US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted on Wednesday that the State Department's emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries complied with the law, after a government watchdog found that the deals did not fully consider the risks posed to civilians
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted on Wednesday that the State Department's emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries complied with the law, after a government watchdog found that the deals did not fully consider the risks posed to civilians.
"We did everything by the book, we complied with the law," Pompeo said during a press conference in Prague. "Of course we want to protect civilian lives."
The State Department last year approved more than $8 billion in emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Pompeo cited threats from Iran to use the emergency authority to transfer the weapons.
The State Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in a report released on Monday said the emergency sales complied with the law and met all of the necessary requirements. However, the report noted that the Department did not fully assess the risks that the weapons would pose to civilians.
The report noted that the countries which received the weapons remain embroiled in the war in Yemen, where civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebels for several years now. The Arab alliance, led by Saudi Arabia, has been launching air raids against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.
