[Peace] Foreign Policy: 60 Lawmakers Seek Delay of Billion Dollar Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

[Robert Naiman]

Actually, it's 63. :)

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/29/60-lawmakers-seek-delay-
of-billion-dollar-arms-sale-to-saudi/

60 Lawmakers Seek Delay of Billion Dollar Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia
BY JOHN HUDSON
AUGUST 29, 2016

In a sign that frustration is growing in Congress over Saudi Arabia, a
bipartisan group of 60 lawmakers have signed a letter seeking to delay the
Obama administration’s planned sale of $1.15 billion in arms and military
equipment to Riyadh.

The letter, addressed to President Barack Obama, cites the growing number
of civilian casualties in Yemen caused by the Saudi-led military coalition,
and the Obama administration’s failure to reign in its Arab ally.

“This military campaign has had a deeply troubling impact on civilians,”
wrote the lawmakers in a draft obtained by Foreign Policy. “Just in the
last several days, a Saudi airstrike on a school in Yemen killed 10
children – some as young as 6-years-old – and a Saudi airstrike on an MSF
hospital in Yemen killed 11 people.”

The missive is expected to be sent to the White House on Tuesday.

The proposed sale, approved by the State Department on Aug. 9, includes up
to 153 tanks, ammunition, hundreds of machine guns, and sundry other
military equipment. Congress has 30 days to block the sale, but the
lawmakers appear irritated that the notification of the sale came in the
middle of Congress’s summer recess.

“Any decision to sell more arms to Saudi Arabia should be given adequate
time for full deliberation by Congress,” wrote the lawmakers. “We are
concerned, however, that the timing of this notification during the August
congressional recess could be interpreted to mean that Congress has little
time to consider the arms deal when it returns from recess within the 30
day window established by law.”

The 18-month conflict in Yemen has killed at least 6,000 people and
displaced 2.5 million as Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-majority allies battle
Houthi rebels for control of the country. The chaotic fighting has also
allowed Islamist militants to deepen their foothold in the country. On
Monday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a massive suicide
truck bomb attack that killed 54 people in Aden.

A State Department official declined to comment on whether the executive
branch would delay the proposed sale, saying he hasn’t yet seen the
lawmakers’ letter. The official said the U.S. remains committed to
confronting “any external threat” to the territorial integrity of Gulf
allies, like Saudi Arabia, but added that Riyadh and Houthi rebels “should
cease all military action.”

Co-signers of the letter include a mix of Republicans and Democrats such
as, Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Jerrold Nadler
(D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) and Jared Polis
(D-Colo.)

“This is a first step, which shows that members of Congress are
increasingly ready to move from expressing private concerns to the
administration to taking public action to reduce U.S. support for Saudi
Arabia’s war in Yemen,” said Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign
Policy.

===

Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1
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