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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action, 951-217-7285 cell, pmartin@peace-action.org
Gabe Murphy, Peace Action, 510-501-3345 cell, gmurphy@peaceaction.org

Senate Votes to Block Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE

WASHINGTON

In response to the Senate voting to block arms sales involving Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:

"When Trump vetoed legislation earlier this year to end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen, Congress said it would keep pushing. Today the Senate delivered on that promise, offering yet another rebuke to this administration's reckless foreign policy in the Middle East. By passing these joint resolutions, led by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Jack Reed (D-RI) and others, Congress is forcing the president to either stop arming countries that are using U.S. weapons to starve the people of Yemen, or issue more vetoes and defend the indefensible. If Trump does veto these resolutions, Congress should vote to override in order to help bring the terrible war in Yemen to an end.

"Sooner or later, Trump and those in Congress who defend his policies in Yemen will realize that the political cost of keeping the U.S. involved in a war that 75 percent of Americans oppose is not worth the pats on the back they'll get from Saudi Arabia and the arms industry."

Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.