Biden Halts Aid to Saudi Offensive Operations in Yemen

Detailed map of Yemen conflict (Wikipedia)

President Joe Biden’s first speech regarding foreign policy officially announced a drastic limitation to American involvement in the Yemeni Civil War, in which it had previously backed the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, on February 4. According to the latest announcement, the Biden administration will no longer lend support for “offensive operations… including relevant arms sales,” as part of the administration’s larger effort to end the conflict which has engulfed much of the Arabian peninsula.

The Yemeni Civil War, which began in September 2014, quickly escalated as Saudi Arabia supported the government of the ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, while Iran sided with the dissident Houthi movement. Other factions, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, found footholds amid the turmoil. The United Nations classified the resulting humanitarian crisis as the worst in the world, with an estimated 233,000 civilian casualties as a direct result.

The Saudi government has received much support from the United States over the years. The Department of State details that the country has “$126.6 billion in active government-to-government sales cases with Saudi Arabia under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system.” This has manifested mainly in anti-aircraft weaponry and missile defense, armored land vehicles, helicopters, and ships. All of these sales will come to an end. 

At the same time, Biden made clear that he did not intend for a full withdrawal from the conflict. In his speech, he stated how Saudi Arabia has faced “missile attacks, [drone] strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries.” As a sign of his continued support, he pledged “to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people.” 

Biden’s remarks should not be mistaken for a sign of lack of interest in the region. The U.S. military is eyeing new ports and bases in Saudi Arabia, and there has been no indication that the thousands of American troops in Yemen are planning to leave. Furthermore, there is still some ambiguity surrounding what exactly the United States defines as an offensive operation: as per the speech, operations deemed to be in defense of Saudi Arabia are still fair game.