A humanitarian catastrophe that has killed thousands and left millions on the brink of starvation, the Saudi war against Yemen, and blockade of the country has been regularly criticized by human rights groups. The US has endorsed the war, but its involvement doesn’t get a lot of publicity.

Still, US involvement is growing, with the number of Pentagon advisers sent to Saudi Arabia more than doubled to 45 now, and regular shipments of munitions and in-air refueling of bombers serving as the main US contributions to the war effort against Yemeni Shi’ites.

Officials say that the advisory role includes helping the Saudis pick out which targets to attack, a particularly damning admission given the enormous civilian death toll from the Saudi airstrikes against residential areas nationwide.

The Pentagon is insisting, by way of an explanation, that they aren’t “responsible” for any specific strikes that happen in Yemen, so even though they provided the bombs, fueled the planes, and picked the targets, those deaths are somehow not their fault.