Senior US lawmakers have called on the UK to fulfill its’ moral responsibility ‘and help end both countries” complicity ‘in the war in Saudi Arabia in Yemen, in a sign of the pressure the UK will face in Washington to join the Biden government and end arms sales to the kingdom.
In his first speech dedicated to foreign policy, US President Joe Biden announced last week that the US would end support for the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.
The question now is how far the government will go to push allies to take similar steps, particularly in the UK, where British officials revealed this week that the UK is exporting almost £ 1.4 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia between July and September.
Senator Ron Wyden, the Democratic chairman of the powerful finance committee and a leading critic of Saudi Arabia, said in a statement to the Guardian that he believed the US was not “selling weapons to governments with a record of using them to commit atrocities ”.
“US allies such as the United Kingdom and France must immediately follow and stop enabling the Saudi regime,” he said.
Senator Chris Murphy, another Democrat who led the push to end offensive U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, told the Guardian he knows many in the UK “share our concerns about the arms sales that the war in Yemen “.
“The various economic benefits of these sales do not outweigh our national security and moral responsibility to end complicity in this ongoing nightmare. “The United States and the United Kingdom that are performing in concert are more powerful than we are one of us alone, and I hope that our governments can work together to prioritize a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Yemen.” he said.
The State Department has so far refused to weigh the case and has not commented on questions about whether Biden’s government would move Boris Johnson’s government to follow suit.
‘We have set up an inter-agency process to work through the details of individual cases through the White House and with all relevant agencies at the table, bringing expertise, discipline and inclusivity back into our policy-making on these issues. We refer you to the British Government to discuss its arms export policy, ‘the spokesman added.
On Monday, the UK insisted it would not follow suit, despite pressure from some conservative backers. Secretary of State James Cleverly said Biden’s decision was only a matter for Washington.
Policy and defense analysts say it is too early to predict how much pressure Biden wants to put on Johnson at a time when the US wants to strengthen its diplomatic relations around the world. For some, it was also unclear whether the US would try to stop US defense manufacturers from selling parts to British defense companies that sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.
“I think any pressure on the UK will be quiet and private,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative and a former senior director of golf at the National Security Council under Trump. -government.
‘[Biden] “can not be more dominant than the previous president was, and that’s what it would look like if he tried to pressure the United Kingdom to further paralyze their economy in an effort to recover Covid,” Fontenrose said.
She added that the Johnson government would seek to sell their weapons “amid pressure from the British defense industry to strike” while the iron is hot “and gain ground in the competitive arms market in Saudi Arabia after the US departure.
“The British facet of the Saudi deal is causing complications that the Biden government is not yet ready for,” said U.S. defense analyst Loren Thompson.
“This government does not like the government of Saudi Arabia and despises it. But this is against the interests and perhaps also with the British government. “Britain is an important ally, so it must be reconciled,” he added.
Raytheon, the world’s third-largest arms manufacturer, told investors last month that he would remove a projected sale of a $ 519 million offensive weapon system to a customer in the Middle East, but could not give further details.
‘Keep in mind that the president of the United States is ultimately the biggest customer of these companies. He leads an executive that is the world’s largest buyer of weapons and technology. “They will have to be really careful in terms of what they say on the record,” Thompson said.
Although there are hundreds – if not thousands – of US suppliers to arms manufacturers in the UK, experts say it is unlikely to be affected by the US ban on offensive weapons unless the US moves to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia in the future. to adjust.
In Washington, the Biden government has yet to deliver on a promise to release an unclassified report on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Fontenrose and other experts said the details of the report, including whether it contained a ‘smoking weapon’, proved that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the assassination to determine how the US – and allies – work. go.
“If the US wants it, it could put a lot of pressure on the UK and will have to bend the UK,” said Roy Isbister, head of the weapons unit at Saferworld, an organization that focuses on conflict prevention.
If the UK does not follow suit, and if the US is serious about pushing for Saudi Arabia policy, the UK could “possibly undermine” US policy, Isbister added.
“For the Saudis to maintain their air commitment in Yemen, it needs ongoing support from its suppliers. I have heard a number of people say that the Saudi Arabian air forces are starting to fall out of the air fairly quickly, unless they have support. ‘