Our world-renowned pseudo-political national soap opera recently left Americans deciding which prominent wealthy white man to believe; James Comey or Donald Trump. Shortly thereafter, Attorney General and reincarnated plantation owner Jeff Sessions responded to questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee by explaining why he can’t answer certain questions.

Meanwhile, the Middle East has to deal with cholera, white phosphorus, and endless imperialism.

A severe cholera outbreak in Yemen is quickly becoming a national emergency, having claimed the lives of at least 859 people, according to the World Health Organization. More than 124,000 cases of infection have been reported, nearly half of which are children. In addition to the recent epidemic, CNN has reported that two-thirds of the population lacks access to clean drinking water and sanitation, and more than 9 million children need humanitarian assistance.

However, since CNN is evidently paid by advertisers to reinforce the status quo, Tuesday’s article conveniently omitted the most significant aspect of this tragic humanitarian disaster; a vicious two-year bombing campaign carried out by Saudi Arabia using American weapons. Some sources indicate that residential areas, hospitals, refugee camps, and argicultural land have been intentionally targeted, spiraling the crisis out of control. Now the wealthy Gulf monarchy wants more weapons, and it has once again turned to its trusty ally Uncle Sam. Amid strong opposition, the Senate approved a $500 million arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. According to Amnesty International, this decision may implicate the U.S. in war crimes:

“By selling arms to the Saudi government, the U.S. risks becoming complicit in attacks by the Saudi military on civilians in Yemen. These actions are gross violations of international law and may rise to the level of war crimes. Today’s vote is a shameful tacit endorsement of the Trump Administration’s willingness to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record.”

The Saudi regime isn’t the only worrisome posse the U.S. is currently in bed with. In Syria, U.S.-aligned forces appear to have used the incendiary chemical weapon known as white phosphorus, which can burn through human flesh and cause organ failure. Military officials claim the munition is only used for legal purposes, such as smoke screens, but Human Rights Watch is investigating the incident to determine if the use of these weapons impacted a civilian population. Even if civilians are not present at the time of deployment, Amnesty International warns, “It is possible that some of it will only partially burn and could then reignite weeks after being deployed.”

The deployment of white phosphorus (Snopes)

Just to top things off, American soldiers killed three civilians in Afghanistan on Monday, two of whom were children. The country has been occupied by the U.S. military for nearly 16 years, making it the longest “war” in American history.

But at least we know we’re the good guys.