US Senate bill would places restrictions on Saudi royals until human rights improve

A US Senate bill would place restrictions on visas for members of the Saudi royal family until they improve their human rights record. The bill also contains some restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia

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Senators hope bill will not be vetoed

The bill, S2006, is intended to continue Congressional efforts to punish Saudi Arabia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and also it dismal human rights record on other issues, but without provoking Trump to veto it. The bill also includes some limits on US arms sales to the Saudis but would not threaten the bulk of arms sales.

Travel restriction on Saudi Royals

Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, said that the bill would deny visas to all members of the Saudi Royal Family until there a major improvements in human rights within the kingdom. Unlike past legislation, this bill makes very specific demands for improvement that includes the release of dozens of dissident activists.

Trump may not veto the bill

Trump has generally vetoed anything that is remotely against the Saudis, but there are reports that the White House is giving tacit support for the bill as a compromise. The bill shows some toughness towards the Saudis but does not threaten most of the arms sales to the country.

Trump vetoed bill to end support for the Saudi war in Yemen

A resolution to end US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen passed the Senate in March and the House of Representatives in April. This was the first time that both houses had supported a War Powers resolution that limits the ability of the president to send troops into action.

Trump called the resolution an unnecessary and dangerous attempt to limit his constitutional powers. Opposition in the US Congress to Trump's policy on Yemen, where the US gives intelligence support and also refuels Saudi planes, grew last year after Saudi agents killed journalist Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Big US firms, Lockheed Martin and Boeing to reap big profits from Saudi contracts

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. will reap billions from Saudi contracts subsequent to President Trump's announcement that the Saudis will buy up to $110 billion in American weapons.

Speaking at a conference in New York last Wednesday, Marillyn Hewson CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. said she could see the company gaining up to $28 billion in new business from the Saudis. Dennis Muilenbege CEO of Boeing Co. also hopes to profit from sales to the Saudis of more than $50 billion for both military and commercial sales. Often these deals involve long term maintenance and sustainment contracts that can run up to 30 years. Typically these contracts make up 70 percent of the total value of sales.

Foreign weapons sales can often take a long time to negotiate and also a lengthy period before delivery. Congress has to be notified of the deal and this can often result in objections as is this case with this deal. Six House representatives consisting of both Republicans and Democrats have introduced a resolution of disapproval that would block the proposed sales of precision-guided munitions and other offensive weapons to the Saudis.

Congress was notified of the proposed sales, as part of a larger arms deal with Saudi Arabia reportedly worth $110 billion, on May 19. Representative Amash a Republican from Michigan one of the sponsors of the bill said: “Saudi Arabia has one of the worst human rights records and has supported many of the extremists terrorizing the people of the Middle East and the world.

These arms sales extend a reckless policy from the Obama administration and prior administrations, and they come at a time when the Saudi government is escalating a gruesome war in Yemen.” Mark Pocan a Democrat from Wisconsin also spoke for the bill: “President Trump’s proposed $110-billion weapons sale sends the wrong message to Saudi Arabia. In addition to regularly dropping U.S. bombs on Yemeni civilians, Saudi Arabia appears to have every intention of using the U.S. weapons from this sale to enforce a blockade on Yemen that prevents food and medicine from reaching millions of people on the brink of starvation.For months, my colleagues and I have been demanding answers to the most basic questions on the U.S. role in the disastrous war in Yemen and have been met with deafening silence from the White House. As we introduce a resolution of disapproval against this unprecedented weapons sale, we are concerned about U.S. complicity in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis now consuming Yemen. Our bipartisan group of lawmakers will be urging our colleagues to take seriously our constitutional duty to vigorously debate the merits of arming the Saudis even further.”

I expect that the profits that the sales will bring to the likes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin will outweigh concerns about the use to which Saudi will put the weapons. Obama supported the Saudi sales ultimately and Trump will do so as well but with not the slightest complaints about their use by the Saudis.

Senators Rand Paul a Republican from Kentucky and two Democrats including Al Franken from Minnesota have introduced identical legislation in the Senate too that in the House. Under the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 a senator is able to force a vote on arms sales. This cannot be done in the house.

