03 August 2007
More than 100 members of the US House of Representatives have signed a letter warning president George W. Bush that they would try to stop his proposed sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. "We intend to vote to stop it," the letter says, adding: "Saudi Arabia has not behaved like an ally of the United States. They have exported fighters and suicide bombers to the war in Iraq. They have provided funding for terrorist activities throughout the world. And the Saudis have refused to play a constructive role in the West Bank and Gaza. The United States should not send potentially destabilizing weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
Most of the signatories are Democrats, although about 15 were Republican. Ealier this week, the Bush administration proposed a US$ 20 billion arms sale as part of a package that also increases defense aid to Israel. The aim is to create a united front against Iran and draw the Saudis into the recently revived Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Congressmen Anthony Weiner and Mike Ferguson initiated the letter. Democratic leaders in Congress have expressed skepticism about the arms package but have not dismissed it outright.
Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama also criticized the arms sale, saying it was no substitute for diplomacy in advancing Middle East peace. Obama said Israel's security was "paramount" in considering such a sale, and added: "We should not believe arms sales will be a replacement for the hard diplomatic slog we've got to go through in the region in order to not only stabilize Iraq, but to make sure Iran and Syria and other countries that historically have been hostile to us aren't getting stronger."
In an interview with AP, Edwards, a former senator for North Carolina, said Saudi reluctance to back US policy in Iraq and its failure to stop financial backing for terrorists made the sale suspect. "Whether it's Iraq or terrorism, the Saudis have fallen way short of what they need to be doing,'' he said. ''And the Bush administration's response is to sell them US$ 20 billion worth of arms, which is short term and convenient and not what the United States should be doing.''
Meanwhile, Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the US arms package for the Middle East. "A military buildup is hardly the best solution to the unstable situation in the Middle East," Steinmeier told the German daily “Handelsblatt”. He said: "We think that a political dialogue with all of the actors in the region is the way to go."
