SHAFAQNA- The first two Muslim congresswomen on Tuesday called out Saudi Arabia and criticized the U.S. for supplying the kingdom with weapons for its war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich monarchy is one of America’s most crucial strategic partners and a significant patron of U.S. defense companies. The Saudis are the top buyers of U.S-made arms, a title that has safeguarded the kingdom from retaliatory sanctions over the killing of Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.
The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin $946 million on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the defense giants’ THAAD missile defense system, the Defense Department announced, cnbc reported.
The multi-million dollar award is the first installment of what is expected to be a $15 billion deal.
The Trump administration is looking to loosen restrictions on American arms sales to boost the country’s weapons industry. Trump has thrown his support behind bin Salman, citing the importance of military deals in defending his decision to stick with Riyadh despite the murder.
Now, the Washington-Riyadh relationship is under bipartisan scrutiny in the US. Lawmakers on both sides are angry at the administration’s response to the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year, which is widely believed to have been ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, press tv told.
Why is Donald Trump siding with weapons manufacturers over human rights activists?
Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar have recently taken up more efforts to criticize U.S. Donald Trump for his continued support for Saudi Arabia’s war efforts in Yemen, which has created one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world.
“Saudi Arabia is consistently ranked among the worst human rights abusers in the world and is responsible for famine/cholera outbreak in Yemen. Yet it is the top buyer of U.S.-made weapons,” congresswoman Ilhan Omar said in a tweet. “Why is Donald Trump siding with weapons manufacturers over human rights activists?”
Omar’s tweet was in response to a post by fellow Muslim lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, who said Trump would “rather give Lockheed and the Saudis money for missiles,” than provide funding to Medicare and Medicaid services, aa mentioned.
Both congresswomen have been vocal about Saudi Arabia in the past, with Omar also saying “we need to reign in arms sales to human rights abusers like Saudi Arabia.
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