Are you aware the United States is currently fighting a war in Yemen?

I’m going to guess the majority of readers do not. To be completely honest, neither did I until recently. But, once again, America is supporting a war in the Middle East.

The war in question is one Yemen has been fighting since 2015, a civil war between multiple political factions in their country. Saudi Arabia has been intervening since the start, trying to influence the war. Due to the fact the U.S. has historically chosen to be an ally of the Saudis, the government has shown support for this.

This is not a new development either, as we have shown to be backing the Saudis every bit of the way for more than two years now.

The government has continued to allow the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, the U.S. agreed in May to an arms deal that is supposedly worth nearly $110 billion. That’s right, billion, with a “B.” The Senate also prevented an attempt to block the deal with bipartisan support.

The federal government has also continued the policy of targeting enemies by using drone strikes. This policy is another thing that is not new, as the U.S. has been using them in Yemen since at least 2002.

Congress even admits there is no authorization to help Saudi Arabia in this situation. The House of Representatives passed a resolution stating no legislation has authorized assistance to the Saudis by the American military.

It also admits the U.S. has been refueling their warplanes and sharing information. Of course, nowhere in the resolution does it call for an end to the American support, though.

The important thing to remember about this is there is a human cost to this, too. There have been civilian casualties left and right. The drone strikes the U.S. continues to support have killed multiple civilians, including children. These extrajudicial killings are bad enough, but also killing children and viewing it as collateral damage?

It is criminal, disgusting and just pure evil.

Plus, the result is basically no better for the Yemeni people who are surviving this war. The humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the civil war in Yemen is heartbreaking.

There is a struggle to find clean water. Electricity is scarce in many cities. Much of the population of Yemen has had to leave their homes. There is also a cholera outbreak that has killed thousands.

So what is the U.S. supposed to do in this situation? It’s very simple.

Quit helping Saudi Arabia commit what are basically war crimes in Yemen. The Saudis want to influence what the outcome of their civil war will be, but that can only happen if the American government continues to help them.

Hopefully the next time you see a picture of a victim of this war, you realize it’s not just something happening on the other side of the world. It’s something quite real that your own government is involved in.

Drew Taylor is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].