RTN Raytheon Co

By Dion Nissenbaum 

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen over the objections of staff members after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America's Gulf allies, according to a classified memo and people familiar with the decision.

The move has fueled rising outrage in Congress, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to cut off American military aid for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their three-year-old war against Iran-backed fighters in Yemen. More than 16,700 civilians have been killed or injured in Yemen, according to the United Nations, which says the Gulf nation is home to the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The U.S. is backing the Gulf allies in Yemen, where the Trump administration is working to contain Iran's allies and al Qaeda militants.

Mr. Pompeo overruled concerns from most of the State Department specialists involved in the debate who were worried about the rising civilian death toll in Yemen. Those who objected included specialists in the region and in military affairs. He sided with his legislative affairs team after they argued that suspending support could undercut plans to sell more than 120,000 precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a classified State Department memo and people familiar with the debate.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said she wouldn't comment on "the deliberative process or allegedly leaked documents."

But she made it clear that the U.S. wants its Gulf allies to do more to address continued American concern about the protracted conflict in Yemen that has pushed millions to the brink of famine and morphed into a proxy war where Houthi fighters have used Iran-made missiles to target neighboring Saudi Arabia.

"While our Saudi and Emirati partners are making progress, we are continuing discussions with them on additional steps they can take to address the humanitarian situation, advance the political track in cooperation with the U.N. Special Envoy's efforts, and ensure that their military campaign complies with the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law," she said.

The U.S. currently provides the Saudi-led coalition with modest military support, including weapons sales and aerial refueling of jet fighters carrying out airstrikes in Yemen.

The U.S. also provides military training meant to help minimize civilian deaths, and some battlefield intelligence, but the American support has had a negligible impact on reducing civilian casualties. A recent U.N. report found that the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes were responsible for most of the 16,700 civilians killed or injured in Yemen over the past three years.

Concerns in Washington were amplified last month when an errant Saudi airstrike hit a school bus, killing more than 40 Yemeni children on a field trip. Human rights researchers and reporters who visited the scene of the bombing said the missile used in the strike was American made, raising new alarms about U.S. support.

Earlier this month, Mr. Pompeo asked his regional experts for advice on a new requirement imposed by Congress that compels the U.S. to cut off refueling operations unless the State Department officially certifies every six months that Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are doing enough to minimize civilian casualties in Yemen. The law includes a provision that allows the U.S. to keep providing the support on national security grounds if the State Department determines that it helps protect America.

Most of the State Department's military and area specialists urged Mr. Pompeo in the memo to reject certification "due to a lack of progress on mitigating civilian casualties."

That included the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Their recommendation was also backed by the legal advisers who took part in the policy review.

The experts argued that certification would "provide no incentive for Saudi leadership to take our diplomatic messaging seriously," and "damage the Department's credibility with Congress," according to portions of the memo shared with The Wall Street Journal.

They urged Mr. Pompeo to instead tell Congress that he couldn't certify that the Gulf nations were doing enough to minimize civilian casualties, but that the U.S. would continue to provide military support to the coalition because it is in America's national security interest.

The U.S. Agency for International Development went even further and argued that the U.S. should halt military aid because "USAID does not believe that continued refueling support will improve either country's approach to civilian casualties or human protections."

The only group that urged him to fully support the Saudi-led coalition was the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, which argued in the memo that "lack of certification will negatively impact pending arms transfers."

The State Department's legislative team said "failure to certify may also negatively impact future foreign military sales and direct commercial sales to the region."

Use of American weapons in Yemen has become a polarizing issue in Congress, where Sen. Bob Menendez, (D., N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has already used his powers to delay efforts by Raytheon Co. to sell more than $2 billion in precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.

State officials pushing for the U.S. to keep backing Saudi Arabia argued that the coalition had taken important steps to address American concerns. And Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also urged Mr. Pompeo to support the Saudi-led coalition by certifying that the Gulf nations were doing enough to merit continued U.S. military backing.

Last week, Mr. Pompeo officially gave America's Gulf allies his endorsement. But the memo informing Congress of his decision reflected U.S. concerns.

"Recent civilian casualty incidents indicate insufficient implementation of reforms and targeting practices," the memo said. "Investigations have not yielded accountability measures."

U.S. officials say that a contrite and robust Saudi response to its bombing of the school bus on Aug. 9 may have helped tip the scales in Riyadh's favor. After the bombing, American military officers privately warned Saudi Arabia that the U.S. might curtail its support unless the coalition took steps to address their concerns, according to U.S. officials.

Saudi Arabia admitted that it mistakenly targeted the school bus and vowed to create more safeguards. But that has failed to address all of the Trump administration's concerns and there is still an active discussion in the administration about cutting off refueling operations for the coalition.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), co-author of the law that required the certification, said Thursday that "it is abundantly clear that this certification was bogus when it was announced, and the reporting on this internal memo further confirms that the administration has clearly violated the law."

Ms. Shaheen called on the Trump administration to revisit their decision and "submit a certification that actually reflects the facts on the ground."

Raytheon officials didn't respond to requests for comment.

Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Wednesday that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have "longstanding, firm and strategically deep ties," but declined to address specific questions about American warnings.

Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2018 19:37 ET (23:37 GMT)

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