WASHINGTON, January 9, 2016 (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein – Washington’s commitment to Saudi Arabia is unwarranted given the Saudi government’s ongoing human rights violations and connections to the September 11, 2001 US terror attacks, Congressman Walter Jones told Sputnik.
“There is just too much involvement, and commitment, and relationships with the Saudis that I don’t think is justified,” Jones said on Friday. He added that he has had “very dubious feelings about Saudi Arabia… that goes back to 9-11.”
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published fresh reports of Saudi Arabia using cluster munitions in residential areas in Yemen, where the country is at war with Houthi rebels. Human Rights Watch tracked the origins of the munitions components, reporting they were made in the United States. Saudi Arabia has also come under additional scrutiny for executing 47 prisoners last week, including a prominent Shiite cleric.
“I don’t have any respect or trust for the Saudi government,” Jones asserted, noting both Republican and Democratic presidents have kept too close a relationship with the Gulf monarchy.
Jones is one of a small group of US lawmakers, including presidential hopeful Rand Paul, that introduced legislation calling on the White House to publish a classified portion of a government report which allegedly details Saudi involvement in financing and supporting the 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
