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  • The Atlantic

    The Dangers of Arming Autocrats

    Weapons sales to Saudi Arabia may be aimed at restoring balance to the Gulf. But they come at a steep price.
    by Evan Hill Jun 13, 2017 5 minutes
    Source: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

    On June 8, while official Washington sat captivated by the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, a small group of bipartisan senators planned to force a vote on a subject near to official Washington’s heart: arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

    At issue in the vote—which is expected to occur Tuesday afternoon—are precision U.S.-made air weapons systems, part of a basket of prospective deals worth $110 billion that the Trump administration had offered during the president’s visit to Riyadh in May, during his first official trip abroad. They included Paveway bomb guidance packages, $350 million of which the Obama administration had blocked in December over concerns about repeated and deadly Saudi-led coalition strikes on Yemeni civilians.

    In the Saudis’ view, the refusal to sell the Paveways was only the last of Obama’s many slights.

    “Any new president has to be, a newspaper owned throughout its history by members of the Saudi royal family, ahead of Trump’s visit.

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