Pompeo authorizes emergency arms sale to Mideast allies in challenge to Congress
President Trump authorized arms sales to Middle Eastern allies Friday despite congressional attempts to block recent weapons deals with Saudi Arabia. The administration announced the authorization on an emergency basis Friday. “Today’s action will quickly augment our partners’ capacity to provide for their own self-defense and reinforce recent changes to U.S. posture in the region to deter Iran,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. That announcement put him on a collision course with lawmakers in both parties, who are motivated to block the deals due to a litany of controversies. Pompeo sidestepped their opposition by invoking a provision of federal law that allows him to complete the sales without congressional approval.
Pompeo warned that delaying the shipment could lead to maintenance issues for U.S. partners in the region that could lead to degraded systems and equipment that isn't airworthy. “These national security concerns have been exacerbated by many months of Congressional delay in addressing these critical requirements, and have called into doubt our reliability as a provider of defense capabilities, opening opportunities for U.S. adversaries to exploit,” he said. The weapons are intended for three countries — Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The deals cover aircraft support maintenance; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; munitions; and other supplies, Pompeo’s statement noted.
Those armaments are especially important to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the leaders of an Arab coalition that has intervened in Yemen’s civil war to fight Houthi rebels who are backed by Iran. U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition is controversial even among lawmakers worried about Iranian aggression, because the Arab states have shown little regard for civilian casualties in the conflict. And congressional frustration with Saudi Arabia, in particular, skyrocketed after the October murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in a Saudi diplomatic facility in Istanbul. “President Trump is only using this loophole because he knows Congress would disapprove of this sale,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees the State Department. “There is no new ‘emergency’ reason to sell bombs to the Saudis to drop in Yemen, and doing so only perpetuates the humanitarian crisis there.”
Pompeo’s decision authorizes 22 agreements valued at roughly $8.1 billion. He stressed that the emergency tactic “has been utilized by at least four previous administrations since 1979,” adding that he intends for Friday’s invocation of that authority “to be a one-time event.”
Congressional critics aren’t taking his word for it. New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel and one of the lawmakers who wanted Trump to impose aggressive sanctions on Saudi Arabia in response to the Khashoggi killing. “I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Trump Administration has failed once again to prioritize our long term national security interests or stand up for human rights, and instead is granting favors to authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia,” Menendez said, adding that he is negotiating with Republicans and Democrats about how to respond to Trump’s use of the emergency authority. “The possible consequences of this decision will ultimately threaten the ability of the U.S. defense industry to export arms in a manner that is both expeditious and responsible.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/pompeo-authorizes-emergency-arms-sale-to-mideast-allies-in-challenge-to-congress