UAE takes advantage of military deals to engage in proxy wars
American journalist Peter Beinart said that the UAE is taking advantage of military deals with his country to engage in proxy wars, calling for an end to Abu Dhabi’s arming.
The journalist and author emphasized that there are no good reasons for the United States to send weapons to systems like the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with the Organization for Democracy Now for the Arab World (DAWN), Bennart stated that the UAE is taking weapons and engaging in proxy wars everywhere.
On the feasibility of a complete halt to arms sales, Beinart said: From what I have seen, it is not as if US defence contractors are so crucial in terms of creating jobs for Americans, as there are many more productive ways of creating jobs.
“A lot of that has to do with the fact that defence contractors have a lot of influence in Washington, they fund a lot of politicians, and there are a lot of people in government, including in the Joe Biden administration, who worked for defence contractors when they were outside of government,” he added.
“One of the things that we should look at is the type of corruption that is present in the methods that defence contractors use to increase their influence in Congress and the world of foreign policy,” he said.
Beinart highlighted the negative impact of the lobbying groups funded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on US foreign policy.
“The problem is that although progressives in the United States have been able to exert some pressure on Biden concerning domestic politics, foreign policy, in general, remains more insulated from public pressure,” he said.
“The progressives were not able to put enough pressure on Biden to make him rethink this usual practice of awarding positions to people who previously worked in lobby groups.”
The American journalist emphasized that Biden’s announcement to end American support for the Saudi-Emirati offensive operations in Yemen is not enough.
He said that to stop the bloodshed in Yemen and end years of humanitarian crisis and Yemenis’ suffering. There must be a diplomatic effort.
He pointed out that Yemen is divided, and there are the Saudis, the Emiratis and others who still have a role in the country, while the US military intervention is waning.
Beinart stressed the need to use American influence to stop “egregious” human rights violations in countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
