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Last Updated on November 14, 2022.

WASHINGTON — Win Without War Government Relations Director Eric Eikenberry released the following statement regarding the OPEC+ decision to raise oil prices globally:

“Yesterday, the Saudi government raised global oil prices, using the power of the OPEC+ to empower Russia’s government and endanger Ukrainian civilians – all to shore up investments in a dead-end export that is destroying our planet.  

“In light of this reckless choice, we urge Congress and the Biden administration to curtail U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and take bold steps to break our dependence on a fossil fuel economy that autocrats abroad rely on. Congress has the authority to end its security assistance to Saudi Arabia based on its pattern of gross violations of human rights against people within its borders and in neighboring Yemen. In addition, Congress should end support for a speculative Middle East air defense system and take up “The Strained Partnership Act” from Reps. Malinowski, Wild and Casten, which would remove U.S. armed forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On the green energy front, the administration should immediately invoke executive authorities that spur a green energy transition.

“Pundits may argue this is a violation of an ‘oil for security’ arrangement between the U.S. and Saudi governments. Good. That deal was always rotten at its core. These steps are necessary to reduce the leverage that fossil fuel dictators have over the international community. By looking to its own bottom line at a time of global crisis, Saudi leadership has proven, again, that it will choose to increase its own wealth and the security of its authoritarian friends at the expense of promoting peace and keeping our planet habitable. It’s past time for the U.S. government to treat this decision as a long-term danger to our collective survival, not a temporary inconvenience in a spotty bilateral relationship.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.

October 6, 2022