In light of the recent news regarding the U.S. State Department's announcement of a Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) with Saudi Arabia (read more here), Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) issues the following statement:"On the eve of the 5th anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's murder, it's appalling that the U.S. chooses to announce a half-billion-dollar military sale to Saudi Arabia," said Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director at DAWN. "Labeling tanks and other military hardware as 'defensive' doesn't absolve us from the ethical implications of selling weapons to a regime notorious for human rights abuses. The United States should not only halt these sales but also hold perpetrators accountable for their actions."DAWN's statement ends here.BackgroundKhashoggi, a journalist and long-term US resident, was murdered on October 2, 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. He was seen entering the consulate to pick up documents related to his planned marriage. He was never seen alive again.Despite initial denials from the Saudi government, the Saudi Attorney General finally admitted the the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated. By November of the same year, the CIA concluded that Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the murder.This obviously created tension between the US and Saudi governments. But, after the announcement of the US entering a Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Agreement (CLSSA) "for common spares/repair parts to support the Royal Saudi Land Force’s (RSLF) fleet of Abrams tanks, M-60 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, mortar carriers, Combat Engineer Vehicles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), Mine Resistance Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), howitzers, additional support vehicles, components & accessories, pistols, rifles, crew- served weapons, recoilless rifles, mortars, vehicle periscopes, night vision devices, TOW launchers and missile parts, computer units, radar sets, generators, testing/calibration equipment, communication equipment and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $500 million," one could be forgiven if one thought the "tension" would be enough to stop the US government from making a profit from the Saudis, a government known for its human rights violations.

Joe Biden; image by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, no changes.