Just a week after the Senate voted to advance a bill that would end US support to Saudi-led forces fighting in Yemen, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead American troops in the Middle East faced harsh questions from Congress today about the US role in the fight.
Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who serves as director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, sought to bat back congressional fears that US involvement in the conflict is deepening as Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis head to the negotiating table in Geneva for talks to end the war. McKenzie notably indicated that US-gathered information is not supporting Saudi airstrikes, which have been blamed for dozens of civilian deaths.
