Nearly a decade after agreeing to stop using cluster bombs, the Pentagon has reversed course, indefinitely delaying a ban on the controversial weapons that was previously planned to take effect at the beginning of 2019. "The Department of Defense last month abandoned a 2008 policy that would have reduced the U.S. inventory of cluster munitions … Continue reading U.S. scraps plan to ban cluster bombs
Tag: Saudi Arabia
It's been a busy year for American arms sales -- "busier than ever" as one official put it in June. In the first eight months of 2017, by the latest count, the total value of U.S. "arms transfer notifications" has almost doubled compared to the same period last year, reaching $48 billion. The Trump administration's … Continue reading U.S. plans even more aid for state-subsidized arms exporters
It's been a busy year in the world of robotics and the politics surrounding it, the latest development coming in the form of potentially conflicting comments from two Pentagon officials hinting at what the future of an international killer robot ban -- or lack thereof -- might look like. Not only has the job-killing potential … Continue reading DoD officials offer conflicting hints on killer robot policy
"The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," U.S. President Donald Trump said last week, after several countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar over alleged connections to extremist groups. Announcements of decisions to cut diplomatic ties … Continue reading Trump admin to sell $12b in arms to ‘funder of terrorism’ Qatar
Back in December, following his election win but prior to his inauguration, President Donald Trump made headlines with tweets criticizing America's largest military contractors, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. If investors were spooked, however, recent developments should ease their fears, as these same companies are set to profit handsomely if Trump's newly proposed budget is approved. … Continue reading After Twitter outrage, Trump rewards biggest defense contractors
With the U.S. presidential election less than three weeks away, many Americans remain focused on domestic politics, or in foreign affairs, on the escalating tensions with Russia over the war in Syria. In other news, however, the U.S. is also escalating its role in an array of other conflicts across the Middle East -- and … Continue reading As Americans focus on election, U.S. steps up involvement in several wars
The United States on Thursday launched cruise missile strikes that destroyed three radar sites on the coast of Yemen, retaliating following missile attacks against a U.S. Navy destroyer earlier this week, but also escalating a conflict that threatens to further entangle America in yet another war in the Middle East. The missile launches mark the … Continue reading U.S. steps up involvement in Yemen conflict
Despite opposition from Saudi Arabia and the European Union, despite opinion pieces published by major outlets like CNN and the Atlantic urging President Obama to veto a bill allowing 9/11 victims' families to sue the Saudi government, which he did last week, Congress voted overwhelmingly today to override the president's veto for the first time … Continue reading Obama, CIA express disappointment, disbelief following veto override
Two days before the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the House of Representatives has followed the Senate's lead in unanimously passing a bill to allow 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia. The bill's only major remaining hurdle to overcome is a potential veto from President Obama. Although the notorious … Continue reading Dysfunctional U.S.-Saudi relationship on display as bill allowing 9/11 lawsuits passes unanimously
Less than a month after the release of the infamous "28 pages" of a congressional 9/11 investigation that had been withheld for over a decade, which dealt with alleged ties between the government of Saudi Arabia and some of the hijackers, the Pentagon and State Department announced a new arms sale totaling more than $1 … Continue reading A billion more in arms for Saudi intervention in Yemen civil war
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