Exclusive: White House Blocks Transfer of Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia

William Haskins · May 28, 2016

Frustrated by a growing death toll, the White House has quietly placed a hold on the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia as the Sunni ally continues its bloody war on Shiite rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials tell Foreign Policy. It’s the first concrete step the United States has taken to demonstrate its unease with the Saudi bombing campaign that human rights activists say has killed and injured hundreds of Yemeni civilians, many of them children.

The move follows rising criticism by U.S. lawmakers of America’s support for the oil-rich monarchy in the year-long conflict. Washington has sold weapons and provided training, targeting information, and aerial refueling support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. It has also sold Riyadh millions of dollars’ worth of cluster bombs in recent years.

Asked about the hold on the shipments, a senior U.S. official cited reports that the Saudi-led coalition used cluster bombs “in areas in which civilians are alleged to have been present or in the vicinity.”

“We take such concerns seriously and are seeking additional information,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-white-house-blocks-transfer-214340791.html?nhp=1

Diana Hignutt · May 28, 2016

that's surprisingly ballsy.

William Haskins · May 28, 2016

saudi arabia has reportedly requested a partial refund from the clinton foundation.

Michael Wolfe · May 28, 2016

^
LOL. Good one.

William Haskins · May 28, 2016

oh it's hilarious.

The Saudi transaction is just one example of nations and companies that had donated to the Clinton Foundation seeing an increase in arms deals while Hillary Clinton oversaw the State Department. IBT found that between October 2010 and September 2012, State approved $165 billion in commercial arms sales to 20 nations that had donated to the foundation, plus another $151 billion worth of Pentagon-brokered arms deals to 16 of those countries—a 143 percent increase over the same time frame under the Bush Administration. The sales boosted the military power of authoritarian regimes such as Qatar, Algeria, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, which, like Saudi Arabia, had been criticized by the department for human rights abuses.

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/hillary-clinton-foundation-state-arms-deals

redfalcon · May 28, 2016

Good thing we can sell those extra cluster bombs to Vietnam now. I would hate to have a glut in the cluster bomb market.

rugcat · May 28, 2016

William Haskins said:
oh it's hilarious.

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/hillary-clinton-foundation-state-arms-deals

Aren't those the same countries we want to step up against Isis? You know, the ones we demand take the lead in the middle east so that the US doesn't have to? Why would we possibly want to supply them with weapons?

The only reason I can think of is that the Clintons wished to personally enrich themselves – like all warmongers.

William Haskins · May 28, 2016

rugcat said:
The only reason I can think of is that the Clintons wished to personally enrich themselves – like all warmongers.

well, don't forget about their buddies making the weapons.

[h=1]Defense Contractors Donated To The Clinton Foundation[/h] The Clinton Foundation accepted donations from six companies benefiting from U.S. State Department arms export approvals.

Defense Contractor	Donation Min. ($)
Boeing	5,000,000
General Electric	1,000,000
Goldman Sachs (Hawker Beechcraft)	500,000
Honeywell	50,000
Lockheed Martin	250,000
United Technologies	50,000

CassandraW · May 28, 2016

Where's that popcorn-eating Jesus gif when I need it?

robeiae · May 28, 2016

William Haskins said:
well, don't forget about their buddies making the weapons.

Defense Contractors Donated To The Clinton Foundation

The Clinton Foundation accepted donations from six companies benefiting from U.S. State Department arms export approvals.

Defense Contractor Donation Min. ($)
Boeing 5,000,000
General Electric 1,000,000
Goldman Sachs (Hawker Beechcraft) 500,000
Honeywell 50,000
Lockheed Martin 250,000
United Technologies 50,000

Coincidence. Defense Contractors are well known for their humanitarian concerns; they're always looking to donate money to charitable orgs to help end war and violence.

Michael Wolfe · May 28, 2016

Honeywell's not a good name for a defense contractor, imo. They sound like they make cupcakes that can double as grenades.

robeiae · May 28, 2016

I think that makes it an excellent name...

Michael Wolfe · May 28, 2016

Honeywell.

"Our weapons are sweet."

rugcat · May 28, 2016

robeiae said:
Coincidence. Defense Contractors are well known for their humanitarian concerns; they're always looking to donate money to charitable orgs to help end war and violence.

General Electric is a multinational conglomerate with its fingers in a hundred pies. Boeing is a multinational aerospace company. Goldman Sachs? Seriously? I doubt there's a single multinational corporation that you cannot trace back at least some of their activities to defense work in some capacity anywhere in the world.

