Why Does the U.S. Support War Crimes in Yemen? By Paul R. Pillar - The National Interest
The war in Yemen has been for some time one of the worst current man-made humanitarian disasters. Now comes a report , from the United Nations Human Rights Council and based on extensive investigations by a group of experts examining the past four years of the war, documenting not only human suffering as a byproduct of warfare but also the commission of war crimes. By far the most destructive offenses have been committed by the principal external intervenors—Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—and the titular Yemeni government that they back.
The lead conclusion of the report is:
“The Group of Experts has reasonable grounds to believe that the Governments of Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are responsible for human rights violations, including unlawful deprivation of the right to life, arbitrary detention, rape, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and child recruitment, and serious violations of freedom of expression and economic, social and cultural rights, in particular the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health.”
The most destructive element of the war has been indiscriminate bombardment by the air forces of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. On this, the report says, "Coalition air strikes have caused most of the documented civilian casualties. In the past three years, such air strikes have hit residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats and even medical facilities." The report goes on to provide supporting detail. Furthermore, the bombing last month of a school bus, killing dozens of young boys, is among the most recent of what has become a string of aerial atrocities…