August is a Global Month of Action for Yemen and you can take action!
As we speak, Congress is deciding what amendments will stay in the “veto proof” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes Pentagon spending. We need to act fast to make sure language to end the Yemen war isn’t stripped from the final version of the bill that goes to the President’s desk.
Please call Speaker Nancy Pelosi today at (202) 225-4965 and insist that the House-Senate conference on the National Defense Authorization Act include the Smith-Khanna amendment-26 to end all U.S. participation in the Saudi-UAE war in Yemen and the Malinowski amendment-438 to stop bomb sales to Saudi-UAE. If they ask why, say “Yemen Can’t Wait!”
Getting these amendments into the NDAA is our best shot at helping to bring an end to the worst humanitarian crisis on earth.
As a result of the war, roughly 20.1 million people in Yemen are food insecure and 14 million people are at risk of famine. Aid agencies have described Yemen as worst place in the world to be a child, with the conflict claiming the lives of at least 85,000 children under the age of 5 from hunger and disease. More than 1 million Yemenis have been infected with cholera and an alarming 10,000 new cases arise each week. The Saudi-UAE coalition has imposed a de facto blockade on Yemen, which has impeded the flow of food, fuel, and medicine, pushing prices of essential goods out of reach for millions of Yemenis.
It’s more urgent than ever that we call Speaker Pelosi and demand she do everything in her power to keep amendments 26 and 438 in the NDAA to end US participation in the brutal Yemen war once and for all.
You can also take action locally! Check the Global Month of Action for Yemen site to see if an action is already planned in your city. If there is, attend and help promote it. If there isn’t, your local DSA chapter can organize a solidarity rally or teach-in of your own!
For ideas and suggestions, have a look at the Global Month of Action for Yemen site and this Yemen recess guide for activists. For more background, see DSA’s statement on Yemen and DSA member Danny Postel’s article “Progressive Surge Propels Turning Point in US Policy on Yemen” from the magazine Middle East Report.