The war in Yemen is entering its fourth year. A remote land barely known by most US citizens, 22 of Yemen’s 29 million people are now suffering from what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 8 million Yemenis are on the brink of starvation, 16 million lack basic water and sanitation, and more than 1 million are wracked with cholera — another world record.

Last week, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman negotiated arms purchases with Donald Trump during his trip to Washington, a few congressional members tried to end US support for the murderous, Saudi-prosecuted war. Defeated 55 to 45, the Senate resolution — spearheaded by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and cosponsored by fourteen other senators — would have barred US involvement in the conflict that hadn’t been authorized by Congress. The move came on the heels of a House resolution last November, which condemned the war and recognized the US’s partial responsibility for the country’s humanitarian crisis.

Although neither effort directly reduced US participation, both have increased public awareness of the Yemeni war — while mortifying US decision makers and embarrassing the war’s main protagonists, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).