Ilhan Omar: Saudi Arms Deal 'Unconscionable,' Files Legislature to Block It
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Ilhan Omar, Democrat congresswoman and lawmaker, filed a legislation on Friday to block $650 million worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar: It is simply unconscionable to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.
On November 4, the Biden administration approved the sales of 280 air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, a key aggressor in the war on Yemen, in turn causing the country to experience the worst humanitarian disaster in our time.
The arms deal is worth $650 million dollars, with most missiles manufactured by giant war corporate Raytheon.
Ilhan Omar, Democrat congresswoman and lawmaker, filed a legislation on Friday to block the arms sale to Saudi Arabia. The file was dubbed 'the joint measure of disapproval.'
"We should never be selling human rights abusers weapons, but we certainly should not be doing so in the midst of a humanitarian crisis they are responsible for. Congress has the authority to stop these sales, and we must exercise that power," Omar said in a statement on her personal website.
"It is simply unconscionable to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to slaughter innocent people and starve millions in Yemen, kill and torture dissidents, and support modern-day slavery," she said.
The law, in order to come into effect, will have to pass through the US Senate and dodge a veto, which may be very likely.
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Death and destruction by the numbers from the Saudi-led coalition of aggression.
UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder has recently spoken about the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen in a press briefing in Geneva, saying "The Yemen conflict has just hit another shameful milestone: 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign started in March 2015. That’s the equivalent of four children every day.”
If the arms sale were to pass, the missiles could likely be used for further aggression against Yemen while over 11 million children alone are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Saudi weapons and birth defects: A relationship
Sanaa's Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtoor said that "The birth defects that newborns are suffering from, especially in al-Hudaydah, are an aftermath of the use of prohibited weapons that the Saudi-led aggression employed against Yemen, not to mention its systematic tampering with the environment and its basic elements."
Bin Habtoor said the "Saudi-US coalition of aggression holds all legal and moral responsibility for the tragedy experienced by Yemeni children."
