Opinion The U.S. Has Leverage Over Saudi Arabia. It's Time to Use It.
Opinion by By Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Ro Khanna and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
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 shocking move will worsen global inflation, undermine successful efforts in the U.S. to bring down the price of gas, and help fuel Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The Saudi decision was a pointed blow to the U.S., but the U.S. 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.
That is why we are proposing bicameral legislation in the Senate and House on Tuesday that will immediately halt all U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia. For several years now, our colleagues have been considering similar proposals, but those measures haven’t passed. Due to intense bipartisan blowback to Saudi’s collusion with Russia, we think this time is different. Based on our conversation with colleagues, our legislation is already garnering bipartisan support in both chambers.
What would lead the Saudis so unwisely to err with their recent OPEC+ mistake? Stunned energy commentators have suggested that the Saudis were merely concerned about their endangered financial returns, acting rationally. Denying any political motives, Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst, insisted in the New York Times that the move was merely “to keep the price in an acceptable band.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/opinion-the-u-s-has-leverage-over-saudi-arabia-it-s-time-to-use-it/ar-AA12L39i
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