Perspective: The United States and Middle-Eastern Arms Trade, A Closer Look

Perspective: The United States and Middle-Eastern Arms Trade, A Closer Look | Richard Reno

If America continues to turn it back on human rights in favor of supplying weapons that fuel wars that take innocent lives, it will lose its credibility as a leader for justice and peace.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Patheos
By Richard Reno | May 14, 2017

We’ve all seen the tragic images of children killed or injured in the Syrian civil war. An estimated 55,000 children have been killed in the fighting. This is among the hundreds of thousands total casualties of civilian deaths. Less known are the thousands that have died in the conflicts taking place in Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. The war in Yemen between the Sunni led government and the Iranian backed Houthi rebels has already killed more than 10,000 and displaced more than 3 million. The many conflicts in the Middle East are complex and show no signs of ending any time soon.

It can’t get worse, right?

Well, it was recently reported that the US would sell fighter jets to Bahrain to bolster their military capabilities against the potential military threat of Iran. Last month it was reported that the Trump administration was looking to resume $1.15 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. In both cases the Obama administration had blocked sales due to concerns over human rights abuses. Since 2010 the United States has sold them more than $47 billion worth of weapons. Selling more weapons to Saudi Arabia is sure to continue to fuel the ongoing proxy war with Iran taking place in Yemen and Syria. The US is not alone in the lucrative arms sales market, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the orders have exceeded $56 billion, boosted from showcasing their weapon systems in the Syrian civil war. Continuing to supply weapons has the potential to expand this war in a region that is already war torn with multiple conflicts.
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