Saudi airstrikes on Yemen, which have killed more than 2,800 civilians thus far and, incidentally, devastated three Doctors Without Borders facilities, are led by F-15s made by Boeing. The Intercept posted a short, discomfiting article by Lee Fang, in which he writes:
A few years earlier, as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton made weapons transfer to the Saudi government a “top priority,” according to her closest military aide.
And now, newly released emails show that her aides kept her well-informed of the approval process for a $29.4 billion sale in 2011 of up to 84 advanced F-15SA fighters, manufactured by Boeing, along with upgrades to the pre-existing Saudi fleet of 70 F-15 aircraft and munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance, and logistics.
The deal was finalized on Christmas Eve 2011. Afterward, Jake Sullivan, then Clinton’s deputy chief of staff and now a senior policy adviser on her presidential campaign, sent her a celebratory email string topped with the chipper message: “FYI — good news.”
Hillary Clinton supporters might instinctively say, “How could she know those fighters would be used to decimate Yemen?” The answer would be the same as when she voted for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq in 2003: It was her job to know.