Rand Paul’s Bipartisan Effort to Limit Arm Transfers to Saudi Arabia

Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have introduced a bipartisan bill that would limit the transfer of arms to Saudi Arabia. The bill would add additional steps to the existing notification process which the president must go through in order to facilitate arm transfers to Saudi Arabia.

The president has to certify that Saudi Arabia is acting to protect civilians from its military actions. The president must also certify that Saudi Arabia isn’t giving funding, material support, or lethal aid to terrorist organizations, and that the Saudis are “taking necessary measures to target designated terrorist organizations”.

Paul said in a press release:

“For too long the Obama administration has not been holding countries receiving U.S. military munitions accountable in the Middle East. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia’s record on strictly targeting combatants and legitimate military targets in Yemen has been questionable. I believe, along with Sen. Murphy, that the U.S. should halt the sale of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia until Congress has conducted proper oversight and ensured that such munitions are being used in a way that is consistent with our country’s national security strategy and values.”

The bill itself isn’t revolutionary in its content. But as Robert Naiman points out in the Huffington Post,“What’s revolutionary is that Murphy and Paul are formally challenging the taboo against publicly asking questions about the U.S. military relationship to Saudi Arabia and inviting other Senators to join them.”

This bill comes as a group of Senators are poised to pass legislation that would limit the Saudi government’s immunity from lawsuits over the 9/11 attacks. The Obama administration has been lobbying against it, citing that it would create a dangerous precedent and open the United States to being sued by individuals in other countries.

Saudi Arabia has threatened to sell $750 billion in U.S assets if the bill passes.