****

“In the first of a series of 3 back-to-back votes, Republicans joined Democrats to register their growing anger with the administration’s use of emergency power to cut lawmakers out of national security decisions, as well as the White House’s unflagging support for the Saudis despite congressional pressure to punish Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the killing last October of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

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Update: As per 6/20/2019 BBC report:

First direct incident of crisis

“This is the first direct incident of the current crisis involving the US and Iranian militaries and is a powerful reminder of the dangers of escalation in the Gulf.”

“As far as the Iranians are concerned, the downing of the drone was intended to send a clear and explicit message to the Americans – “our borders are our red line” – a point underscored by the IRGC’s commander-in-chief.”

“So there is no doubting who shot down the US drone, an MQ-4C Triton. It is a massive aircraft with a wing-span equivalent to a small airliner. But the two sides differ as to where it happened. The Iranians say it was in their airspace; the Americans say that it was not.”

“According to some reports, US President Donald Trump himself is eager to dial down the tension, fearing a spillover into outright conflict. But this is just the kind of incident that could provoke just such a cycle of action and response.”

Here’s the rest of the story…

See: Why Is President Trump Selling Arms To Saudi Arabia With Its Horrid Human Rights Record?

See: How Did US Allow Sale Of Nuclear Material To Saudi Arabia Without Doing Its Due Diligence?

See: President Trump Has been Playing Footsies With Both Saudi Arabia And UAE

On June 20, 2019, Lizzie Dearden of the Independent penned the following report, “UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia unlawful, Court of Appeal rules”

Excerpts:

“The UK’s continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen’s brutal war are unlawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled.”

“Campaigners won the latest stage of their legal battle against the government over the conflict, where Saudi forces are accused of committing war crimes.”

“The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) argued that UK fighter jets and bombs are being used to kill civilians and violate international law.”

“He said the government “must reconsider the matter” and estimate any future risks in light of their conclusions about the past.”

“The High Court previously ruled in the government’s favour, finding that it was “rationally entitled to conclude … that the [Saudi-led] coalition were not deliberately targeting civilians” and was investigating reported incidents.”

“CAAT challenged the 2017 ruling and took fresh evidence from the Yemen conflict to the Court of Appeal.”

“On (6/20/2019), Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, Lord Justice Irwin and Lord Justice Singh concluded that it was “irrational and therefore unlawful” for the international trade secretary to have licenced the weapons exports without assessing whether past incidents amounted to breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) and if there was a “clear risk” of future breaches.”

“The question whether there was an historic pattern of breaches of IHL … was a question which required to be faced,” the ruling said.”

“Judges said the government “made no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past, during the Yemen conflict, and made no attempt to do so”.

“Sir Terence added: “The decision of the court today doesn’t mean that licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended.”

“A lawyer from Leigh Day, which represented CAAT, said the horrors in Yemen “can no longer be ignored by the UK government”.

“Lawyer Rosa Curling said: “The government will now have to reconsider whether to suspend existing export licenses and reconsider its decision to continue to grant licences. Our client hopes the government will reconsider quickly and will decide that no further licences should be granted.”

“Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “We welcome this verdict, but it should never have taken a court case brought by campaigners to force the government to follow its own rules.The Saudi Arabian regime is one of the most brutal and repressive in the world, yet, for decades, it has been the largest buyer of UK-made arms.”

“No matter what atrocities it has inflicted, the Saudi regime has been able to count on the  military support of the UK.”