Originally appeared on The American Conservative.
Pompeo once again defended the indefensible war on Yemen and U.S. support for it in typical dishonest fashion:
Airplanes flying through King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh are at risk, and the United States has an obligation to protect our citizens,” Pompeo said at The Hill’s Newsmaker Series event, referencing rebel missile attacks that have hit the airport.
“So the support we’re providing to the Saudis as they attempt to engage these dangerous missiles systems is in America’s best interest.”
The earlier administration line was that the US was helping the Saudis to defend themselves, and now they are expanding on that misleading claim by saying that it has something to do with defending Americans that happen to be traveling in Saudi Arabia. The US is obviously not obliged to assist governments that start a war against their neighbor just because retaliatory strikes could potentially put Americans at risk. If the danger is so great, the responsible thing would be to advise US citizens to avoid those countries if at all possible. The more important point is that Pompeo’s argument is circular: he insists that we should keep backing a war that actually creates the threat that he claims to be guarding against. If not for the Saudi coalition bombing campaign against Yemen’s cities and villages, there would be no missile attacks on Riyadh or anywhere else. It is disingenuous at best to suggest that US support for Saudi and Emirati aggression in Yemen is intended to protect American citizens when there would no threat to them or Saudi Arabia if the bombing campaign halted. There is no legitimate reason to be supporting the Saudi coalition war, and so administration officials have to scramble to come up with weak excuses that fall apart under the slightest scrutiny.