Unlike Most Western Leaders, Corbyn Demands End to US-UK Complicity in Yemen's Suffering

While most political leaders and U.S. media outlets continue to perpetuate the “power-serving” notion that the West has played little to no role in causing and worsening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn penned a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday slamming American and British forces for fueling the Saudi-led bombing campaign and demanding an independent war crimes investigation.

“Whilst the immediate priority should be humanitarian assistance to Yemen, it is time the government takes immediate steps to play its part in ending the suffering of the Yemeni people.”
—Jeremy Corbyn, U.K. Labour leader”At least 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict started in 2014 and 7 million people are in extreme hunger. Food shortages and the cholera outbreak are a direct result of the continuing blockade of Yemen by the U.S.- and U.K.-backed Saudi-led coalition,” Corbyn wrote. “Whilst the immediate priority should be humanitarian assistance to Yemen, it is time the government takes immediate steps to play its part in ending the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

The “devastation and destruction in Yemen” Corbyn highlights has been ongoing for years while garnering relatively little attention, but in recent days the crisis has increasingly been spotlighted by American media outlets—albeit with one “glaring” omission.

As journalist Adam Johnson notes in a piece for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), U.S. coverage in particular has peddled a “reductionist narrative” that accurately singles out Saudi Arabia for criticism but conveniently leaves out the fact that the Saudis rely heavily on the U.S., the U.K., and Canada for weaponry, ongoing military intelligence, and political support.

In contrast to the dominant media narrative, Corbyn’s letter places the American and British role in arming Saudi Arabia front-and-center.

“Note how Corbyn doesn’t just flamboyantly lament the destruction of Yemen as if it’s a natural disaster, nor does he lay blame on other countries,” observes The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald. “He explicitly notes his own government’s key role in it. U.S . media could learn from that.”

Corbyn’s demand that the U.K. and U.S. take responsibility for their role in sustaining what has been deemed the worst humanitarian crisis in the world comes as the U.N. is calling on Saudi Arabia to end a blockade that is preventing food and medicine from entering Yemen. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, thousands more Yemenis could die per day if the country’s ports remain closed.

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Though it has received scant media attention since being released on Monday, Corbyn’s full letter follows: