Washington, D.C. — June 20, 2019 — In response to the Senate voting to block arms sales involving Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:
“When Trump vetoed legislation earlier this year to end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen, Congress said it would keep pushing. Today the Senate delivered on that promise, offering yet another rebuke to this administration’s reckless foreign policy in the Middle East. By passing these joint resolutions, led by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Jack Reed (D-RI) and others, Congress is forcing the president to either stop arming countries that are using U.S. weapons to starve the people of Yemen, or issue more vetoes and defend the indefensible. If Trump does veto these resolutions, Congress should vote to override in order to help bring the terrible war in Yemen to an end.
“Sooner or later, Trump and those in Congress who defend his policies in Yemen will realize that the political cost of keeping the U.S. involved in a war that 75 percent of Americans oppose is not worth the pats on the back they’ll get from Saudi Arabia and the arms industry.”
###
Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest grassroots peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at www.PeaceAction.org.