Chris Van Hollen: “the United States must fundamentally reshape our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Whether it is the catastrophic war in…”

“the United States must fundamentally reshape our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Whether it is the catastrophic war in Yemen or the brutal murder of a U.S. resident, Saudi leaders believe they can behave recklessly and criminally without any consequences. We simply cannot continue business as usual with the Kingdom, specifically with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. President Trump has enabled Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's most egregious behavior. After our intelligence community assessed that the Crown Prince was implicated in the murder of U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi, Trump responded, ``it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event--maybe he did and maybe he didn't!'' Once again, the President has chosen to trust the word of a brutal autocrat above that of his own intelligence community. Once again, Trump has cast aside our Nation's values. Even more tragically, the devastating and brutal war in Yemen rages on, pitting the reckless Crown Prince against the Houthis. The Crown Prince's actions have driven the Houthis even farther into the hands of their Iranian backers and, inadvertently, strengthened Tehran's position. The result is the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. More than 8 million Yemenis are on the brink of starvation. The worst cholera outbreak in modern history has afflicted over 1 million people, including over 600,000 children.…”