Thread by @shireen818

#Thread: The Saudi-UAE war on #Yemen began 5 years ago with full support from Obama/Biden. Together, they manufactured the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Obama never apologized & Biden only came out against the war in 2019.

This is what they did to Yemenis from 2015-2016:

First, let's establish that this is, and always had been, a US war on #Yemen.

On day 1, the Obama White House issued this statement declaring "logistical & intelligence support" to Saudi: obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-offi…

Their authorization of military intervention was unconstitutional

Every day, US bombs were dropped from US jets refueled mid-air by the US Air Force on targets chosen with the help of US military officials.

Weapons Sales: reuters.com/article/us-usa…

Targeting: theguardian.com/world/2016/jan…

Mid-air refueling: reuters.com/article/us-usa…

According to a UN report issued in January 2016, the US-Saudi-UAE coalition's targeting of civilians was "widespread and systematic": theguardian.com/world/2016/jan…

5 days into the war, US/Saudi airstrikes killed at least 40 people displaced in a refugee camp: theguardian.com/world/2015/mar…

Under Obama/Biden's watch, the US illegally sold cluster weapons to the Saudis, which they promptly used on civilians in Yemen: america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/…

Here's how a cluster munition containing 650 bomblets destroyed Yemeni lives in a Sana'a neighborhood: washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…

Days before that cluster bomb dropped, the US *expanded* its intelligence sharing with the Saudis in #Yemen

In other words, rather than scaling back, Obama/Biden doubled-down their support for the Saudis despite mounting civilian casualties:
reuters.com/article/us-usa…

In Sep. 2015, a US/Saudi airstrike killed 130 Yemenis attending a wedding: bbc.com/news/world-mid…

A month later, they destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital. This was the first of 4 airstrikes on MSF hospitals in Yemen during Obama/Biden's tenure msf.org/yemen-msf-hosp…

As deadly as 2015 was, Yemenis were in for an even deadlier year.

In March 2016, a US bomb dropped on a market, killing 119, including 22 children: cbc.ca/news/world/sau…

A few of us changed our twitter profiles to raise awareness about the massacre:

https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/710143437648044033?s=20

That summer, Ibrahim Abdulkareem's home was struck as he, his wife, & two children slept in their Sana'a home. His 11-month old daughter Zainab was found dead under the rubble.

Ibrahim is still fighting for justice. I helped him translate his story: pri.org/stories/2016-0…

Though media coverage was inconsistent, there were calls to end the US war in Yemen.

In August, for example, the New York Times' Editorial Board called for Obama/Biden to end the war in a piece entitled, "America Is Complicit in the Carnage in Yemen."
nytimes.com/2016/08/17/opi…

Days before, an airstrike killed 10 children in their classroom: telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/1…

Also, another MSF hospital was struck, killing 19 people, despite the hospital sharing its coordinates with the Coalition 5 days before the bombing: npr.org/sections/thetw…

By the time Obama & Biden left office, civilians were targeted in their homes, schools, weddings, and funerals.

The deadliest single airstrike came in October 2016, when a double-tap bomb killed 155 people at a funeral and injured 525 more: washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…

Despite the carnage caused by the Obama/Biden administration, US weapons sales continued. Mid-air refueling didn't stop until November 2018. The US still maintains & updates Saudi vehicles/aircraft & trains their pilots.

Trump inherited the war, and continued business-as-usual.

A group of US lawmakers, led by @BernieSanders in the Senate and @RoKhanna in the House passed the historic War Powers Act in 2019, declaring US support for the war unconstitutional.

Trump vetoed the bill, and continues to kill and starve Yemeni civilians.

While the conflict didn't begin in 2015 (I provide background & context here: inthesetimes.com/article/21806/…), what began as a civil conflict turned into the world's worst humanitarian crisis when the US/Saudi/UAE coalition intervened.
cnn.com/2018/04/03/mid…

The impressively incompetent Saudis and Emiratis cannot continue to wage this war without US support.

As a Yemeni-American, my hope for ending this brutal war lies with the Senator who fought to end it, not the VP who helped launch it.

30 million Yemeni lives are at stake.