“[Biden aides have] made this argument that this is defensive equipment, and the fact that there are still members of Congress willing to push back on the sale means that for them that’s not enough.”

“Strategic considerations about countering China are at play in inviting very troubled, backsliding democracies…that are in China’s neighborhood [to the Summit for Democracy]. The same might be true for inviting deeply flawed democracy Iraq.”

“Nowhere in this region is the U.S. government putting human rights at the center of its relations with any of these countries. And if that were ever to happen, we would see a completely different policy.”

“[The Trump administration is] not the right yardstick. [Biden’s willingness to engage on human rights issues is] what it means to center this issue in your foreign policy. I don’t see any evidence of that.”

“The sale of the F-35, in particular, has the potential to lead to a significant escalation of an arms race in the region, not even just with Iran trying to match capabilities, but with other US partners wanting the same advanced equipment.”

“It is an encouraging sign that with an incoming Biden administration, nearly every Democrat sent a strong signal of where their party lies in that they oppose these sales.”

“[The Emirati ambassador’s comment] ignores inconvenient facts like [the UAE’s] illegal arms transfers in Libya and the Trump administration’s rushed effort [to ram the arms deal through].”

“The planned arms sales to the UAE, a party to the conflicts in Yemen and Libya, would fuel continued civilian harm and further exacerbate these humanitarian crises… Delivery of the sales would undermine US national security interests.”

“To sell such advanced military equipment to the UAE now would be to endorse those policies and threaten US interests and regional stability.”

“The hope is to stop these sales altogether. But if that is not possible in the short term, this sends an important signal to the incoming Biden administration that there is a diverse group of organizations that oppose delivery of these weapons.”