U.S. Prepares to Lift Ban on Sales of Offensive Weapons to Saudi Arabia
New York TimesDec 22, 2023
US officials announced on Thursday that the Biden administration is getting ready to loosen restrictions on some arms shipments to Saudi Arabia. Officials attributed this change to the kingdom's recent peace negotiations with Yemen's Houthis in an effort to cement a truce.
In 2021, US Pres. Joe Biden enforced the ban due to worries that US weapons were being used against civilians in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia is fighting the Iran-backed Houthis — resulting in mass casualties from the conflict, disease, and starvation.
If the ongoing peace talks with the Houthi group in Yemen result in an end to the eight-year-old brutal conflict, then easing limitations on arms sales to Saudi Arabia could be a good thing. The geopolitical landscape would change with a peace deal, emphasizing the need to arm Saudi Arabia with weapons to protect itself against Iran, which is a rising regional power. As Saudi Arabia needs to re-arm itself along its southern border to be able to defend itself in the event that there are any future disputes with Houthis, it would also demonstrate to the kingdom that the US is a reliable strategic ally.
President Biden pledged that human rights would be given first priority in US relations with Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have recorded war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Yemeni civilians since the start of the conflict in 2015. Removing the ban on offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia would be a step backward for the White House and a declaration to the international community that the US is not very concerned about human rights. Rather than easing sanctions, the Biden administration should push for the creation of an accountability body in the UN that would look into infractions and assist with any future prosecutions.
There is a 36% chance that Saudi Arabia will establish diplomatic relations with Israel before January 20, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.