Chicago, IL - Joe Iosbaker, a prominent Chicago-based anti-war leader, is urging opposition to the rapidly escalating U.S./Saudi war on the people of Yemen. “Anti-war forces must condemn military aggression by the Saudi king against the people of Yemen. U.S. imperialism is fully behind this, of course. The U.S. wanted to continue to target Yemen for their drone warfare operations in that country, as well as in the Horn of Africa, to attack Somalia and elsewhere.”

Speaking of the political situation in Yemen, Iosbaker states “The government of President Al-Hadi was collaborating with Washington. Al-Hadi was dictatorial and unpopular with all Yemenis, not just the Shias. 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day, so they rebelled. They won concessions from Al-Hadi for a power sharing agreement. With his Washington and Saudi bosses, Al-Hadi was betraying that agreement, so the Ansarallah movement in the Shia community, with support from the Sunni community in the northern part of Yemen, ousted him. The White House and the monarchy in Riyadh [capital of Saudi Arabia] called this a coup, and now the Saudis are bombing the country.”

“The Saudis and the other Arab regimes that are collaborating with the U.S. against Yemen have joined forces with Israel on this one. When Netanyahu came to [the U.S.] Congress, he expressed the need to get control of Yemen. Israel sends its submarines past Yemen on their way to threaten Iran in the Persian Gulf,” continued Iosbaker.

Iosbaker urged progressives in the U.S to extend their solidarity to the people of Yemen, stating, “The Yemeni people are fighting for bread and justice, against imperialism, monarchy and Zionism. We should stand with them.”