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Top Dems Yank Weapons Sales Support to Saudi Arabia After Oil Production Cut
 [Libertarian Institute] Top-ranking Democratic Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have called for a fundamental change to the relationship between Washington and Riyadh after the kingdom announced it would cut its oil production. For years, some senators, such as Rand Paul (R-KY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have demanded an end to US weapon sales to Saudi Arabia over Riyadh’s war in Yemen, internal human rights abuses and the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. "Enough is enough," Menendez said in a statement on Monday, voicing outrage after OPEC+ announced a significant cut to oil production despite calls from Washington to help boost the global supply. The reduction in energy output by 2 million barrels per day is expected to increase US gas prices ahead of next month’s midterm elections, prompting complaints and condemnation from American lawmakers. Last week, three Democrats in the House — Susan Wild (PA), Sean Casten (IL) and Tom Malinowski (NJ) — said the oil cut was a "hostile act" by Saudi Arabia and the UAE and marked a "turning point" in relations, even introducing a bill seeking to end US military support to both countries. Senators Menendez and Murphy echoed their colleagues’ demand to end arms sales this week. Menendez, who chairs the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggested the oil production cut would aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, saying "I will not green light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine." "The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend US personnel and interests," he continued, adding "There simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict — either you support the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from violently wiping ... an entire country off of the map, or you support him." Posted by: Besoeker 2022-10-12 |
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