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A bipartisan group of senators has sent a letter to President Biden questioning his legal authority to launch a new war against the Houthis in Yemen and the overall strategy of the campaign.
The letter was signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Todd Young (R-IN). “The Constitution requires that the United States not engage in military action absent a favorable vote of Congress,” the senators wrote. “There is no current congressional authorization for offensive US military action against the Houthis.”
The senators noted that the Biden administration has acknowledged the strikes on Yemen would not deter the Houthis. President Biden recently said the bombing campaign was not working to stop Houthi attacks but vowed to continue it anyway.
“The Administration has stated that the strikes on Houthi targets to date have not and will not deter the Houthi attacks, suggesting that we are in the midst of an ongoing regional conflict that carries the risk of escalation,” the letter reads.
The senators said an argument could be made to justify strikes in defense of US commercial shipping but noted most ships transiting the Red Sea are not American. Before President Biden first bombed Yemen on January 12, the Houthis were not targeting American commercial shipping, but now they are.
“Does your administration believe there is legal rationale for a President to unilaterally direct US military action to defend ships of foreign nations?” the senators asked.
The letter asks why Biden has only submitted one notification about bombing Yemen under the 1973 War Powers Act, as there have been multiple rounds of strikes, and how the administration understands the term “self-defense” in the context of the new campaign.
Congress previously challenged the Executive Branch’s authority to wage war in Yemen by passing a War Powers Resolution in 2019 that would have ended US support for the Saudi-led war against the Houthis, but it was vetoed by then-President Trump.
Comment: Note how Trump kowtows to elite Crime Syndicate by Refusing to End U.S. Support for Saudi’s bombing Yemen. Overdue for U.S. “Special Relation” to Britain to END PERMANENTLY!
2 US-Flagged Ships with Cargo for US Defense Department Come Under Attack by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels
JERUSALEM — Two American-flagged ships carrying cargo for the U.S. Defense and State departments came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday, officials said, with the U.S. Navy intercepting some of the incoming fire.
The attacks on the container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake further raise the stakes of the group’s ongoing attacks on shipping through the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. and the United Kingdom have launched multiple rounds of airstrikes seeking to stop the attacks.
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Meanwhile, Qatar, one of the world’s top exporters of liquified natural gas, warned that its deliveries were affected by ongoing Houthi attacks over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Danish shipper Maersk, in a statement to The Associated Press, identified two of its vessels affected by the attacks as the U.S.-flagged container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake. It said the U.S. Navy was accompanying its ships at the time.
“While en route, both ships reported seeing explosions close by and the U.S. Navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles,” Maersk said. “The crew, ship, and cargo are safe and unharmed. The U.S. Navy has turned both ships around and is escorting them back to the Gulf of Aden.
Maersk said both vessels carried cargo belonging to the U.S. Defense and State Departments, as well as other government agencies, meaning they were “afforded the protection of the U.S. Navy for passage through the strait.”
The ships were operated by Maersk Line, a U.S. subsidiary of Maersk that is “suspending transits in the region until further notice,” the company said.
The U.S. military’s Central Command in an online statement blamed the Houthis for the attack, saying they fired “three anti-ship ballistic missiles.”
“One missile impacted in the sea,” the statement said. “The two other missiles were successfully engaged and shot down by the USS Gravely,” an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
Central Command did not respond to further questions from the AP.
The Houthis, who have been launching attacks on ships since November over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.
The U.S. and the U.K. have launched rounds of airstrikes targeting suspected missile storage and launch sites used by the Houthis in their attacks. The rebels now say they’ll target American and British ships as well.
Meanwhile, Qatar announced its shipments of liquified natural gas had been affected by the Houthi attacks. Previous shipments had been delayed previously before heading through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Qatar, which has served as a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has yet to see any of its ships attacked, however. A statement from its state-owned QatarEnergy producer said that its “production continues uninterrupted, and our commitment to ensuring the reliable supply of LNG to our customers remains unwavering.”
“While the ongoing developments in the Red Sea area may impact the scheduling of some deliveries as they take alternative routes, LNG shipments from Qatar are being managed with our valued buyers,” the statement said.
The statement suggests QatarEnergy’s cargos now are traveling around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, likely adding time to their trips.
