Huffington Post: $1 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

The Trump administration plans to approve a $1 billion dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia, including “around 6,700 anti-tank missiles and $300 million in parts for the Saudis’ helicopters and tanks,” explains the US State Department. The deal is controversial due to the ongoing Saudi role in Yemen’s civil war. Since March 2015, the Saudi state has carried out lethal airstrike campaigns as part of its counter-insurgency plan against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group pitched in a struggle against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen contributes to thousands of civilian deaths and one of the globe’s most devastating humanitarian disasters. As Nick Visser and Nick Robins-Early note for the Huffington Post: “Millions in Yemen lack basic access to food and medical care, while Saudi airstrikes have devastated the country’s infrastructure and prevented aid shipments from reaching those in need.” Human rights groups criticize both the United States and the United Kingdom for profiting off of arms sales that have led to the outright decimation of residential areas. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis relies on the oft-used regional security and stability argument to defend the arms sales. –YaleGlobal