Author: Dave DeCamp

A coalition of antiwar groups is leading a week of action to push for an end to the war in Yemen and is urging Americans to contact their Representatives and tell them to support H.J. Res. 87, a War Powers Resolution that was introduced in the House on May 31.

Call 1-833-Stop-War to get connected to your Representative’s office. Visit 1833stopwar.com for instructions on what to say.

Demand Progress put together a helpful list where you can see if your Representative supports the bill.

H.J. Res. 87 would end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen by directing the president “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Houthis in the Republic of Yemen.”

“Hostilities” as defined by the bill include “sharing intelligence for the purpose of enabling offensive coalition strikes” and “providing logistical support for offensive coalition strikes, including by providing maintenance or transferring spare parts to coalition members flying warplanes engaged in anti-Houthi bombings in Yemen.”

The Resolution came after the most successful ceasefire since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen with support from the U.S. in 2015. Fighting has been reported on the ground and the humanitarian situation is still dire, but for over two months, no coalition airstrikes have been recorded in Yemen.

H.J. Res. 87 has already received 85 cosponsors, including nine Republicans. Now is the time to get this legislation to President Biden’s desk and end this brutal war that has taken at least 377,000 lives.

For more information on the war in Yemen check out these frequently asked questions from the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Antiwar.com is proud to have joined over 100 organizations in endorsing the War Powers Resolution.

On Saturday, January 16th, at 2pm ET there will be a free virtual screening of “Hunger Ward,” a film that documents the man-made famine in Yemen that is a direct result of the US-Saudi siege on the country. The screening will be followed by a Zoom panel featuring US Rep. Ro Khanna and UK MP Andrew Mitchell. Register here.

About the Film

August 9th, 2018 was the day I had to do something. On that day, the US-Saudi coalition dropped a bomb on a school bus in North Yemen, killing 40 children.

And nobody cared.

This horrific war crime received more media coverage than most atrocities in Yemen do, and plenty of Yemenis and antiwar activists certainly cared. What I mean is – nobody in my life cared. None of my friends, family, or coworkers even knew about the war in Yemen. And who could blame them?

The lack of mainstream media coverage is staggering. A study from the media watchdog group FAIR showed that between July 2017 and July 2018 MSNBC did not devote a single segment to the war in Yemen.

For that reason, I decided to get involved with independent media, since that’s how I learned about the war in Yemen and other atrocities. But where to start? No experience, no journalism school, just a lot of passion and anger towards the war machine. Around the same time, I met my wife. On our first date, we bonded over our shared opposition to US wars and imperialism – not something you would expect on a first date in New York (so naturally, I had to marry her).

I used to fancy myself a leftist because of my anti-imperialist views, but my wife introduced me to the antiwar libertarians, and perhaps the most important antiwar voice of our time, Scott Horton. Listening to Scott’s show brought me back to Antiwar.com, a website I read in my high school days.

Reading Antiwar.com and combing through Justin Raimondo’s endless masterpieces inspired me to submit a story of my own to the site. I sent a short piece about a brutal execution of Shia protesters inside Saudi Arabia, and Antiwar.com published it.

Getting that first article published was the motivation I needed. Soon, I was sending in a piece or two every week. One day, Eric Garris called and asked if I would like to be more involved and contribute to the news sections that Jason Ditz has been tirelessly working in since 2003. I was thrilled to get the offer, and I dove in headfirst.

It is an absolute honor to be a part of Antiwar.com’s staff as the assistant news editor. I’ve never felt so passionate about something in my life, and it still feels surreal that I found such a great website to work for. I certainly owe a lot to Eric for taking a chance on me and to Scott Horton, who took the time to help me edit my first articles, with all of their grammatical errors.

That’s what you get with Antiwar.com. A small group of people who care so much about one thing – ending war. We might not all be perfectly polished journalists, but we are dedicated, and we will work tirelessly to expose the War Party and provide our readers with the truth.

But no matter how much dedication and passion we have, we need our readers for support. Some major donors pledged up to $34,000 for our current fundraiser, but in order to secure these funds, we need our smaller donors to match that amount.

Please help me continue my journey with Antiwar.com!

Please make your tax-deductible contribution today.

The heroic Chelsea Manning was released from jail yesterday after spending almost a year behind bars for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks in front of a grand jury. For every day she refused to testify, the judge ordered Manning to pay $1,000 in fines, which added up to $256,000.

Help ease Manning’s suffering and contribute to this Go Fund Me to help pay her fines. As of the writing of this post, the page has already raised over $75,000!

Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin agreed to speak at a media conference that was set to take place at Georgia Southern University on February 28th. The university sent Martin a contract for the event that included a clause not to boycott Israel. Seeing it as a clear affront to her constitutional rights, Martin refused to sign, and the speech was canceled.

In response, Martin filed a lawsuit against the State of Georgia with the help of two civil rights groups, The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.

In 2016, Georgia passed a law that prohibits the state from contracting with individuals or companies that boycott Israel. The legislation is an effort to thwart the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS is an international campaign that calls on people to pressure Israel over its human rights violations through various boycotts. Last month, South Dakota became the 28th US state to pass anti-BDS legislation.

The clause in the contract Martin was sent by the university read, "You certify that you are not currently engaged in, and agree for the duration of this agreement not to engage in, a boycott of Israel."

Continue reading “Journalist Abby Martin Sues State of Georgia Over Israel Loyalty Oath”

The UN Security Council met in New York on Monday to discuss the investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into an alleged chemical attack that was said to have taken place in April 2018 in Douma, Syria. The alleged attack was blamed on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the US, UK, and France responded with an airstrike against Syrian government targets.

A former OPCW employee spoke to the UN Security Council and accused OPCW management of ignoring and suppressing findings of the investigative team that was deployed to Douma.

The OPCW released their final report on the Douma attack in March 2019, the report concluded that a chlorine chemical attack likely occurred. Two cylinders were found at two separate locations in Douma that were said to be the source of the chlorine gas. The idea that these cylinders were dropped from an aircraft is central to the allegation that the Syrian government was responsible.

Continue reading “Author of Leaked OPCW Engineering Report on Douma Speaks at UN Security Council”