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.⍐

Anyone opposing Yemen support of Gaza will face response: Ansarullah

"International navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea is safe, and Americans must stop misleading the world about dangers threatening international navigation in these seas," the Ansarullah official asserted.

 "We urge all countries to be cautious of falling into America's trap aimed at militarizing the Red Sea in service of Israel and to encourage it to continue its brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip".

Anyone opposing Yemen operations in support of Gaza will face response: Ansarullah

Anyone opposing Yemen operations in support of Gaza will face response: Ansarullah

Press TV Wednesday, 10 January 2024 11:24 PM

Yemen's Ansarullah popular resistance movement vows that any party opposing the Yemeni Armed Forces' anti-Israeli naval operations in support of the Gaza Strip "will face a response."

The movement's spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam sounded the warning in a statement on Wednesday.

During recent months, the Armed Forces have been staging missile and drone attacks against vessels linked to the Israeli regime or those heading to Israeli ports in support of Palestinians in Gaza, who have come under a genocidal Israeli war.

Yemeni Armed Forces launch missiles targeting a cargo ship in the Red Sea heading for a port in the Israeli-occupied territories.

At least 23,357 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed, and 59,410 others injured during the war, which the regime launched following an operation staged by the coastal sliver's resistance movements.

The regime has also cut off the flow of basic supplies such as water, electricity, medicines, and fuel, to one of the world's most densely-populated territories that houses over two million Palestinians.

Abdul-Salam said, "We reiterate that the [Yemeni] Armed Forces will continue to target Israeli-linked ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression stops and the siege on Gaza is lifted."

Yemen vows to continue to prevent the passage of ships owned by or linked to Israel through the Red Sea.

He also addressed the United States' efforts aimed at accusing Yemen of endangering international maritime navigation.

Earlier, the US tried to have the United Nations Security Council ratify a resolution accusing Yemen of such endangering activities.

"International navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea is safe, and Americans must stop misleading the world about dangers threatening international navigation in these seas," the Ansarullah official asserted.

"We urge all countries to be cautious of falling into America's trap aimed at militarizing the Red Sea in service of Israel and to encourage it to continue its brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip."

In addition to throwing military and political support behind the war, the US has announced a naval coalition tasked with patrolling the Red Sea in response to Yemeni strikes.⍐

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:www.presstv.co.uk

 

US, Britain carry out strikes inside Yemen

US, Britain carry out strikes against Houthis in Yemen- officials

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

January 12, 202412:49 AM GMT Updated 11 min ago

 WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have launched strikes against targets linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first strikes against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year.

A Houthi official confirmed "raids" across the country, including in the capital Sanaa along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar as well as in Hodeidah governate, calling them "American-Zionist-British aggression."

The ongoing strikes are one of the most dramatic demonstrations to date of the widening of Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East since its eruption in October.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were being carried out by aircraft, ships and submarine. Two officials said Australia, Canada, Bahrain and the Netherlands provided support for the operation.

The official said more than a dozen locations were targeted and the strikes were intended to be more than just symbolic.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, defied a U.N. call to halt their missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and warnings from the United States of consequences if they failed to do so.

The Houthis say their attacks are a demonstration of support for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza. Israel has launched a military assault that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

The Houthi have attacked 27 ships to date, disrupting international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world's shipping traffic.

Witnesses told Reuters that the raids on Thursday targeted a military base adjacent to Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah Governorate.

A formal statement from the United States was soon expected to detail the strikes.

The Pentagon declined comment.

Earlier on Thursday, the Houthis' leader said any U.S. attack on the group would not go without a response.

The Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in a civil war, have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of the targeted ships have had no links to Israel.

The U.S. military said on Thursday Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the 27th attack by the group since Nov. 19.

U.S. and British naval forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthis on Tuesday towards the southern Red Sea, the largest attack in the area by the militants.

In December, more than 20 countries agreed to participate in a U.S.-led coalition, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea.

Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Andrew Mills and Maher Hatem Editing by Chris Reese, Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

South Africa presents genocide case against Israel at U.N.’s top court

South Africa is to present its argument during a public hearing against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of committing actions in Gaza that are "genocidal in character" against the Palestinian population.

 

First session end next will be 12-01-24

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/south-africa-opens-international-genocide-trial/2024/01/11/88ad3d86-8ecf-4bdb-acbe-27a29f9f1b92_video.html

South Africa is presenting its arguments Thursday to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the allegations, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as “meritless” while urging Israel to scale back the intensity of its military operations.

South Africa is asking the court, the United Nations’ main judicial body, to consider “provisional measures” including that Israel “cease killing” people in Gaza. Israel will respond Friday.

By Emily Rauhala Brussels bureau chief

The first hearing of this case is now underway. South Africa will have three hours to address the court. Israel will address it tomorrow. The hearings this week are to consider “provisional measures” to stop conditions in Gaza from worsening while the case progresses. They will not establish whether genocide was committed.

South Africa cited the words of senior Israeli officials as evidence of “genocidal intent”

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Brussels bureau chief

• South Africa cited the words of senior Israeli officials as evidence of “genocidal intent” against Palestinians in Gaza, opening a closely watched case that could shape the course of the war. Israel, which has strongly denied all charges, will deliver its remarks Friday.

In a hearing at the International Court of Justice, South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argued Thursday that Israeli officials have deliberately and systematically used dehumanizing language to normalize genocidal rhetoric and send a message to Israeli soldiers on the ground.

Ngcukaitobi cited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to violent biblical passages, as well as remarks by Israel’s defense minister and president. He also highlighted a video that he said showed Israeli soldiers echoing their language and celebrating attacks.

Which countries are for and against the ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide?

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By Frances Vinall

• South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel last month at the International Court of Justice, accusing the nation of committing genocide. Since then, at least 13 nations have voiced support for South Africa’s case, along with the 22-member Arab League and 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, while the United States and other nations have expressed support for Israel.

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in The Hague before the hearing at the
International Court of Justice on Thursday. (Remko De Waal/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

THE HAGUE — Demonstrators assembled outside the International Court of Justice on Thursday ahead of the first hearing in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has rejected the allegations as has the United States.

Outside the court, dozens of pro-Palestinian and a handful of pro-Israeli demonstrators waved flags and chanted amid tight security. Dagmar Bosma, 29, came to the court with a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups to “show solidarity with the South African effort.”

“It is a historical moment,” she said. “It takes an oppressed people to recognize what is happening, I think, so we are very thankful to South Africa.” Across the street, a group of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs that read “stop the genocide” chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Israel is a terrorist state.”

Nearby, a smaller group of pro-Israeli protesters waved the Israeli flag and held pictures of hostages being held by Hamas. “I am here to support Israel,” said Judith De Jonge, 58. “I think it is a shame that South Africa started this case,” she said. The hearings will begin with a presentation from South Africa. On Friday, Israel will have a chance to address the court.⍐