WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump has the power to make good on one of his top campaign pledges within hours of taking office.

Trump, who pitched himself as an opponent of U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts, could take a few quick steps to immediately end the American role in one of the most widely criticized of those wars in Yemen, where the U.S. is helping Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab nations fight a militia linked to their rival Iran.

The U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition has been accused of multiple war crimes and of causing the majority of the more than 10,000 deaths since the beginning of the conflict. It has bombed hospitals so frequently that Doctors Without Borders, one of the most vital humanitarian groups in war zones around the world, had to temporarily shut down part of its Yemen operation. And it has continued to receive millions of pounds of U.S. fuel, fresh supplies of U.S. weapons and a constant stream of U.S. intelligence.

In response to mounting criticism , Obama administration officials told Reuters last month that they would limit some weapons transfers to the Kingdom. But days later, top U.S. and Saudi figures downplayed the report; the U.S. is committed to helping the Kingdom, Secretary of State John Kerry said .

Once Trump is in charge, he could go further. It would be a prime opportunity for him to score political points by distancing himself from one of his predecessors least popular policies , while also making a show of protecting U.S. blood and treasure and signaling anew that he is not afraid to break with convention or challenge foreign governments in pursuing his vision of the American interest.

Within hours of taking the oath, Trump could end the practice of sending U.S. tanker planes to refuel the Saudi-led coalitions jets in the air. Lawmakers and humanitarian groups have identified that aspect of U.S. support as key to the question of whether Washington is legally liable for Saudi actions. The refueling also contributes to the growing hatred for the U.S. within Yemen, a country where terror groups like al Qaeda have long found hundreds of recruits. (The local al Qaeda franchise, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and a branch of the self-described Islamic State militant group have grown increasingly powerful in Yemen as the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-backed opposition have focused on battling each other.)

U.S. refueling of Saudi coalition planes increased 60 percent between February and August 2016, Air Force Times found . Without those flights, the Saudi-led coalition would make significantly fewer bombing runs, former Pentagon official Pierre Sprey told The Huffington Post in October . Its planes wouldnt be able to spend nearly as much time bombing Yemen, Sprey estimated theyd be limited to between five and 15 minutes per run, rather than the one to three hours they spend over the country now. That would sharply reduce the amount of damage the coalition jets could do.

Trump could also order U.S. personnel to stop giving the Saudis intelligence about the pro-Iran rebels, and to stop identifying targets that the coalition should avoid hitting information that the Saudis are in fact suspected of using to target vulnerable areas. In later weeks, Trump could place conditions on future military assistance to the Kingdom and its partners, to try to deter more controversial actions in Yemen and other excesses.