Khashoggi's assassination puts American defense industry to the test as reaction strengthens on Capitol Hill

In an interview on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.), Trump's confidante who had previously opposed efforts to limit arms sales to Saudi Arabia, suggested to lawmakers to link the federal funding to sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia. He is co-sponsoring the bipartite Senate measure, which would suspend licenses for certain previously approved weapons.

"When it comes to the Crown Prince, it's not wise to look away," Graham said, calling the crown prince a "demolition ball" on the world stage.

Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Representative Eliot L. Engel (DN.Y.) and House Steny Minor Whip also supported weapons agreements with Saudi Arabia through past and now reconsider their support. H. Hoyer (D-Md.), According to recent votes and congressional assistants.

In the House, lawmakers have endorsed several proposals that would limit agreements with Saudi Arabia, including that proposed by the representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) Who would require updates on the investigation on the death of Khashoggi before any new military sale to Saudi Arabia. to be considered.

The McGovern district is home to Raytheon, which sells several hundred million dollars worth of weapons each year to Saudi Arabia and whose PAC has been a major donor in recent years.

"I am very concerned about jobs," said McGovern, one of the first critics of the war in Yemen. "But I do not want to create jobs by selling weapons to governments that murder cold-blooded journalists and then lie."

[Inside the Saudis’ Washington influence machine: Fierce lobbying and charm offensives]

The defense industry has long been a key influence on US foreign policy, facilitated by a parade of former military and government officials who have moved between senior and key positions in the US Department of Justice. State and Department of Defense. US defense companies have spent between $ 125 and $ 130 million a year lobbying, as well as tens of millions more in contributions to federal candidates, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

As a sign of the industry's dynamism, Congress has only once voted against a foreign arms deal through a vital surveillance tool called a joint disapproval resolution, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. This effort took place more than three decades ago, in 1986, and President Ronald Reagan vetoed it.

Since the beginning of the war in Yemen, the defense industry, which works alongside lobbyists for Saudi Arabia, has successfully thwarted Congress efforts, backed by human rights groups, to end or diminish United States support for air warfare in this conflict.

For now, the defense group remains unobtrusive, highlighting the value of a strong relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia while seeking strategies to proceed, according to people familiar with this approach. Industry lobbyists said they were closely monitoring the dynamics between Saudi leaders and Trump, the most vocal lobbyist in the sector, touting the economic importance of Saudi arms markets.

On Tuesday, the president suggested that he could veto congressional efforts to put an end to arms sales. "We will not give up hundreds of billions of dollars in orders and let Russia, China and everyone have them," he told reporters.

The leaders of Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics all rejected the request for comments from the Post on the future of arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the death of Khashoggi.

[Trump again uses arms sales to justify Saudi ties, dragging U.S. defense contractors into an unwelcome debate]

One official said the defense subcontractors were waiting to know if the Crown Prince would be replaced before deciding what to do.

US defense contractors "are really in a delicate situation, in the hope of attaching themselves as little as possible to that," said a prominent defense official who requested anonymity, fearing that the public debate is bad. for business. "To say that we will support this because we have a few thousand jobs at stake. . we do not want that, "said the executive.

Pressed by Wall Street analysts about the impact of Khashoggi's disappearance last month, officials at Raytheon and another large arms company in Saudi Arabia, Lockheed Martin, have only done so. short statements in which they undertook to listen to American policy towards one of their main foreign customers.

"I'm pretty confident we're going to overcome that complexity," Raytheon chief executive Thomas Kennedy said in a call for results, not to mention Khashoggi's name.

Signs of slippery support

The conflict that devastated one of the world's poorest countries pitted the Yemeni government in exile, backed by the Saudi kingdom, with rebels known as the Houthis, which Iran would have reinforced. US assistance to the Saudi-led coalition, which began in 2015 under President Barack Obama, includes refueling planes, information and logistical support – and the sale of bombs.

Intense criticism of the air strikes on civilians led the administration to end the sale of precision munition guidance systems worth nearly $ 400 million to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia in December 2016, at the end of the Obama administration. Three months later, the Trump administration overturned this decision and approved the resumption of arms sales.

Since then, the weapons produced by American companies have been linked to some of the worst episodes of civilian casualties.

The bomb that killed more than 50 people, including at least 40 children, on a school bus trip on Aug. 9 was made in the United States by Lockheed Martin, a CNN survey found. Raytheon's bombings were blamed on other air strikes that killed civilians, including an April 23 attack on a wedding that killed 22 people. Reporters and a human rights group were informed that ammunition manufactured in the United States had killed and maimed civilians in Yemen.

As the number of victims increased, there were signs that Congressional support for the war was slipping.

In mid-September, a month after a school bus bombing, Kennedy stopped at Capitol Hill to meet Senator Robert Menendez (DN.J.), who had expressed concern about the proliferation of losses in Yemen, according to a congressional assistant.

Few US companies have benefited more from the war in Yemen than Raytheon, a defense giant worth $ 25 billion a year, analysts said.

And Menendez, exercising his power as a senior Democratic official in the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, deferred the sale of nearly $ 2 billion of bomb kits manufactured by the company to Saudi Arabia and in the United Arab Emirates, a Saudi ally.

