scores of civilians … [and] you risk the Houthis gaining more recruits to their cause,” he said.
Except for the Goldberg listen in party line.
Van Hollen I could see, but wasn’t Kaine kind of war-ish with running mate Clinton?
Kaine is antiwar(ish) when a republican is in the white house
Ah, makes sense.
"high civilian casualty rate " War is not a "video game". Civilians will die in wars. Many targets in warfare are duel use facilities and when they are taken out civilians die. Ras Isa for example.
Now, if Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis hit an apartment complex that Ben Gvir, Smotrich, Netanyahu or Katz was walking into, then it would be terrorism, am I right?
So no objection if an Israeli school gets attacked, since every school in Israel has one or more armed agents of the Israeli regime present? Or is that a one-way “too bad?”
Are you as monstrous as that comment makes you appear?
Do they have anything to say about this?
Haaretz Exposé | Killing of Gaza Aid Workers: IDF Troops Fired Indiscriminately for Over Three Minutes, Some at Point-blank Range
IDF materials show that soldiers reloaded their magazines multiple times while shooting at 12 aid workers who tried to identify themselves ■ Before the shooting, the force was alerted to increased ambulance traffic in the area ■ The aid vehicles were on a permitted route that didn't require coordination ■ The commander decided on his own to deviate from his assigned mission
…The brigade commander instructed the deputy battalion commander to hide the bodies in the ground and to bury and crush the ambulances so that anyone traveling the route would not uncover the attack plan that was about to be carried out.
At no point did the brigade commander suggest transporting the bodies to Israel or transferring them to international aid organizations.
During discussions about how to proceed – about 12 minutes after the IDF's assault ended, while the forces were still at the scene and the ambulances remained on the road – a UN vehicle arrived, carrying a UNRWA worker. In footage held by the army, the UN vehicle is seen arriving slowly, apparently aware of what was happening and likely having received reports of the shooting at the aid workers.
The vehicle approached with its lights on, seemingly attempting to signal its presence to the IDF force at the scene. The UN worker did not leave the vehicle or approach the soldiers, but the deputy battalion commander decided to fire at the vehicle, joined by one of the soldiers – they killed the UN worker.
https://archive.ph/rdFo2
We couldn't even imagine what kind of reaction that would have elicited if the roles were reversed. It would have been repeated as an excuse to continue Israel's slaughter as often as "Oct 7th" has been. But "professional failures" is good enough when it's the "good guys" doing the terrorism.
I thought of the old classic movie, “the professional” when I read this. In case you haven’t seen it, he was a hitman.
So the professional failures are getting caught?
I don't see Bernie Sanders there…!
StormBreaker Advanced Glide Bomb Lands In Yemen Largely Intact
"The wreckage of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has appeared in Yemen. The weapon, which was only recently confirmed as being used in combat in that country, offers some very advanced capabilities"
https://www.twz.com/air/stormbreaker-advanced-glide-bomb-lands-in-yemen-largely-intact
More mass murder for Israel.
Disgusting!
Uncle Sammy is bombing the shit out of the poorest nation in the region in order to protect an ongoing genocide.
Stop believing in falsehoods, Trumps instincts are for peace he’s not for War, those are lies.
Trump’s instincts are for self-aggrandizement, and he doesn’t give a tinker’s dam how many people have to die for those instincts to be served.