Blitz Bureau
REVERSING a three-year-old policy, the Biden administration has decided to lift a ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a State Department statement issued on August 9.
The ban was put in place to pressure Saudi Arabia to wind down the Yemen war, according to media reports. The State Department was lifting its suspension on certain transfers of air-toground munitions to Saudi Arabia, a senior department official confirmed. “We will consider new transfers on a typical case-by-case basis consistent with the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy,” the official said.
A newspaper report quoting news agency Reuter said, the administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban. A source quoted in the report said sales could resume as early as next week. “The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours,” a senior Biden administration official said.
Human right concerns
Under US law, major international weapons deals must be reviewed by members of Congress before they are made final. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have questioned the provision of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in recent years, citing issues including the toll on civilians of its campaign in Yemen and a range of human rights concerns. But that opposition has softened amid turmoil in the Middle East following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel and because of changes in the conduct of the campaign in Yemen.
Since March 2022 – when the Saudis and Houthis entered into a UN-led truce – there have not been any Saudi airstrikes in Yemen and cross-border fire from Yemen into the kingdom has largely stopped, the administration official said, according to the published report. “We also note the positive steps that the Saudi Ministry of Defense have taken over the past three years to substantially improve their civilian harm mitigation processes, in part thanks to the work of U.S. trainers and advisors,” the State Department official said.
US President Biden adopted the tougher stance on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in 2021, citing the kingdom’s campaign against the Iranaligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties. Ties between the kingdom and the United States have warmed since then.
