CNN Confirms the Bomb that Killed 40 Yemeni School Children Was Made in America; Do We Share Some Re

A report by CNN confirmed that the bomb that hit a bus containing 40 Yemeni school students last week was a MK82 "Paveway", a laser-guided bomb made by Lockheed Martin and sold to the Saudis. And this is not the first time that US made bombs have been used to kill civilians in Yemen.

CNN: The bomb is very similar to the one that wreaked devastation in an attack on a funeral hall in Yemen in October 2016 in which 155 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

However, the deaths of the children last week is fueling a renewed conversation about US arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

CNN: "In the aftermath of the funeral hall attack, former US President Barack Obama banned the sale of precision-guided military technology to Saudi Arabia over "human rights concerns."

"The ban was overturned by the Trump administration's then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in March 2017."

"As the US-backed Saudi-led coalition scrambles to investigate the strike on the school bus, questions are growing from observers and rights groups about whether the US bears any moral culpability."

"The US says it does not make targeting decisions for the coalition, which is fighting a Houthi rebel insurgency in Yemen. But it does support its operations through billions of dollars in arms sales, the refueling of Saudi combat aircraft and some sharing of intelligence."

Might it be time to rethink our support for the Saudi-led coalition in its war with Houthi rebels? Many human rights organizations think so.

Newsweek: "Activist group The Yemen Project claimed the attack was one of more than 50 Saudi-led strikes on civilian vehicles this year alone, and international monitor Human Rights Watch called for a more stringent U.N. investigation, saying the bus attack should be the "point of no return" for weapons sales to Saudi Arabia."

Photo credit: David Monniaux

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