Senators consider vote to block US arms deal to Saudi Arabia – report

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Senators consider vote to block US arms deal to Saudi Arabia – report

Rand Paul calls country ‘unreliable ally’ after Democrat Chris Murphy
criticises US support for Saudi intervention in Yemen’s chaotic civil war

Tom Kutsch
Sunday 14 August 2016 14.25 BST

Days after the Obama administration approved a major arms sale agreement to Saudi Arabia, Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is considering blocking the move, citing objections to the country’s human rights record and a possible regional arms race.

“I will work with a bipartisan coalition to explore forcing a vote on blocking this sale,” said Paul, according to a statement provided to Foreign Policy magazine. “Saudi Arabia is an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record. We should not rush to sell them advanced arms and promote an arms race in the Middle East.”

Paul’s statement comes amid a deteriorating situation in Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to its its east, where Riyadh has been involved in a US-supported intervention for more than a year.

Peace talks being brokered by the United Nations and held in Kuwait fell apart last week and fighting resumed on Tuesday, as airstrikes from the Saudi-led coalition struck a food facility, killing more than a dozen people.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/14/saudi-arabia-us-arms-deal-senators-rand-paul-chris-murphy

[kimbutgar]

1. Those defense contractors are going to be putting money toward Rands opponent

Watch for the blizzard of money against him in Kentucky.

[Warpy]

2. Well, they are also fighhting DAESH in northern Syria

and for that reason, I might approve this one. If the region becomes more peaceful, I'd look very closely at what they are asking for and why they want it.

The mess in Yemen is mostly the old Sunni-Shi'a millennium long feud. Saudi is fighting the rebels because they don't want a Shi'a led country on their southern border. I would be inclined to let them run out of bombs, but we all know they'd only go shopping in other countries, some of whom would love to have more favorable oil contracts.