Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
there is one point, at least, on which Trump has not only refrained from dismantling Obama's legacy but actually entrenched it further: U.S. involvement in Yemen's civil war.
This war began in late 2014 between Yemen's Iran-linked Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government in Sanaa. A Saudi- and United Arab Emirates-led coalition intervened several months later - the war is now widely regarded as a proxy fight between Saudi Arabia and Iran - and the United States backed the coalition from the start.
The Obama administration never sought approval from Congress for this intervention, rendering the entire project unlawful under the Constitution and the 1973 War Powers Act. Nor did the Obama team make a case that vital U.S. interests were at stake. On the contrary, as Gen. Lloyd Austin revealed to Congress in early 2015, the administration didn't seem to have a clear agenda in Yemen beyond supporting Riyadh. "I don't currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign, and I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success," said Austin, who is now nominated for secretary of defense by President-elect Joe Biden.
Austin's comments make sense given the reality now, as then, that U.S. defense does not require this entanglement. Our country has no significant interests at stake here. Who governs Yemen will affect us little, if at all: It is a very poor and small country half a world away, and the Houthis have local ambitions. Contrary to the suggestion of an ill-advised Foreign Terrorist Organization designation the Trump administration is currently considering, the Houthis are not international terrorists in the style of al Qaeda. Whether they or the recognized government ultimately prevails is not integral to American security.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-copied-obama-s-failure-in-yemen/ar-BB1cjQbG
This war began in late 2014 between Yemen's Iran-linked Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government in Sanaa. A Saudi- and United Arab Emirates-led coalition intervened several months later - the war is now widely regarded as a proxy fight between Saudi Arabia and Iran - and the United States backed the coalition from the start.
The Obama administration never sought approval from Congress for this intervention, rendering the entire project unlawful under the Constitution and the 1973 War Powers Act. Nor did the Obama team make a case that vital U.S. interests were at stake. On the contrary, as Gen. Lloyd Austin revealed to Congress in early 2015, the administration didn't seem to have a clear agenda in Yemen beyond supporting Riyadh. "I don't currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign, and I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success," said Austin, who is now nominated for secretary of defense by President-elect Joe Biden.
Austin's comments make sense given the reality now, as then, that U.S. defense does not require this entanglement. Our country has no significant interests at stake here. Who governs Yemen will affect us little, if at all: It is a very poor and small country half a world away, and the Houthis have local ambitions. Contrary to the suggestion of an ill-advised Foreign Terrorist Organization designation the Trump administration is currently considering, the Houthis are not international terrorists in the style of al Qaeda. Whether they or the recognized government ultimately prevails is not integral to American security.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-copied-obama-s-failure-in-yemen/ar-BB1cjQbG
