US lawmakers advance measure to end support of Saudi-led war in Yemen

The United States Senate took a defiant stance against one of President Donald Trump's key foreign policy positions on Wednesday, advancing a measure that would end American military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Lawmakers agreed by a vote of 63-37 to allow debate to proceed on the resolution, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis failed to sway undecided senators to continue the military support for the war coalition.

"The suffering in Yemen grieves me, but if the United States of America was not involved in Yemen, it would be a hell of a lot worse," Pompeo told Senate ahead of the vote.

"What would happen if the US withdrew from the Yemen effort? The war wouldn't end.The Saudi-led coalition would not have the benefit of our advice and training on targeting, so more civilians would die," he added, in remarks that failed to sway lawmakers around to the White House's perspective.

The vote marks a striking departure from earlier this year when the measure failed, and signals a new bipartisan desire in the Senate for Trump's administration to take a harder line on Saudi Arabia after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was linked to the government in Riyadh, and amid a mounting humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

In a Wall Street Journal article published on Tuesday, Pompeo said that Khashoggi's murder "has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading US-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the US and its allies."

After press reports earlier this month that the CIA was pointing the finger directly at Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump issued a statement saying that US-Saudi relations and oil market stability were too important to rock over the scandal.

Trump last week called Saudi Arabia a "steadfast partner" and said it was unclear whether Prince Mohammed was aware of the plan to kill Khashoggi, who Riyadh has acknowledged died inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. 

Saudi Arabia, which initially repeated denials of any knowledge about Khashoggi's disappearance, has claimed that the 59-year-old journalist was murdered at the mission in a "rogue" operation.

Yemen's war has left at least 10,000 dead, according to the UN, with millions at risk of death from famine due to the conflict and blockade.

Turkey says Khashoggi was murdered at the consulate by a team of Saudi officials sent to the kingdom to the purpose.