Saudi Arabia has a big problem on its hands this week. Despite funneling significant resources into lobbying efforts and U.S. congressional campaigns, the kingdom has found itself in a pickle that it cannot seem to easily extricate itself from: the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.
For years, Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen has drawn significant criticism for its strategy and tactics. The Saudi naval blockade has the kingdom’s smaller neighbor grappling with a devastating famine and a dearth of medical supplies and humanitarian aid. The Saudi air campaign has also proven deeply problematic—either from poor aim or amoral choices of target.
International critiques seemed to reach a crescendo last month after the Saudis mistakenly bombed a school bus full of children, killing 26 and injuring 19 Yemeni kids. European nations issued statements that they would halt weapons shipments to the kingdom for the foreseeable future because of the incident, but many of those nations (including Spain and Germany) did an abrupt U-turn later in the month and proceeded with the sales.
Some American policymakers have also tried to halt weapon sales to the nation over the past two years. There have been two outright votes on the matter led by bipartisan, bicameral coalitions, but both measures were narrowly defeated.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/untangling-last-policymakers-take-aim-ending-arms-sales-saudi-arabia
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