US to continue backing Saudi coalition in Yemen war
(Worthy News) – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday the U.S. intends to continue backing the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen despite civilian casualties and questions about the Saudis’ commitment to avoiding killing innocents.
At a rare Pentagon news conference, Mattis defended U.S. support for the coalition, saying American influence on the Arab air campaign has made a difference in reducing instances of errant bombing and the targeting of civilians.
He noted, however, that U.S. support is conditioned on a Saudi commitment to doing “everything humanly possible” to avoid any loss of innocent life and Riyadh supporting a U.N.-brokered peace process to end the civil war. The U.S. provides the Saudis and their United Arab Emirate coalition partners with intelligence, aerial refueling and military advice, but U.S. forces are not directly involved in the airstrikes or other aspects of the fighting. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]