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Deal defies global call for arms embargo over mounting evidence of the Saudi dictatorship’s war crimes in Yemen.

October 25, 2015

Deal defies global call for arms embargo over mounting evidence of the Saudi dictatorship’s war crimes in Yemen.

Defying the international call for an arms embargo over war crimes concerns, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced Tuesday it has approved an $11.25 billion deal to sell combat ships to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a military assault against Yemen for more than six months.

“The selling of arms in the middle of a war will obviously send the message that the Saudis can do whatever they want and get away with it,” Farea Al-Muslimi, Beirut-based Yemeni writer and visiting scholar with Carnegie Middle East Center, told Common Dreams.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which is part of the DoD, announced Tuesday that is has rubber-stamped the export of four “Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) Ships and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $11.25 billion” to Saudi Arabia.

“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner, which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the U.S. agency stated.

The ships will replace older naval models, also built in the United States. While the transfer is being reportedas a U.S. effort to bolster Saudi Arabia’s defenses in the wake of the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, the arms sales are part of an ongoing trend. The IHS Jane’s 360 report, released in March, foundthat Saudi Arabia was the “number one” defense trading partner with the United States in 2014.

U.S. Congress now has 30 days to block sale of the ships before the deal goes into effect. While both Lockheed and Austal Ltd. manufacture such vessels, the deal applies to the “Freedom” versions produced by Lockheed.

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