The Washington Examiner reports, “Last week, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul decided to take a stand against Saudi Arabia. He was joined by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Mike Lee of Utah. Together, they issued a joint resolution of disapproval to block proposed U.S. arms sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to the press release, this weapons sale to Saudi Arabia included 280 air-to-air missiles and 596 missile launchers. Other sophisticated weapons were included, as well as associated training and support. The entire cost was estimated to be approximately $650 billion.

The three senators were not pleased at all, not in the slightest.

‘As the Saudi government continues to wage its devastating war in Yemen and repress its own people, we should not be rewarding them with more arms sales,’ Sen. Sanders said in the press release.

A message needs to be sent to Saudi Arabia that we don’t approve of their war with Yemen… https://t.co/i8MAe6RmaN

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 26, 2021

‘The war in Yemen is a humanitarian tragedy, and U.S. participation in this war remains undeclared by Congress. The administration’s proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia contradicts the President’s own stated policy. I am proud to once again stand with my colleagues and push back on unconstitutional support of this war,’ said Sen. Lee.

Sen. Rand Paul had an especially scathing rebuke of the deal.

‘A message needs to be sent to Saudi Arabia that we don’t approve of their war with Yemen,’ Sen. Paul said. ‘By participating in this sale, we would not only be rewarding reprehensible behavior, but also exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Yemen. I urge Congress and the Biden Administration to consider the possible consequences of this sale that could accelerate an arms race in the Middle East and jeopardize the security of our military technologies.”

Read the entire story.

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Responsible Statecraft’s Kelley Beaucar Vlahos writes, “Rand Paul’s office told RS today that the Republican senator is readying a joint resolution of disapproval to stop the Biden Administration’s expected sale of $650 million worth of ‘defensive’ air-to-air missiles or AMRAAMs, as well as 596 missile launches to Saudi Arabia, as announced on Nov. 4.

‘A message needs to be sent to Saudi Arabia that we don’t approve of their war in Yemen,’ Paul said in a statement to Responsible Statecraft.

.@RandPaul is readying a joint resolution of disapproval to stop the Biden Administration’s expected sale of $650 million worth of “defensive” air-to-air missiles or AMRAAMs—as well as 596 missile launchers—to Saudi Arabia. https://t.co/rGm7naQDMQ

— Quincy Institute (@QuincyInst) November 17, 2021

The news was also confirmed in an Intercept report this afternoon in which Paul said he aims to file a privileged motion to stop the export, which would guarantee an immediate floor vote on whether to disapprove the sale. That vote could occur within the next two weeks, according to the Intercept’s Sara Sirota.

Interestingly, the article centered around Paul’s interest in generating support from his Democratic colleagues, particularly those who have typically been on the same page when it comes to U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its Gulf state neighbor, UAE. But as the report suggests, Biden’s fellow Dems aren’t hopping on the bandwagon right away, at least not yet.

Sen. Bernie Sanders did not show outright skepticism. He told the Intercept that he has yet to see the details, but he’s ‘not unsympathetic’ to what Paul is trying to do.”

Read the entire column.

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