{"id":739,"date":"2018-03-22T21:15:06","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T01:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=739"},"modified":"2018-03-23T21:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T01:18:28","slug":"state-dept-approves-670-million-arms-deal-with-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=739","title":{"rendered":"State Dept. Approves $670 Million Arms Deal With Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0HELENE COOPER\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/a>

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President Trump discussing weapons sales this week with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, which is leading a bombing campaign in Yemen that has been criticized by human rights groups.<\/span>Credit<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The State Department said on Thursday that it had approved the sale of an estimated $670 million in anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia, just hours after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Pentagon leaders to discuss the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.<\/p>\n

The proposed package includes up to 6,700 missiles made by Raytheon, as well as spare parts for American-made tanks and helicopters that Saudi Arabia already owns.<\/p>\n

The proposed sale is bound to be questioned by Congress, where the Senate this week rejected a bipartisan effort to halt American military support for the bombing campaign in Yemen. The Trump administration strenuously protested the effort, and sent Pentagon and State Department officials to Capitol Hill last week to lobby against its passage.<\/p>\n

In the end, the administration prevailed, and lawmakers from both parties shelved the measure for further debate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That it got that far demonstrates the increased frustration by Republicans and Democrats over Washington\u2019s support for the Saudi campaign against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, which has been roundly criticized by human rights organizations because of the large number of civilian casualties.<\/p>\n

The State Department said in a statement that it had notified Congress on Thursday of the proposed arms sale. Lawmakers have 30 days to try to stop it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, Prince Mohammed met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who characterized Saudi Arabia as \u201cpart of the solution\u201d in Yemen, which has been ripped apart by civil war.<\/p>\n

Before the start of the meeting, a reporter asked Mr. Mattis whether he planned to raise concerns with Prince Mohammed about civilian casualties. Mr. Mattis said the United States was working with other countries to pursue a political solution in Yemen.<\/p>\n

He said Saudi Arabia has supported the government in Yemen\u2019s capital, Sana, which is recognized by the United Nations. \u201cWe are going to end this war. That is the bottom line,\u201d Mr. Mattis said. \u201cAnd we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The strife in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, began in 2014, when Houthis, Shiite rebels aligned with Iran, invaded Sana. Those rebels later ousted the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of the United States, who was once praised by American officials as a leading partner in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia, Yemen\u2019s neighbor and a major regional power, began a concerted bombing campaign in early 2015 to help push back the Houthis. But that campaign has long raised the ire of human rights organizations for repeated bombings on civilians, something the Pentagon has admitted it has little oversight of.<\/p>\n

One of the last acts of the Obama administration, in December 2016, was to block a transfer of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about civilian casualties that American officials attributed to poor targeting.<\/p>\n

That decision blocked the sale by Raytheon of about 16,000 guided munitions kits, which upgrade so-called dumb bombs to smart bombs. It was roundly excoriated by Raytheon and Saudi royal officials.<\/p>\n

Since taking office, President Trump has developed a far friendlier relationship with the royal family, and the crown prince in particular, than President Barack Obama had.<\/p>\n

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Dana White, said Mr. Mattis did not bring up the mounting civilian casualties in Yemen during his discussion with Prince Mohammed. Instead, she said, the defense secretary discussed the continued cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia through additional training and military education.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly,\u201d said Sarah Margon, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, \u201cthe Trump administration has failed to understand \u2014 or simply doesn\u2019t care about \u2014 the gravity of the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. Instead of using their leverage smartly to push the visiting Saudi crown prince to stop abuse, the White House is signaling support for large-scale abuse \u2014 by unconditionally backing Riyadh with millions more in weapons sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Margon called on the Senate to \u201cstep up to the plate and make clear U.S. support will not go unchecked this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n