SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A mural of a drone at an undisclosed air base in the Middle East. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
Trump Officially Unveils Policy to Expand Sale of Killer Drones
"Countries may be more willing to use military force when they can do so without risking their own people."
Apr 20, 2018
The Trump administration on Thursday officially unveiled its new policy aimed at upping foreign sales of military drones, with President Donald Trump hailing the plan as one that will allow weapons deals to be finalized more quickly.
The new policy will allow defense companies to negotiate contracts directly with foreign countries, likely paving the way for a significant rise in the number of American drones sold abroad--even as the U.S. is already behind 33 percent of global arms exports. Restrictions for specialized features on drones, such as lasers which transmit information to fighter jets regarding the location of a target, will also be eliminated under the new rules.
Trump suggested to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week that the new policy will be aimed at helping allies obtain weapons quickly, telling Abe at the White House, "We will get it taken care of, and they will get their equipment rapidly."
Human rights groups have denounced Trump's efforts to expedite U.S. arms sales including drone exports, as the lifting of restrictions could make it easier for the weapons to fuel ongoing violence in the Middle East.
With more countries potentially obtaining approval to purchase killer drones, "the risk is that countries may be more willing to use military force when they can do so without risking their own people," Dan Gettinger, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, told the New York Times.
The Trump and Obama administrations have already angered rights groups by initiating and finalizing a $100 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, supplying weapons to the country as it leads a coalition that's been bombing Yemen since 2015, killing thousands of civilians.
The nonpartisan Stimson Center noted that Trump's new policy appears far more focused on financially enriching the U.S. than taking any foreign relations concerns, much less human rights, into account.
"Overall, the approach here, and it's a notable one, is the prioritization of the economy," Rachel Stohl, an arms trade specialist at the Stimson Center, told the Washington Post. "It's all about our economic interests being as important or maybe even more important than our national security and foreign policy objectives...If you read between the lines, it could be a green light for the U.S. to sell more with less restraint."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Trump administration on Thursday officially unveiled its new policy aimed at upping foreign sales of military drones, with President Donald Trump hailing the plan as one that will allow weapons deals to be finalized more quickly.
The new policy will allow defense companies to negotiate contracts directly with foreign countries, likely paving the way for a significant rise in the number of American drones sold abroad--even as the U.S. is already behind 33 percent of global arms exports. Restrictions for specialized features on drones, such as lasers which transmit information to fighter jets regarding the location of a target, will also be eliminated under the new rules.
Trump suggested to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week that the new policy will be aimed at helping allies obtain weapons quickly, telling Abe at the White House, "We will get it taken care of, and they will get their equipment rapidly."
Human rights groups have denounced Trump's efforts to expedite U.S. arms sales including drone exports, as the lifting of restrictions could make it easier for the weapons to fuel ongoing violence in the Middle East.
With more countries potentially obtaining approval to purchase killer drones, "the risk is that countries may be more willing to use military force when they can do so without risking their own people," Dan Gettinger, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, told the New York Times.
The Trump and Obama administrations have already angered rights groups by initiating and finalizing a $100 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, supplying weapons to the country as it leads a coalition that's been bombing Yemen since 2015, killing thousands of civilians.
The nonpartisan Stimson Center noted that Trump's new policy appears far more focused on financially enriching the U.S. than taking any foreign relations concerns, much less human rights, into account.
"Overall, the approach here, and it's a notable one, is the prioritization of the economy," Rachel Stohl, an arms trade specialist at the Stimson Center, told the Washington Post. "It's all about our economic interests being as important or maybe even more important than our national security and foreign policy objectives...If you read between the lines, it could be a green light for the U.S. to sell more with less restraint."
The Trump administration on Thursday officially unveiled its new policy aimed at upping foreign sales of military drones, with President Donald Trump hailing the plan as one that will allow weapons deals to be finalized more quickly.
The new policy will allow defense companies to negotiate contracts directly with foreign countries, likely paving the way for a significant rise in the number of American drones sold abroad--even as the U.S. is already behind 33 percent of global arms exports. Restrictions for specialized features on drones, such as lasers which transmit information to fighter jets regarding the location of a target, will also be eliminated under the new rules.
Trump suggested to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week that the new policy will be aimed at helping allies obtain weapons quickly, telling Abe at the White House, "We will get it taken care of, and they will get their equipment rapidly."
Human rights groups have denounced Trump's efforts to expedite U.S. arms sales including drone exports, as the lifting of restrictions could make it easier for the weapons to fuel ongoing violence in the Middle East.
With more countries potentially obtaining approval to purchase killer drones, "the risk is that countries may be more willing to use military force when they can do so without risking their own people," Dan Gettinger, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, told the New York Times.
The Trump and Obama administrations have already angered rights groups by initiating and finalizing a $100 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, supplying weapons to the country as it leads a coalition that's been bombing Yemen since 2015, killing thousands of civilians.
The nonpartisan Stimson Center noted that Trump's new policy appears far more focused on financially enriching the U.S. than taking any foreign relations concerns, much less human rights, into account.
"Overall, the approach here, and it's a notable one, is the prioritization of the economy," Rachel Stohl, an arms trade specialist at the Stimson Center, told the Washington Post. "It's all about our economic interests being as important or maybe even more important than our national security and foreign policy objectives...If you read between the lines, it could be a green light for the U.S. to sell more with less restraint."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy