Growing global outrage over the massive civilian death toll of the
Saudi-led Yemen War has led to a lot of pressure to stop selling the
Saudis so many lethal arms. So far, that doesn’t appear to be spilling
over to the Saudis’ allies in the war, and the United Arab Emirates
continues to buy arms with impunity.
During a weapons exhibition this week, the UAE has reached deals to buy over $5.4 billion in arms another equipment. The arms were from companies around the world, though the biggest deals were with US companies.
$1.9 billion will go to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as part of a UAE
plan to purchase air defense systems. These deals are pending State
Department approval, though the administration tends to sign off on such
sales relatively quickly.
The UAE is deeply involved in the Saudi War in Yemen, and is also at the
center of a controversy about US-provided arms ending up in the hands
of al-Qaeda-linked forces, which are on their side in fighting against
the Shi’ite Houthis.
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