Biden, Sunak face backlash over 'unconstitutional' attack on Yemen

Officials blasted the US and UK leaders for bypassing legislative process that are constitutionally required to conduct military operations in foreign nations

TC News Desk JAN 12, 2024

US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are facing internal criticism for approving joint airstrikes across Yemen during the early hours of 12 January, with lawmakers calling the decision a “violation” of the nation's constitutions.

“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against … Yemen and involving us in another Middle East conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution," US lawmaker Ro Khana said just as news broke that the strikes were in progress.

“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” Republican official Thomas Massie declared. At the same time, Democrat Rashida Tlaib also charged Biden with “violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval.”

Similarly, Senator Mike Lee stressed that “The Constitution matters, regardless of party affiliation." "President Biden must come to Congress and ask us to authorize this act of war," posted Republican Anna Paulina Luna.

The White House has provided no details on the constitutional or legal justification used to drop bombs on over 60 targets inside Yemen. However, under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), the president is granted the authority to use military force without the approval of Congress.

Per the Congressional Research Service, the controversial law has been used to justify more than 40 military interventions overseas in at least 22 countries. 

In May 2023, the Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson Institute revealed that over 4.5 million people have died from wars launched by the US in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks and the approval of the 2001 AUMF.

Furthermore, US strikes in Yemen are not unprecedented; according to the Council on Foreign Relations, the US has conducted nearly 400 airstrikes in Yemen since 2002. 

 

Officials blasted the US and UK leaders for bypassing legislative process that are constitutionally required to conduct military operations in foreign nations.

Across the Atlantic, some within the Labour Party called Sunak's decision “shameful” for bypassing parliament. The Scottish National Party and some Labour lawmakers also demanded answers from the premier, saying that a vote in parliament should be “vital” for any attack.

For his part, the leader of the Labour Party, Rodney Starmer, said he wanted to see a summary of London's legal position “published as soon as possible, and I would hope that that can be published today.”

As US and British warplanes took to the sky from aircraft carriers in the Red Sea, Biden and Sunak argued that the attacks against the Arab world's poorest nation – located 11,000 and 6,000 kilometers away from Washington DC and London, respectively – were being launched in “self-defense.”

“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” Biden said. “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”

“We've seen a significant increase in the number of Houthi attacks ... that's putting innocent lives at risk. It's disrupting the global economy, and it's also destabilizing the region,” Sunak said.

The western attacks countering Yemen's pro-Palestine actions in the Red Sea were launched just hours after South Africa presented its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.⍐