US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has defended US military support to the Saudi Arabian-led war against Yemen and urged US lawmakers not to end Washington’s involvement in the devastating conflict.
Since last year, the administration of US President Donald Trump has been appearing to warn Saudi Arabia that concern in Congress over the humanitarian crisis and civilian casualties in Yemen could constrain US assistance.
Mattis claimed that the American assistance, which includes intelligence support and refueling of coalition jets, was ultimately aimed at bringing the war toward a negotiated settlement.
“We need to get this to a negotiated settlement, and we believe our policy right now is correct for doing this,” Mattis told reporters, as he flew back to Washington from the Middle East.
In a letter to Congress last year, Mattis said ending US military assistance to Riyadh would “jeopardize cooperation with our partners on…