Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows but here we are!
Email your senators today!
Urge them to support Senator Rand Paul's bill to block critical parts of a $110 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia
Dear Douglas ,
You may have heard that President Trump -- apparently unsatisfied with the pace of military escalations across the Middle East -- recently signed a $110 billion arms deal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not surprisingly, weapons industry stock prices soared in response to the news, including stocks that Trump has a personal stake in.[1]
This arms deal is the largest arms deal in U.S. history, and it’s being offered to a country that’s been indiscriminately bombing Yemen with U.S. support for over two years, killing thousands of civilians in the process.
Thankfully, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is planning to introduce a bill anytime now to block a key component of the arms deal; the portion containing munitions being used against civilians in Yemen. Thanks to the Arms Export Control Act, Paul can actually force a vote in the Senate, making this a crucial time for your Senators to hear from you.
Please email your senators today and ask them to support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop Trump from putting more U.S.-made bombs into the hands of human rights violators and war criminals.
The truth is the U.S. was simply wrong from the start to offer support for Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen back in March 2015. Since then, with arms sales, logistical support, and political support from the U.S., the Saudi-led military coalition has brought the people of Yemen to their knees, killing thousands of civilians directly by bombing schools, hospitals, and other critical civilian infrastructure, and indirectly putting millions of lives at risk by cutting off access to food and medical supplies.
But since taking office, President Trump has not only escalated U.S. military involvement in Yemen, he’s also offered Saudi Arabia an arms deal worth nearly as much as the combined value of arms deals offered to Saudi Arabia under President Obama’s entire time in office.
The U.S. is already complicit in countless war crimes and human rights violations carried out at the hands of the Saudi-led coalition. Awarding Saudi Arabia with any additional arms, let alone the largest single arms deal in U.S. history, is simply unconscionable.
Please email your senators today and ask them to cosponsor and support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop a key portion of the Trump-Saudi arms deal.
Last September, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the same type of bill to block a comparatively small arms deal; a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military hardware. Their effort didn’t succeed outright, but with 27 Senators on board with blocking the arms deal, it had a real impact on U.S. policy, contributing to the Obama administration’s decision to suspend a sale of precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia late last year.
With Trump’s behemoth arms deal, the precision guided missiles are back, as are new shipments of jets, helicopters, ships, and more, all weapons systems that Saudi Arabia has used to devastating effect against the people of Yemen. This time around, with a stronger case for stopping the sale of weapons being used in Yemen to commit war crimes, we have a real chance to stop the worst parts of this arms deal in their tracks.
Email your senators today so they know their constituents won’t stand for their complacency on this issue. Ask them to cosponsor and vote for Sen. Paul’s bill to block a key portion of the largest arms deal in U.S. history to one of the worst possible candidates for it.
Thank you for standing with us.
Humbly for peace,
Jon Rainwater
Executive Director
Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund
P.S. We have a real shot at stopping significant parts of this arms deal right here and now, but there’s only a short 30-day window in which Congress can act. Please email your senators today and demand that they support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop Trump from giving Saudi Arabia more munitions to kill civilians in Yemen.
References:
[1] “Donald Trump personally profited from missile-maker Raytheon’s stock jump after his Syria attack,” Raw Story, April 8, 2017
You may have heard that President Trump -- apparently unsatisfied with the pace of military escalations across the Middle East -- recently signed a $110 billion arms deal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not surprisingly, weapons industry stock prices soared in response to the news, including stocks that Trump has a personal stake in.[1]
This arms deal is the largest arms deal in U.S. history, and it’s being offered to a country that’s been indiscriminately bombing Yemen with U.S. support for over two years, killing thousands of civilians in the process.
Thankfully, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is planning to introduce a bill anytime now to block a key component of the arms deal; the portion containing munitions being used against civilians in Yemen. Thanks to the Arms Export Control Act, Paul can actually force a vote in the Senate, making this a crucial time for your Senators to hear from you.
Please email your senators today and ask them to support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop Trump from putting more U.S.-made bombs into the hands of human rights violators and war criminals.
The truth is the U.S. was simply wrong from the start to offer support for Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen back in March 2015. Since then, with arms sales, logistical support, and political support from the U.S., the Saudi-led military coalition has brought the people of Yemen to their knees, killing thousands of civilians directly by bombing schools, hospitals, and other critical civilian infrastructure, and indirectly putting millions of lives at risk by cutting off access to food and medical supplies.
But since taking office, President Trump has not only escalated U.S. military involvement in Yemen, he’s also offered Saudi Arabia an arms deal worth nearly as much as the combined value of arms deals offered to Saudi Arabia under President Obama’s entire time in office.
The U.S. is already complicit in countless war crimes and human rights violations carried out at the hands of the Saudi-led coalition. Awarding Saudi Arabia with any additional arms, let alone the largest single arms deal in U.S. history, is simply unconscionable.
Please email your senators today and ask them to cosponsor and support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop a key portion of the Trump-Saudi arms deal.
Last September, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the same type of bill to block a comparatively small arms deal; a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military hardware. Their effort didn’t succeed outright, but with 27 Senators on board with blocking the arms deal, it had a real impact on U.S. policy, contributing to the Obama administration’s decision to suspend a sale of precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia late last year.
With Trump’s behemoth arms deal, the precision guided missiles are back, as are new shipments of jets, helicopters, ships, and more, all weapons systems that Saudi Arabia has used to devastating effect against the people of Yemen. This time around, with a stronger case for stopping the sale of weapons being used in Yemen to commit war crimes, we have a real chance to stop the worst parts of this arms deal in their tracks.
Email your senators today so they know their constituents won’t stand for their complacency on this issue. Ask them to cosponsor and vote for Sen. Paul’s bill to block a key portion of the largest arms deal in U.S. history to one of the worst possible candidates for it.
Thank you for standing with us.
Humbly for peace,
Jon Rainwater
Executive Director
Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund
P.S. We have a real shot at stopping significant parts of this arms deal right here and now, but there’s only a short 30-day window in which Congress can act. Please email your senators today and demand that they support Sen. Paul’s bill to stop Trump from giving Saudi Arabia more munitions to kill civilians in Yemen.
References:
[1] “Donald Trump personally profited from missile-maker Raytheon’s stock jump after his Syria attack,” Raw Story, April 8, 2017
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