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Sen. Rand Paul: Why should we give money or arms to Saudi Arabia to end up in the hands of ISIS?

14 Jun 2017 - 16:00


American Herald Tribune- In an op-ed for FoxNews.com, Paul said lawmakers and their constituents should have a say in the arms deal.

"In 2016, Congress overwhelmingly voted to allow the family members of those killed in the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. So why, less than a year later, are we agreeing to sell Saudi Arabia billions of dollars in arms to further escalate a war that has been loudly and repeatedly condemned internationally?" Paul wrote.

The senator also cited Saudi Arabia’s continued military campaign in Yemen as a reason to oppose the arms sale.

“Already, U.S. military assistance through intelligence, refueling missions, and the sale of major U.S. defense equipment has not abated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Paul said.

“If anything, it has exacerbated it, and it has associated our name with Saudi Arabia’s tactics in Yemenis’ minds.”

Also Sen. Paul railed against US weapons sales to Saudi Arabia at the Senate in Washington DC on Tuesday, saying he wouldn’t sell “them a rifle, much less precision-guided missiles”.

Rand said that he, along with US Senator for Connecticut Chris Murphy, will put forward a bill to make future arms sales contingent on reining in Saudi military involvement in Yemen’s war. He called the famine in Yemen “of biblical proportions”, saying the situation “is being done without your permission, but with your weapons.”

Sen. Paul wasn't succeful in stoping arms sale to Saudi Arabia as the Senate narrowly rejected the measure condemning a $500 million weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in a brutal bombing campaign in Yemen.

The measure, however, failed by a narrow margin of 47 to 53. The vote was much closer than a similar measure in September, which failed 71 to 27.


Story Code: 264745

News Link :
https://www.theiranproject.com/en/article/264745/sen-rand-paul-why-should-we-give-money-or-arms-to-saudi-arabia-end-up-in-the-hands-of-isis

The Iran Project
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