Panelists:

Hassan El-Tayyab – moderator, Legislative Manager for Middle East Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Annie Shiel – Senior Advisor for U.S. Policy & Advocacy with CIVIC's US Program
Adam Coogle – Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch (TBC)
Shireen Al-Adeimi – Assistant Professor at Michigan State University
Jeff Abramson – Senior Fellow, Arms Control Association

Secretary Pompeo has notified Congress of the impending sale of $23 billion in advanced weaponry to the United Arab Emirates. As a bipartisan group of lawmakers seek to block this sale of F-35s, drones and munitions to the UAE, this panel brings together academics, policy experts, and Yemeni human rights advocates to discuss the context surrounding the arms deal and its implication for the world's worst humanitarian disaster. 29 organizations announced their opposition to the sale on November 30.

These experts will discuss and answer questions relating to: the UAE's continued military role in the war in Yemen, despite a declared withdrawal; the advanced nature of the weapons being sold and their impact on the Abraham Accords and Israel's Qualitative Military Edge; the UAE's record of weapons transfers to al-Qaeda affiliates; the UAE's financing of mercenaries in Libya; and more.