Intel: Rights groups urge US to nix arms sales to UAE
The organizations warned the major weapons sale could contribute to further instability and violent conflict in the Middle East.
A coalition of human rights organizations is urging President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden to halt a planned $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates they say would worsen a set of bloody regional conflicts.
“These sales undermine US interests and fuel civilian harm and human rights violations in Yemen, Libya and beyond,” read the letter from 29 groups, including the Project on Middle East Democracy, ALQST and Win Without War.
“Delivery of the sales would undermine US national security interests by fueling instability, violent conflict and radicalization in the Middle East and North Africa and would also send a signal of impunity for the UAE’s recent conduct, which includes likely violations of international law,” the groups said.
The State Department formally notified Congress earlier this month that it planned to sell Abu Dhabi $23.4 billion worth of advanced weaponry, including 50 F-35 fighter jets, 18 armament-ready MQ-9B drones and a package of precision munitions. The transfer would make the UAE the first Arab country to obtain Lockheed Martin’s F-35, the world's most advanced fighter aircraft.
