PRESS ROOM

Whether it involves the pandemic, the environment, the economy, education, health care, or the basic task of sorting truth from fiction, America needs to get its own act together rather than blaming foreign powers for our current predicament. Without doing so, the U.S.’s influence on the global stage will continue to decline, and the lives and livelihoods of the American people will suffer as well. It’s time to rethink what we mean by security. Abandoning the Pentagon’s retrograde National Defense Strategy would be a good place to start.

With a new government following the familiar playbook of promising to clean up Washington, foreign lobbying reform is once again all the rage. Democratic control of both the House and Senate increases the likelihood of passing FARA legislation. President Biden, unlike his predecessor, has indicated an interest in the issue. Perhaps most importantly, Trump is not only gone from the White House but is also being impeached over his role in fueling the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. With Trump gone, Republicans now have greater political freedom to act.

Democrats and outside observers, such as the Center for International Policy, a Washington DC-based think tank, criticized such sales, saying they only served to fuel conflict in the region.

In addition to Democrats, other observers, including the Washington-based think tank Center for International Policy, have criticized the arms deal, saying it would only fuel the conflict in the region.

On Wednesday morning, the Center for International Policy released a report calling for Biden to rescind the offer for the UAE arms package.

"William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Program at the left-leaning Center for International Policy think tank, called the weapons review a “prudent first step towards reorienting US arms transfer policy.”

“It's time to put human rights and long-term security above narrow economic concerns in deciding which countries should receive US weaponry,” he said. "

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“The Saudis need to maintain their influence within the Republican Party post-Trump in hopes the Republican Senate can [help] block any bills that might hurt them, like prohibitions on arms sales or withdrawing troops from Yemen,” Ben Freeman of the Center for International Policy’s Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability in global relations, said.

"“The Saudis need to maintain their influence within the Republican Party post-Trump in hopes the Republican Senate can (help) block any bills that might hurt them, like prohibitions on arms sales or withdrawing troops from Yemen,” said Ben Freeman of the Center for International Policy’s Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability in global relations."

The immediate crises of the American republic should be clear enough right now: responding to the pandemic and restoring our civilian democracy. Certainly, military leaders like Milley should be appreciated for agreeing on the need to prioritize the pandemic and oppose sedition. However, more Pentagon spending and more military influence will not, in the end, make us any safer.

“The Saudis need to maintain their influence within the Republican Party post-Trump in hopes the Republican Senate can [help] block any bills that might hurt them, like prohibitions on arms sales or withdrawing troops from Yemen,” said Ben Freeman of the Center for International Policy’s Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability in global relations.

“The Biden administration’s decision to temporarily freeze and review arms sales to the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia is a prudent first step towards reorienting U.S. arms transfer policy after the reckless policy of promoting weapons exports at all costs pursued by the Trump administration,” William Hartung of the Center for International Policy said in a statement. “The administration should ultimately cut off sales based on their joint role in the brutal war in Yemen, their records of internal repression, and the UAE’s military adventurism in Libya and beyond.”