Biden’s double standards and how the US sells F-35s to the UAE

By Boyko Nikolov

PANAGYURISHTE, (BM) – US President Joe Biden will back the “last-minute” deal of his predecessor Donald Trump. A State Department spokesman said the new US administration would propose to Congress that the arms deal for the UAE be approved.

50 F-35 stealth fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ammunition will travel to the Middle East, where the UAE will become the first Arab country and the second in the Middle East to have an F-35 stealth fighter. The UAE is expecting to acquire aircraft after 2025.

The deal is worth $ 23 billion and was the last deal signed by the previous administration of President Donald Trump. In addition to fighter jets and drones, the agreement includes “other equipment” that a US State Department spokesman did not comment on. “We continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials,” the statement said.

We remind you that immediately after taking office in January, Joe Biden froze several deals of his predecessor, including the one with the UAE, also known as Abraham Accord. This deal became known because Donald Trump approved it at the last minute of his rule.

Congress criticizes the deal

Democrats in Congress sharply criticized the deal. Although the UAE signed the agreement and accepted the agreement, it was unclear whether the United States would do the same under Biden.

In January, Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin said it was perfectly normal for the new administration to review the previous government’s deals to ensure each sale met US strategic goals.

Critics in Congress have sharply criticized the deal with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. According to them, the arms race and the sale of weapons technology are developing extremely fast. They gave the example of Saudi Arabia, which could use new American weapons against Yemen – a war that the Saudis are waging on a foreign country’s territory.

But then Mike Pompeo managed to circumvent Congress and its legislators by declaring a state of emergency, giving the White House the right to sell weapons directly without lawmakers’ approval.

The previous White House administration defended its decisions to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE by pulling out the well-known “Iranian threat” card. These sales are one way to stop Iran.

Israel agrees

There is a third party to this agreement, and that is Israel. The United States has a stringent agreement with Israel on selling weapons systems and ammunition to countries in the region. According to him, before making any sale, they should assess and calculate the threats to Israel, after which they should start negotiations.

However, Israel and the UAE signed an agreement to normalize relations last September. This step untied Washington’s hands and gave the “green light” to carry out similar deals, as was the case with the F-35, unmanned aerial vehicles, and “additional equipment.”

It should be noted that the minutes of the meetings between the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations nowhere include any arms deal. However, these negotiations have reduced the “eligible opportunities” for such sales in the future.

We remind you that during the Obama-Biden administration, Israel received permission to purchase F-35 fighters. In recent years, Washington has sent fighters specially designed for the Israeli country, which differ in many respects from the American equivalent.

US double standards

The United States has repeatedly called on its partners to meet specific “unwritten standards” for good arms trade partnerships and cooperation.

Washington has repeatedly shown that it does not meet precisely those standards that it hopes other countries will meet. For example, the killing of Kashoggi journalists at the Saudi embassy in Turkey. Dozens of European countries have stopped arms trade with the Arab nation, including France and Germany, while the United States uses an artificially inflated “emergency” bubble.

The purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems from Turkey is another example. The Americans disagree with this deal but also do not offer an adequate alternative to the Turks. All this forced the government in Ankara to look for options that meet national security standards.

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