United States President Joe Biden is embarking on a plan to “repair alliances and engage with the world,” in part by ending support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, examining the military’s footprint around the globe, and admitting more refugees into the nation.
Biden took to centre stage at the State Department on 4 February for his first major foreign policy speech as president.
“America is back. Diplomacy is back at the centre of our foreign policy,” Biden said.
“We must meet the new moment [and] accelerating global challenges — from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation — challenging [them] will only be solved by nations working together and in common,” he later added.
To help “course-correct” US foreign policy, Biden announced that the nation is ending support for “offensive operations” in the war in Yemen, including the sale of weapons that are being used in the violent conflict. However, Biden noted that the US will assist Saudi Arabia in defending itself.
“Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks, [unmanned aerial vehicle] UAV strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries,” Biden told the audience. “We’re going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people.”
The Obama administration, under which Biden served as vice president, initially gave approval to Saudi Arabia for its cross-border air campaign into Yemen targeting Houthi rebels. The Houthis also launched aerial weapons into Saudi Arabia.
An armed Yemeni man holds a rocket launcher in the capital Sanaa to show their support for the Shiite Houthi movement against the Saudi-led intervention, in December 2018. Washington has announced that it will no longer support ‘offensive operations’ in the war in Yemen. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
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