A leading vote in the US Congress against the Saudi war in Yemen called on the UK to follow in the footsteps of the Biden government and end the offensive weapons to the kingdom, saying Britain should have no greater be interested in ‘perpetuating war crimes’ if the US does.
Senator Chris Murphy, an influential Democrat in the Foreign Relations Committee, told the Guardian that he believes Biden’s government is ready to continue using arms sales as leverage in its relationship with the Saudi government. , in addition to the ban on offensive arms sales for use in Yemen has already announced it.
“I think there is a lot more going on if the US uses arm sales to try and encourage good decision making in Riyadh,” Murphy said.
Although he expressed optimism that the US would continue to seek concessions from Saudi Arabia, Murphy made a moral argument for Britain to follow suit, despite the reluctance of Boris Johnson’s government to join the Biden. to join government’s offensive arms embargo.
‘I think it will be really important for the British to adopt the same policy as the United States. I do not know why Britain more than we are interested in using weapons to perpetuate war crimes. ”
Murphy also underestimated the economic costs that Boris Johnson’s government – one of the world’s largest arms sellers to Saudi Arabia – would have if it cut.
‘The dollars attached to these arms sales are few compared to the moral cost of what they are used to. I have a large footprint in the defense industry in Connecticut, but I will never advocate for an arms sale that will ultimately kill civilians just because it earns money for my state. And I trust that the British Government sees it that way too. ”
The senator also called on Biden’s government to be ‘very vigilant’ that weapons it did agree to sell were ‘purely’ defensive in nature, as the Saudis would probably have a ‘very broad definition’. take from which weapons he was believed to be defensive.
Biden’s quest to end the war in Yemen and end insulting support for the Saudis has been hampered by a spate of recent attacks on the Saudi oil industry, which the White House called Monday ‘genuine security threats’.
While Murphy emerged as one of the toughest voices against the Saudi government, the senator did not add his voice to critics in Congress calling for sanctions against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the announcement of the US intelligence report that found the royal accomplice to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“I do not believe our policy will be from today until the day Biden leaves office. I think there is a lasting element in this whole issue, ‘he said.
Murphy added: ‘I am probably the strongest supporter in Washington for the US to fully revisit its relationship with Saudi Arabia. I think they are a deeply flawed, deeply unstable ally. I think their oil matters much less to us than it did 40 years ago, which is why I believe we should no longer take sides in the proxy wars between the Gulf states and Iran. ‘
The focus on U.S. arms policy comes as Washington re-examines its role in the deadly Yemen conflict.
The government’s accountability office, the congressional research arm, is due to complete a report by the end of this year that examines, among other things, the process the Pentagon used to determine whether the U.S. had contributed to ‘gross violations of international law’. recognized human rights by countries that are members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen ”, including allegations of torture.
The report, which was mandated under the latest U.S. defense bill but has received little attention so far, will also examine whether the U.S. has trained coalition forces restricting the sending of humanitarian aid or the movement of people from Yemen.
Experts said the release of the report could help shape the government’s future response to the conflict, in part by providing more evidence about the role the U.S. has played in the humanitarian crisis.