{"id":2124,"date":"2020-11-30T19:35:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T16:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=2124"},"modified":"2020-12-01T18:35:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T15:35:55","slug":"u-s-arms-sales-to-uae-draw-fire-from-29-rights-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=2124","title":{"rendered":"U.S. arms sales to UAE draw fire from 29 rights groups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Twenty-nine arms control and human rights organizations have signed a letter opposing the sale of $23 billion worth of missiles, fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates and asking the U.S. Congress to block the deal. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"USAF<\/a>
USAF an F-35 pilot assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard, prepares for take off from the Vermont Air National Guard Base with the flag of the United States, honoring Vermont\u2019s front line COVID-19 responders and essential workers with a statewide flyover scheduled to last 90 minutes, South Burlington, Vt., May 22, 2020. These flyovers are a part of Operation America Strong, an Air Force effort to salute healthcare workers across the country. (Photo by U.S. Air National Guard photo by Miss Julie M. Shea)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“The hope is to stop these sales altogether,” said Seth Binder, advocacy officer at the Project on Middle East Democracy, who spearheaded the effort. “But if that is not possible in the short term, this sends an important signal to the incoming Biden administration that there is a diverse group of organizations that oppose delivery of these weapons.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three\n U.S. senators earlier this month proposed legislation to halt the sale,\n which includes drones from privately held General Atomics, Lockheed \nMartin Corp F-35s and missiles made by Raytheon, setting up a showdown \nwith President Donald Trump weeks before he is due to leave office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S.\n law allows senators to force votes on resolutions of disapproval on \nmajor arms deal. However, to become effective resolutions must first \npass both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The measure would\n also need two-third majorities in both the Republican-led Senate and \nDemocratic-led House to survive a presidential veto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump administration officials briefed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the deal on Monday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic\n Senator Chris Murphy, a sponsor of the resolutions of disapproval, \nresponded later on Twitter: “Just a mind blowing number of unsettled \nissues and questions the Administration couldn’t answer. Hard to \noverstate the danger of rushing this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sale was approved following a U.S.-brokered agreement in \nSeptember in which the UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n letter from the rights groups, sent to lawmakers and the State \nDepartment, said the planned arms sale would fuel continued harm to \ncivilians and exacerbate humanitarian crises due to conflicts in Yemen \nand Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signatories include human rights organizations from the\n region, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and \nMwatana for Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UAE embassy said in a statement, \n“Aligned closely with US interests and values, the UAE\u2019s highly capable \nmilitary is a forceful deterrent to aggression and an effective response\n to violent extremism.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Reporting by Mike Stone; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: <\/strong>REUTERS, Washington By Mike Stone – 30 November 2020 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ali Gaffari<\/strong> <\/a>(QATAR<\/a>, UAE<\/a>, IRAN<\/a> XairForces <\/strong>Editor)
\nalex.tomcat78@gmail.com<\/a>
\nFacebook.com\/alex.tomcat<\/a>
\nTwitter.com\/TomcatAlex<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n


\n
\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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