Foreign Policy by Jack Detsch, Robbie Gramer | February 11, 2021
Pressure Mounts on Biden to Cancel Billions More in Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
The U.S. president has already halted some arms sales to the Gulf. How he handles the rest will be a bellwether for progressives’ sway over his foreign policy.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s first salvo on foreign policy marked a 180-degree turn on ties with Saudi Arabia, cutting off support for offensive operations in the Yemen conflict, freezing arms sales, and appointing a new envoy to push Riyadh back to the negotiating table for peace talks.
Progressive groups have applauded these moves but say it’s not enough.
Nearly 40 advocacy groups and dozens more individuals with sway on the progressive flank of the Democratic Party led by Win Without War, the Project on Middle East Democracy, and the Center for International Policy are calling on Biden to permanently cancel dozens of arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a new letter shared with Foreign Policy.
Why it matters. Progressives who helped vault Biden to the White House are trying to ramp up pressure on the new administration to advance a raft of their foreign-policy objectives, and the U.S. relationships with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are a prime target.
Rock, meet hard place. Politically, Biden is being pulled by both the centrist and progressive flanks of his party. The relationship with Saudi Arabia is particularly tricky on this front: Its dismal human rights record, including the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and its costly involvement in Yemen have drawn widespread international backlash. But at the same time, Riyadh is geopolitically important to U.S. interests in the Middle East as a major oil producer and counterweight to Iran.
More:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/11/biden-pressure-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-yemen-haiti/