Even if the weapons deal passes Congress, contracts need to be drawn up between manufacturer and the country before manufacturing begins. Payment typically begins when a contract is signed with a future payment when the unit actually reaches an assembly line. There is a final payment when a unit is actually delivered followed by sustained payments.

In 2013 the Saudis received permission to buy 25 C-130 planes some as tankers and some a cargo haulers. But so far just two have been bought with the remaining 23 probably failing under the new deal. The Lockheed CEO said that the Saudis are seeking four multi-mission warship. Lockheed is proposing they but a variant of its Littoral Combat Ship. Lockheed also agreed it would form a joint venture that would support the completion and finally assembly of 150 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters. CEO Hewson also said that Lockheed's THAAD and PAC-3 missile systems could be on the Saudis shopping list. The appended video lists other items.

The U.K. also sells a substantial amount of weapons to the Saudis. A report on foreign financing of terrorism due to be released in the spring of 2016 has not yet been finished and apparently may never be made public due to its "sensitive" contents. It may be too sensitive for the U.K. government that recently approved 3.5 billion pounds worth of arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia. The report apparently focuses on the role of Saudi Arabia in financing terrorism.

Division reported in US administration over support for Saudi operations in Yemen

The Obama administration is reportedly divided on support for the Saudi war in Yemen, which has caused increasing carnage.

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Official estimates now place the death toll from Saudi-led airstrikes alone at about 1,500 civilians. There have been reports of the use of cluster bombs in the north, which hit a wedding party, a UN storage warehouse and port facilities in a Houthi-controlled port. Several residential areas in the capital, Sanaa, have also been bombed. A naval blockade in which the U.S. is a participant has made it difficult for aid supplies to reach Houthi-controlled areas.

The latest incident was the bombing of a hospital in the north run by Doctors without Borders. The attack ruined the hospital and wounded two staff members. The U.S. is reluctant to irritate the Saudis at this time because they are anxious to gain support for the nuclear deal with Iran, opposed by many U.S. allies including the Saudis and other Gulf states but Israel as well. On the issue of the Iran nuclear deal both Israel and many Arab states agree. Iran is a supporter of the Houthi rebels in Yemen the targets of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

The Houthis took a large portion of western Yemen even south to the port of Aden. Since the Saudi campaign in March they have lost many southern areas including the port of Aden. The conflict has been a boon for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which has formed alliances with local tribes to battle against the Houthis and has managed to gain control of large areas including the major port of Mukalla to the east of Aden. The group apparently has infiltrated into Aden. A recent suicide attack killed two members of a militia loyal to President Hadi's government which has established some offices in Aden in an attempt to restore a functioning recognized government in parts of Yemen again. There have been several other attacks, one shown on the appended image. Officials from the Hadi government and the president himself had been in exile in Saudi Arabia.

The UN has been trying to reach a peace agreement and political settlement for some time. However, the process is often fruitless since the UN has passed a resolution demanding that the Houthi's withdraw from all the areas they have taken and lay down their arms. Nevertheless, the Yemen government has agreed to a meeting to discuss implementation of the resolution and the Houthis as well.

Meanwhile, the Saudis are pressing for further gains supported by a large contingent of troops from the UAE. The Saudis are recruiting proxies for the battle to avoid political difficulties that might come from too many Saudi casualties. Sudan has agreed to send up to 6,000 soldiers to Yemen. The Saudis are in effect also hiring mercenaries to the tune of 800 former Colombian military. The first group of 100 under contract wtih Saudi Arabia already arrived in Aden this month. The group will wear Saudi uniforms but will be under the command of the UAE armed forces. This presence of foreign troops is not likely to go down well with locals.

Many of the militia who supported the Saudi offensive in Aden and area are southern separatists. They have no love for the Saudis or Hadi and local tribes are not likely to be happy with what is happening. An article in the Washington Post by Peter Salisbury an associate of the UK think-tank Chatham House, gives a good account of the difficulties of negotiating any successful political solution in Yemen. He fears that the West and the Saudis will press for a solution that may meet the wishes of the Hadi government, and traditional power brokers within Yemen but will leave out important players contributing to continuing instability within Yemen. The Hadi government is unlikely to have much support in Yemen, and even those who have supported it such as the southern separatists do so only to advance their own political interests. If these interests are ignored, rebellion and conflict will break out again.