US politician Elizabeth Warren slams Arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized US weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following a new CNN investigation into American-made arms in Yemen. Warren’s new comments came as she tweeted CNN’s report, published Wednesday, on a shipment of US-made military hardware to the Yemeni port of Aden last week. The port is controlled by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, whose main partners are continuing to ship American-made weapons into the country despite bipartisan outrage in Congress over the way the US is backing Riyadh in a bloody and bitter conflict.

Writing on Twitter, Warren, who is a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said: “Step 1: Saudis transfer U.S. military equipment to Yemen. Step 2: UAE-backed separatist militia gets that equipment & uses it against Saudi-backed govt. Step 3: Saudis keep transferring more U.S. military equipment to Yemen. What could go wrong?”

In a second tweet, Warren added: “Last month, I wrote a letter to the State Dept & Dept of Defense asking whether continuing to sell our military hardware to the Saudis & Emiratis is a good idea. (Hint: it’s not.)”

In February, the Pentagon told CNN it had launched its own investigation, in conjunction with the State Department, into the unauthorized transfer of US weapons in Yemen. Last month, a Pentagon spokesperson told CNN the probe was still “ongoing.” The War Powers Resolution was approved by the House and Senate but was vetoed by Trump in April.