In the wake of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the Sudanese civil war and the alleged involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in supporting one faction have been thrust into the spotlight.
This is a surprising development, given the multitude of pressing issues currently facing the nation, such as inflation, overspending, and geopolitical instability. Despite these challenges, the Democrats have taken a keen interest in the Sudanese conflict, particularly in light of President Donald Trump's recent $200 billion deal with the UAE.
According to Western Journal, the deal was met with immediate opposition from Democrats, including Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, Brian Schatz, Tim Kaine, and independent Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats. They introduced resolutions of disapproval in the Senate aimed at blocking three arms sales to the UAE. Similar resolutions were introduced in the House of Representatives by Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs, the top Democrat on the panels Africa subcommittee.
The opposition stems from concerns about Abu Dhabi's alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries in Sudan's civil war, a claim the UAE has consistently denied. The civil war, which began in 2023, pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the RSF, both of which are military arms of the Sudanese government. The government has accused the UAE of backing the RSF against the SAF, an allegation the UAE has refuted.
The controversy surrounding the Sudanese civil war seems to be largely disconnected from the $200 billion in new deals that Trump signed with the UAE. These deals include a $14.5 billion investment from Ethiad, one of the national carriers of the UAE, in Boeing wide-body airliners powered by GE engines. Other investments include Emirates Global Aluminum's $4 billion investment in a primary aluminum smelter project in Oklahoma, and Holtec International and IHC Industrial Holding Company's plan to build a fleet of small modular reactors in Michigan. Qualcomm is also investing in a global engineering center in Abu Dhabi, focusing on AI, data centers, and industrial internet of things.
Despite these significant investments, the focus remains on Sudan. Meeks has criticized the Trump administration's actions, stating that they will further embolden the UAE to violate the UNs Darfur arms embargo and continue its support for the RSF. Murphy, on the other hand, has expressed concern over an Emirati-backed investment firm's investment in Binance via a stablecoin backed by Trumps World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency venture, labeling it as "nuclear grade corruption."
However, the Democrats' efforts to block the proposals do not seem to be primarily focused on investigating corruption. Instead, they appear to be more concerned with the potential violation of U.S. law, which requires congressional review of major arms deals and allows Senate members to force votes on resolutions of disapproval that would block such sales. It is worth noting that no block has ever succeeded and survived a veto.
The resolutions target a $1.32 billion sale of helicopters and equipment, $130 million for F-16 aircraft components and accessories, and $150 million for Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook aircraft parts, logistics and support. Even if these allegations were proven, it is unlikely that much of this could be diverted to the RSF.
The opposition to Trump's deal with the UAE seems to be driven more by a desire to hinder Trump's success than genuine concern for the Sudanese conflict.
Critics argue that these individuals, who largely remained silent during the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and Biden's appeasement of Saudi Arabia, are now using the Sudanese conflict as a pretext to block a $200 billion deal with the UAE. They argue that the real scandal is not the UAE's alleged involvement in the Sudanese civil war, but the Democrats' willingness to obstruct American progress for political gain.
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