Despite the personal visit of Raytheon's CEO, Menendez has maintained its position in the sale. He is currently sponsoring the Senate Bipartite Bill which provides for the suspension of many arms sales to the kingdom.

Asked about Raytheon's contacts with Menendez and other lawmakers, the company said, "As part of the government's decision-making process, Raytheon regularly engages with government officials to provide information and answer questions. Kennedy refused a request for maintenance.

Since the murder of Khashoggi, Raytheon's lobbyists' contacts with the main congressional offices have been interrupted, according to contributors.

"If I were Raytheon or Boeing or Lockheed, I would keep my damn trap and head down because it's bad for the Saudis," said a Republican Senate aide who requested anonymity to be honest about the defense lobby.

[CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination]

In a phone conversation with investors last month, Raytheon's CFO pointed out that the company's sales to Saudi Arabia accounted for only 5% of overall sales.

But these figures do not illustrate the industry's dependence on the kingdom, one of the major foreign markets for US defense companies, analysts said. Saudi Arabia spends billions of dollars every year on US-made weapons systems, and the kingdom has very few bureaucratic checks and balances that delay major military purchases in the United States.

Lockheed has made selling to foreign governments a key growth objective, with Saudi Arabia being the main driver of this effort, according to a defense analyst. The Crown Prince's photo during his April visit to a Lockheed plant in Silicon Valley remains visible on the company's website, even as other companies have distanced themselves from Muhammed since Khashoggi's murder.

"The importance of military sales in Saudi Arabia goes well beyond what annual sales figures would indicate," said Peter Mandaville, a former state department advisor who teaches at the University. George Mason. "These contracts, over time, keep assembly lines and supply chains open for leading defense contractors. When they plan for the future, they always keep in mind the Saudis. "

"We must adopt a long-term vision"

Despite the controversy, former defense officials and national security analysts predict that relations with Saudi Arabia, which have lasted for decades, are likely to continue due to the economic and strategic importance of the kingdom.

Hawk Carlisle, a retired Air Force general who heads the National Defense Industry Association, a professional industry organization, said in an interview last month that, if the United States must respond to Khashoggi's murder, they must also ensure national security.

"As a nation, we must respect our principles. We must take the necessary measures, without reacting excessively, "Carlisle said. "We must see in the long run."

After Khashoggi's death, Raytheon's board members met at the company's headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, to discuss how to manage spinoffs and relations with Saudi Arabia, among other issues, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The meeting was led by 63-year-old Kennedy, a former Air Force captain who traveled the world selling his Raytheon items to the Saudi Crown Prince and other international clients. The council advised Kennedy that day to cancel a planned trip to an economic summit in Riyadh and to send others to his place, said the people familiar with the meeting.

A Raytheon spokesperson said the council meeting "was an integral part of our governance process."

Raytheon's board includes some of the world's most influential figures in military intelligence and strategy: Stephen J. Hadley, President George W. Bush's National Security Advisor; Robert O. Work, who resigned last year as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Planning; Letitia A. Long, a veteran of the highest spheres of US defense and intelligence agencies; and retired admiral Vernon Clark, former chief of naval operations.

[Almost two years into Trump presidency, Pentagon’s revolving door still spins]

The revolving door has also been reversed, with former industry supporters having obtained key positions from the government.

At the State Department, Charles Faulkner, a lobbyist registered with Raytheon from 2012 to 2016 while working for BGR Group, currently serves as Acting Secretary of State in the Office of Legislative Affairs.

His office urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to certify that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were committed to reducing the number of civilian casualties, warning that retaining support from the kingdom – as requested by other state department officials – could jeopardize the future sale of weapons. the interception first reported.

Pompeo sided with Faulkner's office and allowed the sale of weapons, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

"Mr. Faulkner has extensive experience working with Capitol Hill," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. "Her previous positions, however, have no bearing on the decision to final certification. "

A confrontation building

As Congress criticism intensified, it appears that the Trump government's appetite for war is diminishing. Last week, the United States confirmed that it was putting an end to the practice of refueling planes of the Saudi coalition. And Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently called for a ceasefire when the war warned half of the population to die of starvation.

Mattis said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had ended the air strikes and other offensive operations in Yemen over the past three days in anticipation of the US-sponsored peace talks.

Nevertheless, Trump has always refused to block what he mistakenly described as $ 110 billion military sales to the kingdom. (This figure includes contracts that have been defined in non-binding memos, which have already been announced by the Obama administration or that relate to equipment whose delivery is expected after 2022 or an indeterminate date.)

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump questioned the CIA's finding that the Crown Prince had ordered the assassination of Khashoggi and said his priority was to protect US-US trade relations. ;Saudi Arabia. The kingdom keeps oil prices at "reasonable levels" and provides money for US weapons, which translates into jobs in the United States, Trump said.

"If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be huge beneficiaries – and very happy to acquire all these recovered cases," he said. "I understand that there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so."

[For Trump, the bottom line on Saudi Arabia takes precedence over human rights]

Many congressional lawmakers, including Republicans, reacted with disgust following the rejection of the CIA assessment.