Biden’s Pledge to Pull Back in Yemen Is Full of Holes

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Gunar Olsen

A close analysis of Biden’s announcement to end US support for “offensive” operations in Yemen but continue to “defend Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty” suggests perhaps a disingenuous ploy to appease a refreshingly active antiwar coalition while continuing to intervene through other means. Read the piece in The New Republic.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff in here on Qatar, USAID and Samantha Power, the Houthi terrorist designation, and Biden’s diplomatic gaslighting. I spoke with Yemen expert Isa Blumi (whose analysis is truly unparalleled), Saudi scholars Victor McFarland and Robert Vitalis, and arms expert Bill Hartung.

Add Trump’s Yemen Veto to Obama’s Spotty War Legacy

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Gunar Olsen

In The New Republic, I point out how Obama’s Libya war paved the way for Trump to veto the resolution demanding an end to US support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. Trump loves to present himself as the anti-Obama, but he has no one to thank more than Obama for his ability to veto the bill—based on a narrow reading of “hostilities” developed by Obama and his lawyers to bomb Libya in 2011.

It Will Take More Than Congress to Cure America’s War Addiction

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Gunar Olsen

If we care about ending war, calling on Congress to “reassert its war powers” isn’t nearly enough. In The New Republic, I argue that we must prioritize specifically anti-war arguments, without getting bogged down in fruitless proceduralism.