US Military Aid to Saudi Arabia

Hey delegates!

The argument I'd like to present to you today concerns U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia. As you all know, in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war, and since then, the war has devolved into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Unfortunately, the US has played a major role in this disaster. According to the LA Times in June, US weaponry is behind all 17,000 airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. While this is problematic, it is not the focus of the article I'd like everyone to read today.

The article I want you all to take a look at is written by Professor Mohamad Bazzi of NYU in September, who writes that instead of using arms sales as leverage, the U.S. has provided unconditional support for Saudi actions, eliminating any incentive to negotiate or prevent civilian casualties.

As a result, the U.S. has implicitly emboldened war-hawk politicians in the Saudi government to pursue more militaristic policies instead of diplomatic ones, which is extremely problematic.

I urge delegates to consider the effects of the US halting its military aid in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, among other countries. Some opponents of this option argue that it could lead to a worse humanitarian disaster by allowing the Houthi rebels to take power backed by Iran.
I'd like delegates to further research the implications of the US withdrawing aid from Saudi Arabia and other authoritarian regimes. Feel free to comment any questions or ideas!

The links to the articles can be found here:
https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-yemen-forgotten-20180615-htmlstory.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/09/iran-yemen-saudi-arabia/571465/






Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 15, 2019 at 11:47 AM

    China believes that continued arms sales and military support to Saudi Arabia from America is necessary for ending the war. If sales stop, the rebel group supported by Iran will surely win, causing a greater humanitarian crisis than before. Although the military support in itself has caused issues, the only way to end the war with a Saudi victory is by continuing or even increasing this support. However, there are many flaws in the current American support system which must be addressed. These could reduce the number of civilian casualties and decrease the humanitarian crisis. For example, the US unconditionally supports Saudi’s actions, meaning there are no consequences for the high numbers of civilian deaths. Although China encourages US support, measures must be taken to ensure civilian safety. Saudi’s actions should be supported, but not unconditionally.

    Additionally, Saudi Arabia has made efforts to decrease its sole reliance on America and branch out to other countries (South China Morning Post, 2019). A strong economic-ally of Saudi Arabia, China is willing to provide further assistance in ending the war with its own military aid. In doing so, it would also like to implement regulations that address the high amount of civilian casualties and force the Saudi Arabian government to acknowledge them, as they have failed to do so in the past. China strongly wishes to end this war as soon as possible, and believes that increased aid from America and other Saudi allies, as well as improved legislation as to the enforcement of this aid, will decrease the humanitarian crisis as well as the number of civilian deaths.

    -The Delegation of China

    Bazzi, Mohamad. “The United States Could End the War in Yemen If It Wanted To.” The
    Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 Oct. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/
    archive/2018/09/iran-yemen-saudi-arabia/571465/.

    “Trump Fears China Could Replace US in Arms Sales to Saudi. He Shouldn't.” South China
    Morning Post, South China Morning Post, 18 Oct. 2018, www.scmp.com/news/china
    /diplomacy/article/2168849/china-may-seek-boost-ties-saudi-arabia-it-cant-fill-us-arms.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Delegation of Saudi ArabiaFebruary 19, 2019 at 12:13 PM

    Saudi Arabia supports continued arm sales and military aid by the U.S. throughout the region. In 2003, after the U.S. started decreasing its presence in Iraq, Iranian influence and Shia beliefs have almost taken control of the country. These operations have led to increases in violence in proxy wars. If the U.S. were to decrease it's arms sales to Saudi Arabia, it would not only leave Yemen under the destructive nature of Iran and rebel groups, but also let Iran destroy the Middle East.

    -The Delegation of Saudi Arabia

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownFebruary 28, 2019 at 11:45 PM

    The delegation of Andorra supports the ongoing sale of arms by the United States to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is our closest ally in the Middle East, despite the atrocities committed by Saudi backed troops in Yemen and their funding of various extremist groups. Saudi Arabia's strong presence allows the United States to have an ally against non-Saudi backed terrorists. In this situation, the delegation of Andorra believes that the allowance of United States arms sales to Saudi Arabia marks the selection of the lesser of two evils in the Middle East for the sake of relative stability in many regions outside of Yemen. The delegation of Andorra looks forward to working with fellow delegations in an attempt to resolve this and other issues.

    ReplyDelete

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