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Koch Brother Joins Fight to Stop America’s Involvement in the Yemen War
Daily Beast ^ | 10-30-2018 | Spencer Ackerman

Posted on 10/31/2018 2:42:20 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo

A heavyweight right-wing financier has thrown in with a left-right coalition to end the U.S. military’s involvement in the Saudi-led war on Yemen, one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian catastrophes, The Daily Beast has learned.

The Charles Koch Institute, bearing the brand of one of the most influential sources of conservative political money, is backing an effort spearheaded by progressive California Democrat Ro Khanna to demand either an end to non-counterterrorism aid to the Yemen war or a direct congressional vote authorizing it.

Multiple congressional and allied sources told The Daily Beast they plan to bring their resolution to a vote in the House during the November lame-duck session after the midterm elections. And they think they can win.

This cross-ideological coalition has tried and failed before—most recently, in March, when Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Mike Lee of Utah lost 55-44 to end American midair refueling and intelligence support for the Saudi and Emirati forces assaulting Yemen. But this time, the antiwar legislators and their allies believe bipartisan outrage at Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—an architect of the three-year old war—over his apparent decision to order the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi can put them over the top.

“Given divergent strategic interests and very different values, the United States has long needed to modify our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Riyadh’s callous prosecution of a war in Yemen that undermines our interests and the heinous murder of Khashoggi both underscore this,” said the Charles Koch Institute’s vice president of research and policy, William Ruger. “A realistic foreign policy often requires difficult trade-offs when security needs and values collide. But in this case, they are in harmony such that we can safely change our approach.”

(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...


TOPICS: Egypt; Foreign Affairs; Israel; Russia; Syria; US: Connecticut; US: New York; US: Utah; US: Vermont; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 2018election; 2020election; berniesanders; charleskoch; chrismurphy; colonelkangaroo; colonelkangatroll; connecticut; dailybeast; davidkoch; djibouti; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; egypt; election2018; election2020; erdogan; eritrea; frederickkoch; gaza; hamas; hassannasrallah; hezbollah; iran; iraq; isis; israel; jamalkhashoggi; jerusalem; joecrowley; jordan; kochbrothers; kurdistan; lebanon; letshavejerusalem; liberaltarians; libertarians; lindasarsour; lotsofkeywords; mediawingofthednc; mikelee; mullahworshippers; muslimbrotherhood; nevertrump; nevertrumper; nevertrumpers; nevertrumpertrolls; newyork; nonplayercharacter; nonplayercharacters; npc; npcs; ocasiocortez; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; putinsbuttboys; receptayyiperdogan; rfkjr; robertfkennedyjr; russia; saudiarabia; sinai; smearmachine; spencerackerman; sudan; syria; turkey; utah; vermont; waronterror; whataretheirfrnicks; williamkoch; yemen
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1 posted on 10/31/2018 2:42:20 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

The Koch brothers are not necessarily conservative.


2 posted on 10/31/2018 2:44:51 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

A heavyweight right-wing financier....

Right wing? That’s debatable.


3 posted on 10/31/2018 2:45:31 PM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR!)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

I’m not proud of our nation providing weapons and any other help to Saudi Arabia in Yemen.


4 posted on 10/31/2018 2:49:51 PM PDT by grania ("You don't give power to an angry left wing mob")
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To: Colonel Kangaroo
The Kochs are libertarian, not conservative.

For the most part that means the Kochs are liberals on social policy. And on economic matters they are greedy.

But greedy does not mean conservative. Greedy just means greedy. The Kochs are greedy liberals.

5 posted on 10/31/2018 2:53:17 PM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: jeffersondem

They’re not libertarian either. They’re more neocon than anything.


6 posted on 10/31/2018 3:11:58 PM PDT by thoughtomator (Number of arrested coup conspirators to date: 2)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

Where were they in 2016 when Obama sent troops there?


7 posted on 10/31/2018 3:13:33 PM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: grania

The alternative is to allow the even more radical of the Middle East gain control. I think the best choice is to turn the sand to glass.


8 posted on 10/31/2018 3:14:04 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

They are globalists not republicans nor conservatives.

Billionaire Koch Brothers: Against Our Principles to End Anchor Baby Policy.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/31/billionaire-koch-brothers-against-our-principles-to-end-anchor-baby-policy/


9 posted on 10/31/2018 3:31:21 PM PDT by CharlesMartelsGhost
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

I met a doctor from that area. He told me the Houthis are so poor they can`t even buy shoes, yet they have ATGM`s and know how to use them. He said, “Iran is causing all the problems there.”


10 posted on 10/31/2018 3:36:36 PM PDT by bunkerhill7 (h)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

???? Did I read that right? The NeoCon Koch brothers want to get OUT of a war? I thought they loved wars.


11 posted on 10/31/2018 3:48:59 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: bunkerhill7
yet they have ATGM`

I hate when people speak with acronyms assuming everyone knows what they are saying......What's an ATGM?

12 posted on 10/31/2018 3:51:20 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (q)
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To: Robert DeLong
How is anyone worse than Saudi Arabia? They weren't curtailed from wielding power over us after 911. In spite of all the rhetoric, it's been the Sounds of Silence lately about the atrocity in the Embassy.

Wouldn't we be better off if we had just left Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Iraq alone? How are we better off favoring Saudi Arabia than favoring the strongarm dictators who ran those countries?

13 posted on 10/31/2018 4:03:15 PM PDT by grania ("You don't give power to an angry left wing mob")
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To: Hot Tabasco

Anti Tank Guided Missile.


14 posted on 10/31/2018 4:12:37 PM PDT by Fred Hayek (The Democratic Party is now the operational arm of the CPUSA)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Anti-tank guided missile


15 posted on 10/31/2018 4:13:00 PM PDT by donozark (There are no flamingos in Venezuela.)
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To: grania

Problems do not go away by ignoring them. The problems only grow worse. As for Saudi Arabia they have been somewhat of an ally in the region. Kind of like Russia (U.S.S.R.) was our ally in WWI & WWII. Sometimes bad optics have to be ignored for the greater good as they say. Egypt is an ally in the region, as is Israel. But just because they are allies does not mean that all is okay between us. But the rest are even worse. Reality often sucks because it can leave you with options where all of the options suck. Some suck worse and some suck less. So do you chose to go with the options that suck worse, or less?


16 posted on 10/31/2018 4:58:21 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: grania

“I’m not proud of our nation providing weapons and any other help to Saudi Arabia in Yemen.”

The only weapons I’m in favor of giving to the Saudis are half a dozen nuclear warheads detonated about 5,000 ft AGL starting with Mecca.

L


17 posted on 10/31/2018 5:00:24 PM PDT by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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To: grania

Same here. The Saudi Barbarians are among the last we should help in any fashion.


18 posted on 10/31/2018 5:08:16 PM PDT by Trumpisourlastchance
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To: Robert DeLong

We’d be best of choosing to stay out of the ME and let those countries sort it out. I cannot accept that Saudi Arabia is a better friend than any of the countries we’ve destabilized.


19 posted on 10/31/2018 5:19:50 PM PDT by grania ("You don't give power to an angry left wing mob")
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To: Lurker

THANK YOU


20 posted on 10/31/2018 7:54:45 PM PDT by AAABEST (NY/DC/LA media/political industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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