Describing these companies as "defense contractors" is simply stretching it to make things seem what they are not. Using that logic, you could call any large multinational organizations a defense contractor.

These giant corporations are the ones with the money; it's not surprising the Clinton Foundation taps them for donations – they can afford it and big ones.

But I'm glad to see with the proliferation of threads about the evils of Donald Trump, you are still here to remind us of the equally evil Clintons.

Chrissy · May 28, 2016

I could barely even process the OP, because I keep getting stuck on the fact that my country sells cluster bombs. My brain short circuits at that point. I guess I'm not cut out for this sort of thing.

I find it ridiculous that this has so quickly devolved into a partisan smear. Yes, I hate that Clinton has ties to this (though I am not at all surprised) but so has/would any Republican politician/candidate who has had/could have the chance to cash in.

What's so reprehensible is that this is business as usual. This has nothing to do with Democrat v. Republican and everything to do with how fucked up and absurd it is that we accept the fact, and even justify, that we sell cluster bombs (and all manner of other weapons, I'm sure) to other countries. That we manufacture them in the first place. Fuck.

rugcat · May 28, 2016

Chrissy said:
I could barely even process the OP, because I keep getting stuck on the fact that my country sells cluster bombs. My brain short circuits at that point. I guess I'm not cut out for this sort of thing.

I find it ridiculous that this has so quickly devolved into a partisan smear.Yes, I hate that Clinton has ties to this (though I am not at all surprised) but so has/would any Republican politician/candidate who has had/could have the chance to cash in.

What's so reprehensible is that this is business as usual. This has nothing to do with Democrat v. Republican and everything to do with how fucked up and absurd it is that we accept the fact,and even justify, that we sell cluster bombs (and all manner of other weapons, I'm sure) to other countries. That we manufacture them in the first place. Fuck.

You'll note that the original OP is about the administration banning these cluster bombs from being sold to Saudi Arabia. That's the starting point to attack both the administration and the Clintons.

CassandraW · May 28, 2016

So at last, at the tail end of this administration, we're quietly putting an end to it. That's good, but I must say I'm with team "it's pretty fucking disturbing we were doing it in the first place."

I'll have to come up with a better name for the team when I make up the t-shirts.

ETA:

I'm also on team "haven't we done this whole sell-weapons-to-middle-eastern-nations-so-they-can-fight-groups-we-hate thing before, and had it backfire?" (Need a catchier t-shirt slogan for that one, too.)

robeiae · May 28, 2016

rugcat said:
...the equally evil Clintons.

Lol.

So any criticism of either Clinton is now invalid because Donald Trump is "evil." Got it.

Regardless, the idea that major corporations donating to the Clinton Foundation weren't paying for access is, I think, naive. To put it mildly.

Chrissy · May 28, 2016

rugcat said:
You'll note that the original OP is about the administration banning these cluster bombs from being sold to Saudi Arabia. That's the starting point to attack both the administration and the Clintons.

It's not a partisan issue, no matter how it's spun. IMO.

robeiae · May 28, 2016

CassandraW said:
So at last, at the tail end of this administration, we're quietly putting an end to it. That's good, but I must say I'm with team "it's pretty fucking disturbing we were doing it in the first place."

I'll have to come up with a better name for the team when I make up the t-shirts.

"Team Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"?

Michael Wolfe · May 28, 2016

Team Clusterfuck?

William Haskins · May 28, 2016

rugcat said:
You'll note that the original OP is about the administration banning these cluster bombs from being sold to Saudi Arabia. That's the starting point to attack both the administration and the Clintons.

bless your heart. the excerpts i have provided here are also known as "news" and "facts".

like this one: clinton, as a senator, voted against ending the use of clusterbombs.

while this is a matter of record, there remain some suspicion that i snuck in and voted in her place in order to subvert her rightful ascendency to the presidency.

Chrissy · May 28, 2016

It's not about Clinton. It's about America. Making it about Clinton cheapens it into a partisan issue. The fact is that this is SOP. We need leaders who won't do it. And there aren't any.

CassandraW · May 28, 2016

This seems like an opportune time for me to remind our Canadian, European, Australian, etc. members that I'm currently single. I'm disease, debt, and dependent-free, a good cook, and willing to relocate.

Don · May 28, 2016

CassandraW said:
I'm also on team "haven't we done this whole sell-weapons-to-middle-eastern-nations-so-they-can-fight-groups-we-hate thing before, and had it backfire?" (Need a catchier t-shirt slogan for that one, too.)

That one's easy.

"Blowback's a Bitch"

Exclusive: White House Blocks Transfer of Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia

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