Hillary Hypocrisy on Gun Control: Sold 1000s Deadly Weapons to Abusive Regimes That Killed Millions

[amborin]

Why Hillary Clinton’s “Strongest Issue” Is Actually Her Biggest Farce

Hillary Clinton just might be the top salesperson for the military-industrial complex in US history, yet she is claiming to be the undisputed champion of gun control in the 2016 race.

The fact that Clinton has sold more weapons that George W. Bush in his second term isn’t mentioned much by the major cable news networks, who have allowed her to get away with the narrative that she wants to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of killers. But much of the unrest in the Middle East can be traced back to US-supplied weapons during Clinton’s years as Secretary of State, particularly to countries with deplorable human rights records.

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Clinton’s State Department sold $165 billion in weapons to 20 different countries between October 2010 and September 2012 that also donated to her family foundation.

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But Clinton also assisted in selling $151 billion worth of weapons through Pentagon-brokered deals to 16 different countries that had donated to the Clinton Foundation.

In April 2011, the US Department of State issued a blistering report outlining the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s horrific record in dealing with government reformers, prisoners, and women:

The following significant human rights problems were reported: no right to change the government peacefully; torture and physical abuse; poor prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention; denial of fair and public trials and lack of due process in the judicial system; political prisoners; restrictions on civil liberties such as freedoms of speech (including the Internet), assembly, association, movement, and severe restrictions on religious freedom; and corruption and lack of government transparency. Violence against women and a lack of equal rights for women, violations of the rights of children, trafficking in persons, and discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sect, and ethnicity were common.

When compared with all of the other countries that received weapons, the 2011 arms deal with Saudi Arabia could perhaps be interpreted as an oversight by the most forgiving Clinton supporter. But as the International Business Times reported, Saudi Arabia getting their new weapons was one of Hillary Clinton’s biggest goals:

At press conferences in Washington to announce the department’s approval, an Assistant Secretary of State, Andrew Shapiro, declared that the deal had been “a top priority” for Clinton personally. Shapiro, a longtime aide to Clinton since her Senate days, added that the “U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army have excellent relationships in Saudi Arabia.”

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Other recipients of Clinton-approved weapons sales include regimes with negative human rights reports from the State Department, like Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Kuwait. Qatar, for example, was described to be a haven for human trafficking in a 2015 State Department report:

Approximately 94 percent of the country’s workforce is comprised of men and women from South and Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East who voluntarily come to work as low- and semi-skilled workers, primarily in construction, oil and gas, service, transportation, and domestic work, but some subsequently face forced labor. Female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking due to their isolation in private residences and lack of protection under Qatari labor laws. Qatar is also a destination country for women who migrate for employment purposes and become involved in prostitution; some of these women may be runaway domestic workers forced into prostitution by traffickers who exploit their illegal status.

Clinton has a peculiar friendliness for volatile dictators. As The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald reported, Clinton also openly expressed warm feelings for Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, saying Mubarak and his wife were “friends of my family.” Clinton even referred to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad as a “reformer” in an interview, favorably comparing Assad to Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi. Her fondness for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who has overseen the massacre of thousands of Palestinians, is well-documented. And the violent US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009 was supported by the US State Department, not long after Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State.

All of this flies in the face of the anti-gun image the Clinton campaign has created for the former First Lady and Secretary of State. But at the end of the day, Clinton was front-and-center for a bulk of the weapons sales made during the Obama administration, which was the highest period of arms proliferation in US history since World War II.

Clinton has made her gun control position a central issue of her 2016 campaign, even lobbing false attacks at primary opponent Bernie Sanders in order to win liberals who prioritize gun control when casting their vote. But ultimately, gun control is about preventing dangerous weapons from finding their way into the hands of killers. Since Hillary Clinton’s most recent government job has been overseeing tremendous amounts of weapons transferring from the US to repressive dictatorships, when will the media start questioning her ownership of the gun control issue?

http://usuncut.com/politics/clinton-arms-deals-gun-control/

[bvar22]

1. ....but I heard that Hillary hates guns.

[MisterP]

2. ran on pro-gun propaganda in '08 ...

Heisenberg's candidate
how many legs does the Republicrat Elephant have?

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. Yeah I don't get that one. I wonder if any

$165 billion in weapons to 20 different countries between October 2010 and September 2012 that also donated to her family foundation.

That pretty much says it all, other than answering the question... "Was any of that money spent on cluster bombs?"

[amborin]

5. yes:

NY Times: Saudis Use Illegal Cluster Muntitions--Hillary Voted in Favor--More Quid pro Quo
New Report of U.S.-Made Cluster Bomb Use by Saudis in Yemen

By RICK GLADSTONEFEB. 14, 2016
The aftermath of a Saudi-led air strike in Sana, Yemen, on Sunday. Credit Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

Human Rights Watch released a report Sunday providing new indications that Saudi Arabia has fired American-made cluster munitions, banned by international treaty, in civilian areas of Yemen, and said their use may also violate United States law.

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If confirmed, the report could put new pressure on the United States over support for its ally Saudi Arabia in the Yemen conflict. The Americans have sold arms and furnished training and expertise to a Saudi-led coalition that has faced widespread criticism for what rights groups call an indiscriminate bombing campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in nearly a year of fighting.....


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/world/middleeast/new-report-of-us-made-cluster-bomb-use-by-saudis-in-yemen.html

Critics have previously rapped Clinton for voting in 2006 against Senate Amendment 4882, which would have banned the sale of cluster munitions for use in heavily populated areas


LECTED OFFICIALS AND ACTIVISTS DEMAND CLINTON RETURN DONATIONS FROM ROGUE MILITARY CONTRACTOR
Textron bribed Saddam Hussein’s regime, and manufactures cluster bombs

Providence, RI: Various elected officials and anti-war activists are calling on Hillary Clinton to return campaign contributions from Textron, Inc. Textron is a Rhode Island-headquartered Fortune 500 conglomerate, from whose PAC Clinton took money in 2005 and 2006. Textron bribed the Hussein government during the lead-up to the Iraq war, and is a major manufacturer of cluster bombs, which yield high rates of civilian casualties.


http://providencedailydose.com/2008/02/21/hillary-and-the-arms-industry/

[Matt_in_STL]

4. I hope the people in those countries have the right to sue her

I'd hate for her to have any hypocrisy on this issue.

[azmom]

6. She's only gun control now because it benefits

her politically. She's a fraud.