While previous Senate efforts to limit US arms sales to Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns narrowly failed, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chair Bob Corker (R – TN) has now withheld all consent for US arms sales to not just Saudi Arabia, but to the other Gulf Arab states, citing the ongoing Qatar crisis.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt have all imposed a blockade on Qatar over the past several weeks, and have issued a long list of demands for Qatar to comply with as a condition for lifting it. Sen. Corker warned that this is undermining the ISIS war.
That’s been a concern from the beginning of the crisis, since the largest US military base in the Middle East is in Qatar, and much of the air war in Syria is based out of Qatar. So far,the Pentagon has insisted that hasn’t been impacted, but the longer the situation goes unresolved, the more likely it’s going to be a problem.
Corker complained that the GCC nations “did not take advantage” of Trump urging them to act against ISIS at his recent visit, and “instead chose to devolve into conflict,” adding that the US needs to withhold all sales to GCC member nations until there is more clarification about how this dispute will be resolved.
Cutting sales to the GCC would cover Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well a Oman and Kuwait, too nations that have tried to negotiate a settlement. It does not appear Corker’s move will impact US arms sales to Egypt, despite Egypt being heavily involved in the blockade effort.
This is getting quite interesting – because this entire Qatar hooha is a fabricated affair…… Qatar’s getting too tight with the Chinese, Russians and Iranians who are prominent in that group putting that very tight squeeze on the dollar and due punishment is setting them up as the springboard for the Iranian regime-change….
So what do we have here….
Lots of nice very rich billion dollar arms deals to the Gulf approved and therefore already on the books and now … America is not going to deliver – thereby saving herself the cost of those weapons?
This added to that spurious Ecuador court case, that even more dubious case that fines a Swiss company because Kansas can’t deliver to China, demands to increase NATO fees + spending and the attempt to fine European companies for energy deals with Russia suggests the US is doing some very serious money-grubbing these days….. REALLY feeling that dollar-squeeze are we? Good.
You can’ have your cake and eat it too…. The same could be said of children.
Not to mention good relations with head choppers, and sketchy pipeline dream paid for with the lands & lives of the natives living within the desired route……
Now if they would stop shipping weapons to the terrorist organizations in Syria we would have real progress.
Good, now cut arms sales to the middle east entirely, that includes the little zionist project and all the other pet terrorists and assorted minions running around showing their asses. More likely tho, it’s just another grandstanding hick moment that wont change a thing.
*yawn*
Healthcare — Without insurance, government or butcher medicine
For breakfast eat crushed bananas over oatmeal.
For dinner eat lentil stew with natural brown rice and vegetables.
Two meals a day, no snacks and drink only water
A diet that is 10% fat, 10% protein and 80% complex carbohydrates.