Sen. Murphy Slams Biden Plan to Commit ‘American Blood’ to Saudi Arabia
Among the few influential Congress members to push back against Saudi Arabia and Washington’s decades-long close partnership has been Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
This week it was widely reported that as part of US efforts to achieve Saudi-Israel normalization, the White House could strike a new defense pact with Riyadh, which would require American military intervention if Saudi Arabia were to ever come under direct attack.
“Under such an agreement, the United States and Saudi Arabia would generally pledge to provide military support if the other country is attacked in the region or on Saudi territory,”
The report said, based on a US official, that such an agreement would resemble current military pacts with Japan and South Korea.
Sen. Murphy on the heels of this reporting is warning that the US shouldn’t commit “American blood” to Saudi Arabia.
He posed in a Wednesday CNN interview when discussing US-Saudi relations, “Is this the kind of stable regime that we should commit American blood to defending?”
Murphy said that he supported the idea of the Biden administration brokering a deal in the Middle East, saying it would be “good for the United States if there is peace between the Gulf and in particular between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” but questioned the price that Washington is willing to pay to accomplish that objective.
