As Americans, it is imperative that we understand our government’s actions in foreign policy. We are so often accustomed to a level of comfort that it becomes difficult to acknowledge that we have profited, and continue to profit off the murders of thousands of innocent civilians. As we go about our day-to-day lives, our congress continues to make deals to sell American manufactured weapons to Saudi Arabia that kill thousands of Yemeni civilians.
*Note: I wrote this using a very narrow lens (benefits the US derived from Saudi oil) and neglected to consider the strategic advantages (specifically, a foothold in the Middle East) the US gains from maintaining a positive relationship with the Saudis. I hope to write an updated article while taking into account these considerations.*
Yemen is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen more than three years ago to defeat Shia-aligned Houthi rebels. The UN says that it is the Saudi-led air war that has transformed an already poor country into an indiscriminate killing field.
Our politicians have sold the Saudis all the weapons they want, ignoring the regime’s record of human rights abuses and the multiple times it has taken advantage of the US. So why has the US tolerated these actions? The simple answer is: oil.
This story opens in 1938 when the US Standard Oil Company won a 60 year concession to explore Saudi Arabia. In 1945, President Roosevelt met with Ibn Saud, solidifying the US-Saudi relationship for decades to come. Not only is this relationship built on strong business ties, it is also a way for the US to secure a powerful presence in the Middle East.
Nonetheless, this relationship has faced some very serious challenges. On 9/11, 15 out of the 19 passenger jet hijackers were Saudi citizens. Senator Bob Graham, who chaired the US intelligence committee during 9/11 said that “there was evidence of support from the Saudi government for terrorists.” In March of 2016, Saudi Arabia threatened to sell 750 billion dollars worth of their American assets, undermining US-Saudi business relations, if the US took further action in suing the Saudi’s for their involvement in 9/11. The Obama administration caved in and appeased the Saudi’s, citing “unintended economic consequences.”
In October of 2018, Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi embassy. Despite the CIA releasing a statement stating that the crown prince had authorized the killing of Khashoggi, President Trump said days later, “It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.”
The indifference displayed towards the Saudis in 9/11 and the recent killing of Khashoggi are a testament to the American government’s willingness to discount the crimes of a strategic ally. To prioritize economic gain over human lives. While these events certainly establish an uneasy relationship between the Saudis and the US, the Yemen crisis remains the most severe to date.
The US is the biggest Arms dealer in the world, and Saudi Arabia is their #1 customer. Yet we are indifferent to how these regimes use our weapons. After they leave our hands, we have virtually no say in how they are used. In August of 2018, a school bus in Yemen was bombed, killing 40 children. Using the serial number, the weapon was identified as made and supplied by US manufacturers.
So why was Saudi Arabia in Yemen in the first place? This conflict stems from the 2011 Arab Spring, a series of anti-government protests that spread across North Africa and the Middle East. These events forced Yemen’s long standing authoritarian president, Ali Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy, President Hadi. This transition was projected to bring stability to Yemen, yet President Hadi proved to deal with internal problems poorly. Fighting arose in 2014 when the Shia-aligned Houthi rebel movement seized control of Yemen, forcing President Hadi into exile.
This was seen as a threat to the Sunni nation of Saudi Arabia and as a result, in 2015, Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states, supported by dominant world powers, such as the US, UK, and France, began air strikes against the Shia Houthi rebel groups controlling Yemen, stating that they aimed to restore Hadi’s sunni government. The Saudi-led coalition worried Houthi success would give Iran, a shia-majority state, a foothold in Yemen, the southern neighbor of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi weapons in Yemen hit civilians targets ⅓ of the time — totaling 16,000 airstrikes. The US provides more than 60 percent of the weapons that help to facilitate this destruction. Not only have the Saudis inflicted damage on the Yemense through air strikes, but they have also implemented an economic blockade. The stalemate has grown into a humanitarian crisis with 75% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.
The US is afforded the luxury of being a wealthy and stable country. With this power, we have a responsibility to maintain a certain level of moral integrity. The US should work to stabilize, not destroy. There are certainly better ways to mediate, including an actual discussion with Yemeni leaders, rather than violence.
Many politicians argue that the Saudis could simply switch to either Russia or China as their main arms supplier, and consequently the US would sacrifice control in the region, and won’t be able to mediate the conflict at all. But the truth is the Saudi military is highly dependent on American weaponry- American F-15s comprise over 60% of their fighting force. According to the NY times, transforming the Saudi military to employ new weapons would cost a fortune and would also require years of retraining and reduce their military power for at least a generation.
But the reliance of the Saudis on our weapons doesn’t respond to the argument that by being the ones to supply the weapons, at least we have a say in how they are used. But this idea of having “leverage” over the Saudis is not so clearly defined — we allowed Saudi Arabia to get away with 9/11 and the killing of Khashoggi with no reassessment of our relationship with them. We haven’t done anything to reduce the tragedy in Yemen as congress continues to approve Saudi arms deals. If it’s difficult to sympathize with the lost lives of the Yemense, at least recognize that the US is acting as a pawn in Saudi Arabia’s game.
Not just the killings, but the inferior US role in this relationship, make the selling of weapons to the Saudis an interesting bipartisan issue, and that is exactly why it would be in our interests to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia.
From an economic standpoint it may not be the best idea to stop selling to Saudi Arabia due to our reliance on their oil, nor would a bill stipulating this, within our current political framework, be passed. A strategy to combat the crisis in Yemen could manifest through sanctions or restrictions on arms sales. Unless the Saudis work in a more civil and political way to address the conflict in Yemen and to minimize the death toll of civilians, the US should cut back on arms sales to the Saudis.
However, my hunch is that Saudi Arabia doesn’t care about putting an end to the violence in Yemen. By pulling all the strings in this conflict and maintaining a strategic exchange of arms and oil with the US, they maintain control.
But the US’ role in these types of conflicts is not new: by having a position in global conflict, the US is able to derive many economic and political benefits. The Yemen crisis may be just another symptom of a larger US imperialist strategy which allows us to keep a tight grip over the entire world and neglects the death toll that is required to maintain that coveted position. I hope that this article urges you all to question the US’ foreign policy decisions — not just to blindly accept their choices, assuming our country’s current position of power grants us a place on the “right” side of history.
It is unclear what the ideal solution to this issue is, yet a re-evaluation of the US’ current relationship with Saudi Arabia is absolutely necessary. This choice will be made on the basis of not only saving innocent human lives but ensuring that Saudi Arabia and the US have an even playing field as they move forth in this strategic relationship.
