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US Fueling Dangerous Mideast Arms Race
By maudeaster on 2015-04-23 11:26:58
The chaos in Yemen resulting from the Saudi bombing campaign -- including civilian deaths, devastated cities and the
strengthening of Al : Se Qaeda — is a perfect example of the folly of resorting to military
action when political negotiations are the only solution to a civil conflict. It seemed at first good news for Yemenis that
earlier this week Saudi Arabia had responded to pleas from Pakistan, Iran, the UN and the European Union calling for a
cessation of its air campaign. The Saudis pledged to end the air strikes -- but it hasn't happened yet and making this
contingent on the Houthis' laying down their arms is hardly a realistic basis for political negotiations. It also remains to be
seen what the Saudis mean by continuing to threaten other military action, and what will be the
=. consequences of the US recent dispatch of still another warship to the Gulf. The US has
excused its disgraceful support for the Saudi military campaign in Yemen by claiming Iran has provided weapons support to
the Houthis (the degree of that support is contested, but in any case the US seems to be objecting to an outside country
helping militarily one side in Yemen’s civil war.) The hypocrisy of Washington using this excuse is incredible — while the
US supplied and resupplied the outsider-Saudis with weapons to intervene in Yemen and while the US is itself shipping
American-made arms to countries throughout the volatile Middle East. Sale of U.S. Arms Fuels the Wars of Arab States is
SAUDIS PURCHASE F-15s, UPGRADE FLEET
a must-read on this issue — an excellent piece by Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper in the
April 18, 2015 New York Times describing the dangerous US role in feeding a new regional arms race: “Jo wage war in
Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab Emirates are
flying Lockheed Martin's F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon, the Emirates are expected to complete a deal with
General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighborhood. As the Middle East descends
into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled
American military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defense
contractors looking for foreign business in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets — but also the prospect of a dangerous
new arms race in a region where the map of alliances has been sharply redrawn.” Mazzetti and Cooper discuss
Washington’s consideration of whether sales to Arab nations might endanger Israel. A valid concern, but in addition, why is
Washington not also considering curtailing arms sales to avoid the death and destruction that rained down on Yemenis?
What about all the other civilians through the region who will become victims if military tensions are fed between Arab
countries and Iran? What about the danger of increasing the power of the repressive governments in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
against their own people? For another revealing discussion of the danger of US arms sales in the iit ulf, see the
interview on The Real News Network with William Hartung, Director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for
International Policy. Instead of using our tax dollars to increase the already huge profits of US arms contractors, Washington
should consider the enormous human cost of stoking more military conflict in the Middle East — as well as the financial cost
to US tax payers of fostering endless warfare in the region. It is past time for the US to promote, and itself abide by, an arms
embargo to the region. Nothing will be a bigger contribution to US security than encouraging Saudi Arabia and Iran to
negotiate together not only about Yemen, but also about Syria and Iraq. Washington should be using progress on the nuclear
agreement with Iran to open new, much needed doors for regional conflict resolution.
