Ro Khanna, Blumenthal propose law to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Democrat lawmakers call it the best way to respond to Riyadh’s Embrace of Putin

Indian American House member Ro Khanna and Senator Richard Blumenthal have proposed a new legislation to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to Riyadh’s collusion with Russia to cut down oil production.

“This week, Saudi Arabia colluded with Russia — deciding to cut 2 million barrels a day of oil production at the OPEC+ meeting, thus raising the price of gas to Russia’s advantage,” the two Democratic lawmakers noted in an opinion piece in the Politico.

Read: Ro Khanna asks India to condemn Putin, stop buying Russian oil (March 28, 2022)

“the shocking move will worsen global inflation, undermine successful efforts in the US to bring down the price of gas, and help fuel Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Khanna and Blumenthal, members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees respectively wrote.

Written with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean of leadership studies and Lester Crown professor of leadership practice at the Yale School of Management, the opinion piece suggests, “The Saudi decision was a pointed blow to the US, but the US also has a way to respond: It can promptly pause the massive transfer of American warfare technology into the eager hands of the Saudis.”

“Simply put, America shouldn’t be providing such unlimited control of strategic defense systems to an apparent ally of our greatest enemy — nuclear bomb extortionist Vladmir Putin,” the lawmakers added.

“That is why we are proposing bicameral legislation in the Senate and House on Tuesday that will immediately halt all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

Similar measures haven’t passed in the past due to intense bipartisan blowback to Saudi’s collusion with Russia, they acknowledged but asserted this time is different and “our legislation is already garnering bipartisan support in both chambers.”

“OPEC has never cut production in such a record tight market and these production cuts will lead to unsustainably low oil inventories, sending the price of oil skyrocketing out of any ‘acceptable band,’” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

Noting that “presently markets are very tight, with lush 73 percent profit margins for Saudi Arabia,” the two asserted “there was no immediate need for Saudi Arabia to reduce supply unless they were seeking to harm the US to the benefit of Russia.”

“To be clear, Saudi Arabia remains important to energy security and stability in the Middle East, to global economic prosperity, and as a regional ally against Iran, but it made a terrible mistake this week,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

“The country’s support for Russia should spark a far-reaching review of the US-Saudi relationship,” they wrote noting lawmakers have already suggested several responses including revival of a Republican initiative to withdraw US troops from Saudi Arabia.

“But that idea has failed previously given that the US would rather have its own troops there than Russian or Chinese troops,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

“A simpler, far more urgent move to fortify US national security would be to pause all US military supplies, sales and other weapons aid to Saudi Arabia,” they wrote. “This includes the controversial, new and hastily planned Red Sands testing facilities in Saudi Arabia.”

“US military collaboration with the Saudi regime is more extensive than many realize, but that also gives the US significant economic and security leverage over Riyadh,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

Noting that “today, Saudi Arabia is hugely dependent on US defense assistance, purchasing the vast majority of its arms from the United States,” they lawmakers asserted Riyadh “cannot substitute defense suppliers unless it wishes to partner with Russia, Iran or China for far inferior systems which have no interoperability with their existing weaponry.”

“Perhaps even more important than Saudi’s reliance on US arms is its reliance on US companies to help build up the local defense industry through big-ticket joint ventures,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote.

“Given the early-stage nature of these joint ventures as well as minimal interoperability between Saudi’s current weapons system and potential foreign replacements, Saudi can do little to respond to this proposed legislation other than come back to the table and negotiate with the US in good faith,” they wrote.

Read: Khanna, Blumenthal Propose Bill to ‘Immediately Halt All US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia’ (0ctober 10, 2022)

“It would be a severe challenge, if not downright impossible, for Saudi to execute an overnight short-term sourcing pivot if faced with a ban on arms sales,” Khanna and Blumenthal wrote. “And any ban could be temporary — until Saudi Arabia reconsiders its embrace of Putin.”

Citing Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s words of wisdom that “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice,” they suggested, “Perhaps the same is true about leverage. It is of no value unless used.”