Local Editor
Members of the US Congress are pushing to block the sale of $1.15 billion worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia as reports of civilian casualties continue to emerge from Yemen following strikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.
Last week, the U.S. Department of State gave its preliminary approval for the sale of over 100 tanks, over 300 machine guns, scores of ammunition, and other land force weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told ABC News Monday that he will try to force a vote to block this arms sale, which was approved by the State Department and passed to Congress, which has 30 days to review it before it can proceed.
"Saudi Arabia is an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record," Paul said in a statement to ABC News Monday. "We should not rush to sell them advanced arms and promote an arms race in the Middle East. I will work with a bipartisan coalition to explore forcing a vote on blocking this sale."
Rep. Ted W. Lieu, D-Calif., also spoke critically of the arms sale, stating, "This approved sale deserves to be scrutinized by Congress rather than rubber-stamped during the summer recess." Lieu added that he planned to review the arms sale to ensure it "meets the core objective of contributing to U.S. national security."
"I believe the Saudi military’s operational conduct in Yemen and the killing of civilians with U.S.-made weapons have harmed our national security interests, and I will continue to oppose any arms sale that contributes to its operations in that arena," Lieu added.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC News in a statement that he had "concerns over the high rate of civilian casualties in Saudi Arabia’s Yemen operations." Murphy added that the Saudis "have largely backed away from the military fight against ISIS and I’d like to see them commit to rejoin that fight as part of major new military sales."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
