美国国家公共电台 NPR Often Quiet On Wars, Congress Challenges White House Over Yemen

Often Quiet On Wars, Congress Challenges White House Over Yemen

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Something very rare is stirring in Congress. There's growing sentiment to force the president to end U.S. involvement in a war - in this case, the war in Yemen. Congress gave itself the power to do this decades ago. But as NPR's Greg Myre reports, lawmakers have never really used it.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE 1: President Trump 2 says the U.S. is engaged in at least seven separate military conflicts. In most cases, presidents launch those U.S. military actions without explicit 3 approval by Congress. Ro Khanna is a Democratic congressman 4 from California.

RO KHANNA: Congress has been silent while the executive branch continues to exert its power.

MYRE: But the mood in Congress is changing, at least when it comes to Yemen. The killing 5 of a Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi set off a chain of events that's led Congress to become much more vocal 6 in opposing U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia, which is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

KHANNA: There's certainly no authorization 7 for helping 8 the Saudis in the civil war against the Houthis.

MYRE: Khanna's pushing a measure that would block this U.S. military support. The Senate is weighing a similar move. Both are based on the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which says Congress can order a president to withdraw troops within 90 days. Yet, Congress has never forced a president to actually do this.

SCOTT ANDERSON: It's often a tool that's more used in political negotiations 9 between Congress and the president and that are often resolved through kind of political mechanisms 10.

MYRE: Scott Anderson is with the Brookings Institution and the "Lawfare" blog. The Constitution says only Congress can declare war. But presidents have learned how to bypass lawmakers.

ANDERSON: For limited military engagements, that can often create a lot of space by which the president can act without even really having to deal with Congress.

MYRE: That's what happened in Yemen. Three years ago, President Barack Obama approved U.S. aid to help the Saudis with their bombing campaign against the Houthis, who had taken over key parts of Yemen including the capital.

GREGORY JOHNSEN: The U.S. began doing a number of things.

MYRE: Gregory Johnsen was part of the United Nations panel of experts on Yemen until earlier this year.

JOHNSEN: They provided refueling to the Saudi-led coalition 11, and they also provided intelligence. The Saudis would bring a list of targets that they wanted to hit, and the U.S. would say, well, we think these actually are not military targets.

MYRE: The war is widely seen as a stalemate. Civilian 12 casualties have been high. Millions in Yemen are at risk of starvation. Even key Senate Republicans, like South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, are now speaking out.

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LINDSEY GRAHAM: I cannot support arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The war in Yemen has gotten out of control.

MYRE: Scott Anderson says the White House is already resisting attempts to constrain 13 its actions.

ANDERSON: Essentially 14 what the Trump administration has argued is that what the United States is doing in Yemen doesn't qualify as hostilities 15. They are saying, we're providing intelligence and support. We are providing arms and training and advice and intelligence information. But we are not directly participating in hostilities.

MYRE: President Trump says little about the war but remains 16 strongly supportive of the Saudis. Congressman Ro Khanna says the U.S. military should continue to pursue al-Qaida and Islamic State militants 17 in Yemen. But he thinks support for the Saudis is counterproductive. And Congress has the right to stop it.

KHANNA: The founders 18 wanted Congress to be influencing matters of war and peace. Congress they thought would be less likely to go to war. And Congress is directly accountable to citizens who are going to bear the costs of war.

MYRE: The last time Congress declared war was 77 years ago, the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.

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