Rand Paul Rages on Twitter Over US Giving Arms to 9/11 Terrorist-Funding Saudis
While the double standards the United States sets for its close ally, Saudi Arabia, have been criticized by members of the public, it is not often that politicians call out the hypocrisy—and then there’s Rand Paul—the man, who on Wednesday, was dodging .556 rounds fired at him by an anti-Trump lunatic.
The Republican senator from Kentucky went off on an aggressive Twitter rant, before taking to the Senate floor on Tuesday to speak out against the proposed $350 billion arms deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which was praised by President Trump during his first official trip abroad.
“Saudi Arabia is causing a humanitarian crisis with a war in Yemen,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “It funds extremism worldwide. Abuses human rights. Stop arming them now.”
The vote will be close. It is time we stop the counterproductive and harmful practice of arming a country that promotes extremism
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 13, 2017
Today we will discuss issues of war & peace, which we rarely do. We have been in conflict over 15 years.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 13, 2017
During his speech, Paul noted that by arming Saudi Arabia, the U.S. is directly supporting the Saudis’ horrific war in Yemen, which has resulted in the deaths of over 10,000, and has left millions of civilians malnourished, and in desperate need of food assistance.
“Should the United States be actively involved with refueling Saudi planes, with picking targets, with having advisors on the ground? Should we be at war in Yemen?” Paul said on the Senate floor. “If you remember your Constitution, it says no president has that authority. Only to repel imminent attack, but no president alone has the unilateral authority to take us to war. And yet, here we are on the verge of war.”
Paul also said that while it won’t solve every problem the Yemeni people are currently facing, he believes halting the arms sale will have an impact on helping to stop some of the suffering.
“One group said that the impending famine in Yemen may reach biblical proportions — think about that,” He said. “It is astounding what is being done, and it is not being done with your weapons, but with your — we will force this vote for these children in Yemen because we have a chance today to stop the carnage. We have a chance to tell Saudi Arabia we’ve had enough.”
17 million live in edge of starvation. Crisis may well be worse than Syria. And our country is going to further arm one side of this war
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 13, 2017
And we are going to give them weapons? I say no.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 13, 2017
Paul then went on to bring up the fact that less than one year ago, Congress supported giving the families of 9/11 victims the right to sue Saudi Arabia for the attacks. When President Obama vetoed the bill in September 2016, it became the first veto of his presidency that Congress overturned.
