WILLIAM HARTUNG, whartung@
Hartung is director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy.
In his recent piece for Forbes — “The Biden Administration’s Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia Is Offensive, and Must Be Stopped” — he writes: “The Biden administration’s decision to sell $650 million in air-to-air missiles and related equipment to Saudi Arabia is a violation of President Biden’s pledge to treat Saudi Arabia as a ‘pariah’ and to end the sale of weapons that can be used in its brutal war in Yemen, a conflict in which nearly a quarter of a million people have died since it was initiated in March 2015.
“To their credit, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to stop the sale.”
A vote is expected next week.
On Thursday, the Center for International Policy released a report by Hartung: “Arming Repression: U.S. Military Support for Saudi Arabia from Trump to Biden.” [PDF]
Says Hartung: “Without U.S. arms, maintenance, and spare parts, the Saudi military would not be able prosecute its brutal war in Yemen. It’s hard to overstate the degree to which the Saudi military relies on U.S. support. It’s time for the Biden administration to cut off this support as a way to change Saudi conduct and relieve the suffering of the Yemeni people caused by Saudi actions.
“Saudi Arabia has used U.S. bombs to target and kill thousands of civilians in Yemen, and to enforce its blockade there by carrying out actions like bombing the runway of Yemen’s main airport in Sana’a.”
