Foreign military sales did not determine the outcome of internal State Department debate over whether Saudi Arabia is indiscriminately killing civilians in Yemen’s civil war, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.
“I find that suggestion offensive,” Pompeo told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “The reason we’re continuing to work in Yemen is to try and resolve that situation through the U.N.-directed peace operation. We support that effort. We’ve continued to support that effort.”
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Arab states in fighting against the Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran that overthrew the Yemeni government in 2015. The Saudi-led coalition has drawn intense criticism for killing civilians, prompting American lawmakers to consider withdrawing U.S. support. Pompeo certified to Congress last week that the coalition is “undertaking demonstrable action” to reduce the civilian casualties, but subsequent leaks portrayed the certification as an attempt to preserve arms sales agreements with the Saudi Arabians.
Pompeo dismissed that claim. “The killing of the children is tragic,” he said. “[The] Saudis have taken responsibility for that. [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis and myself have both worked closely with the entire Saudi-led coalition to reduce the risk of civilian causalities and collateral damage. They were all imperfect, but we’re working hard towards that end.”
Senate Democrats argue that the internal dissension over the certification exposes the error of the decision to keep providing logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition.
“This insight suggests that individuals in the executive branch are increasingly aware that maintaining the status quo of current U.S. policy on Yemen is difficult to defend,” New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
But Pompeo shifted the focus back to Iran. “Peace in Yemen is important, and if Iran would cease arming for the Houthi and firing missiles out of Yemen into the gulf states, we’d be a lot closer to that peace,” he said.
