Mattis, Pompeo call for Yemen ceasefire within 30 days


Within 30 days, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis want everyone involved in the Yemen civil war to agree to a ceasefire.
The war has left thousands dead and caused immense suffering, bringing a shortage of food, medication, and clean water in many areas. During an event Tuesday at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, Mattis said that everyone involved in the war — including the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the Yemeni government, and the Iranian-backed Houthis — must meet to "end this war." The U.S. has provided the coalition with some training and aerial refueling of warplanes. Mattis said the most important thing to do is "move toward a peace effort here, and you can't say we're going to do it sometime in the future."
Pompeo agreed, releasing a statement later in the day saying that missile strikes from Houthi-controlled areas and coalition airstrikes must stop in all populated spaces. "The United States calls on all parties to support U.N. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen," he said. "Substantive consultations under the U.N. Special Envoy must commence this November in a third country."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies