Biden Proceeding With $23bn Arms Sales to UAE
DUBAI (Dispatches) – The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has told Congress it is proceeding with more than $23bn in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, congressional aides said on Tuesday.
A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the proposed sales to the UAE, "even as we continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials” related to the use of the weapons.
The Democratic president’s administration had paused the deals agreed to by former Republican President Donald Trump in order to review them. The sales to the Persian Gulf nation were finalized right before Trump left office.
The Trump administration told Congress in November it had approved the sale to the UAE as a side deal to the controversial normalization deals with some Arab regimes.
In the last months of the Trump administration, the regime reached deals with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of the accords.
The $23.37bn package contained products from General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, including 50 F-35 Lighting II aircraft, up to 18 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.
Some U.S. lawmakers had criticized the UAE for its involvement in the devastating Saudi war on Yemen, which according to the United Nations, has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The sales’ opponents had warned that the transactions were being rushed through, without sufficient assurances that the advanced weapons would not fall into the wrong hands or fuel instability in the Middle East.
A Senate effort to block the sales failed in December, as Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress backed his plans.
The sales were finalized by the Trump administration on Jan. 20, about an hour before Biden was sworn in as president.
If implemented, the estimated delivery dates on the sales are for after 2025 or later, according to the State Department spokesperson.
A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the proposed sales to the UAE, "even as we continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials” related to the use of the weapons.
The Democratic president’s administration had paused the deals agreed to by former Republican President Donald Trump in order to review them. The sales to the Persian Gulf nation were finalized right before Trump left office.
The Trump administration told Congress in November it had approved the sale to the UAE as a side deal to the controversial normalization deals with some Arab regimes.
In the last months of the Trump administration, the regime reached deals with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of the accords.
The $23.37bn package contained products from General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, including 50 F-35 Lighting II aircraft, up to 18 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.
Some U.S. lawmakers had criticized the UAE for its involvement in the devastating Saudi war on Yemen, which according to the United Nations, has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The sales’ opponents had warned that the transactions were being rushed through, without sufficient assurances that the advanced weapons would not fall into the wrong hands or fuel instability in the Middle East.
A Senate effort to block the sales failed in December, as Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress backed his plans.
The sales were finalized by the Trump administration on Jan. 20, about an hour before Biden was sworn in as president.
If implemented, the estimated delivery dates on the sales are for after 2025 or later, according to the State Department spokesperson.