Biden Could End The War In Yemen, But His Donors Won't Let Him

Biden’s campaign donors don’t want him to end U.S. support for the Yemen war.

By Danaka Katovich, Truthout

In late January, the Saudi-United Arab Emirates (UAE) coalition carried out an airstrike on a prison in Yemen, killing more than 90 detainees and injuring many more. Among the rubble was a fragment of the weapon used to do it. On it was a Raytheon Technologies manufacturer code. A few days later, the CEO of Raytheon, Greg Hayes, was discussing the escalation of the war in Yemen and Ukraine when he said, “I fully expect we’re going to see some benefit from it.”

The Biden administration, ignoring its promises about Yemen from a year ago, is embracing the escalation of the war as they refuse to suspend any support to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon, a company that sees profits from the war in Yemen, gave President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign over half a million dollars in 2020.

A child from Taiz City sits on the ruins of his ruined home

In early November of 2021, the Biden administration announced a massive arms sale of $650 million worth of medium-range missiles and missile rail launchers to Saudi Arabia. The primary contractor for these weapons is Raytheon.

Aisha Jumaan, the Yemeni founder of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, called out the responsibility of arms supplying companies like Raytheon, saying, “I would like to ask Greg Hayes, what would you say to the family members of those who were killed by your weapons? How would you feel if your family was targeted by these arsenals?”