The proposed sale is valued at $ 23 billion, including 50 F-35s, 18 Reaper drones and a large stockpile of missiles. This is one of the emergency eleven-hour foreign policy moves by the outgoing administration, including a significant reduction in US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. This comes in the wake of the United Arab Emirates peace deal with Israel, which the Trump administration helped negotiate. While the United Arab Emirates is a key defense partner of the United States, critics have argued that the sale of these advanced weapons to Gulf allies could accelerate arms competition in the region and jeopardize Israel’s security. Democrats in particular are pushing for the move to oust President-elect Joe Biden in 42 days. “There are very good questions and very serious questions about the long-term U.S. national security interests,” New Jersey Sen said. New Mercy Sen, a top Democrat in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a leading supporter of rejection resolutions. Bob Menendez said. “Voting against these resolutions sends a message to the executive branch … we are ready to relinquish our congressional responsibilities. If you leave it will be difficult to bring it back.” Despite the failed vote on Wednesday, Biden may use his executive powers to cut sales when he takes office in January. As part of the deal for the aircraft, the Biden team was told in October by Anthony Blinken, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Fiden’s Committee on “what obligations may or may not be performed in the United Arab Emirates.” Lawmakers have said they are trying to speed up sales regardless of the implications, including whether the weapons will end up in the wrong hands. ”We deliberately reward all of these issues. It’s like I do not want to fail, “lamented Paul, a staunch foreign policy supporter, in the Senate on Wednesday. “This is not a country where we have to provide sophisticated weapons.” The Trump administration, which led the vote, launched a fierce fever campaign against the resolutions. Jared Kushner, Trump’s nephew and senior adviser to the White House, took up the arms sale case at a Senate GOP conference call on Tuesday, and a week ago, Foreign and Pentagon officials explained the proposed relocation to key senators. The White House has argued that sales are important to prevent Iranian occupation of the region. Officials also said the UAE would buy their weapons from China or Russia if not from the United States. In a statement on Wednesday, he said the Trump administration supported the proposed arms deal and would veto action if the president came to his desk. In particular, the report says sales of Israel’s “standard military margin” in the region will not be “badly affected”, which is a priority for lawmakers. Senate Investigative Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-F.) Initially expressed concern about the impact of sales in Israel, but this week told Politico that “I have been assured that the Israelis feel good about this.” Jim Inhof (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a leading supporter of the arms deal, noted that Israeli leaders support the sale, and that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have recently normalized their relationship as part of the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords. “The United Arab Emirates deserves this sale because it has a strong relationship with the United States in the Middle East,” Inhof said. “This is a key counter-terrorism partner. The United Arab Emirates has fought with our troops in Afghanistan and against ISIS. It is also important for US efforts against Iran – its ambition for regional domination and its support for terrorist representatives.” The group that led the drive to stop the sale – Menendez, Paul & Sr. Chris Murphy (D-Con.) – Initially introduced four resolutions that addressed every aspect of arms sales, but decided to force votes on two of them: one on F-35 and the other on Reaper drones. The trio did not worry about the possibility of resolutions passed in the Senate due to the assassination of a Saudi journalist and American resident, Jamal Kashoki, as tensions between Washington and Riyadh were high, indicating that previous votes to block had been won. Congress has the power to cancel the proposed foreign arms sale within 30 days of being declared by the administration.
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