Current members include Morocco, which has long illegally occupied the Western Sahara; Bahrain, which has systematically cracked down on human rights in the wake of the Arab Spring; and the UAE, which has been a destabilizing force in the region, from partnering with Saudi Arabia in its brutal war on Yemen to shipping weapons to the opposition in Sudan, a group that has been charged with widespread war crimes. Given that transfers below the current threshold have been used to enable countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel to kill civilians with impunity, it makes no sense to raise those thresholds and make it even easier for the executive branch to keep Congress and the public in the dark about controversial sales. Given the central role of arms sales in U.S. foreign and security policies and the devastating consequences of rushing weapons to nations engaged in aggression and internal repression, Congress should be increasing its ability to block dubious deals, not hobbling its own oversight role and ability to meaningfully weigh in on pressing U.S. national security matters.
Author: William D. Hartung
Published at: 2025-07-19 19:59:05
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