Resource Author: Ari Tolany

Adding Half a Trillion Dollars to the Pentagon Budget is Unconscionable

February 6, 2026 – In response to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers’ (R-AL) calling for a $450 billion increase in Pentagon funding as part of an upcoming budget reconciliation bill, Center for International Policy, Ari Tolany, Director of Security Assistance, Arms Trade, and Technology, issued the following statement:

“The provision of nearly half a trillion additional dollars to the Pentagon, an institution which has never successfully passed a financial audit, would represent yet more welfare for defense contractors and their shareholders at the American people’s expense.

The cost of living crisis represents the greatest threat facing many Americans, yet the Trump administration prioritizes military occupation of U.S. cities, a war of choice against Venezuela, and threats to strike even more countries across the globe. Massively increasing the taxpayer money funnelled to an already bloated Pentagon budget to fund Trump’s wars and line weapons moguls’ pockets is unconscionable.

Rather than subsidizing more waste in the name of militarism, Congress should push for a more accountable and transparent Pentagon, while investing in food security, transit, healthcare, and quality education that improves human security and everyday Americans’ quality of life.”

SAM Special Report : Arming Israel’s Atrocities in Gaza

CIP-SAM Special Report_ Arming Israel’s Atrocities in GazaDownload

Measures to Block Israel Arms Sale a Choice: Uphold U.S. Law or Arm Atrocities

July 30, 2025 – In response to the introduction of privileged Senate measures to block the Trump Administration’s proposed sales of 1,000-pound bombs, joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs), fully automatic rifles and related support to Israel, the Center for International Policy’s Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) Director, Ari Tolany, issued the following statement:

“This measure puts a critical choice before Senators: take meaningful steps to end starvation in Gaza, achieve a lasting ceasefire, and de-escalate violence in the Middle East, or grant Israel more of the bombs and guns used to perpetrate crimes against humanity in Gaza and destabilize the region.

“After 21 months of enabling atrocities in Gaza, the Senate should finally act to uphold U.S. law and basic decency by preventing the transfer of these weapons, and other arms likely to be used in war crimes.”

“Joint direct attack munitions and other systems for munitions guidance are often marketed as a tool to mitigate civilian harm through more precise targeting. In the hands of a government like Benjamin Netanyahu’s, however, these weapons become tools to precisely target aid workers, journalists, and structures indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.

“Israeli forces have used automatic rifles to kill starving Palestinian civilians near aid sites in Gaza. They’ve used them to kill American citizens like journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh and demonstrator Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank. And now our government plans to send more of these weapons to Israel for use in occupied territory, including by police units under the authority of an Israeli minister who openly calls for ethnic cleansing and has been convicted of supporting terror.

“Under international law, Israel has an obligation as an occupying power to facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza. Instead, it has imposed a months-long, near-total siege of the territory, and turned nominal aid distribution sites into killing fields.

“The billions of dollars of American taxpayer-subsidized weapons, aid, and logistical support provided to Israel as it commits atrocities makes the United States complicit in Palestinians’ suffering. By continuing to supply weapons that are likely to be used in gross violation of international humanitarian law, the United States could be legally liable for aiding and abetting war crimes.”

 

Trump’s New Arms Transfer to Israel Deepens US Complicity in Gaza War Crimes

July 1, 2025 – In response to the U.S. State Department approving a proposed sale of joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) and related support to Israel, Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) Director, Ari Tolany, issued the following statement:

“The Trump administration has a valuable opportunity to exercise leverage with Israel to advocate for improved humanitarian access to Gaza, a ceasefire, and regional de-escalation. Instead, it has chosen to grant Israel more of the very bombs used to totally destroy Gaza and slaughter its people. 

Joint direct attack munitions and other systems for munitions guidance are often marketed as a tool to mitigate civilian harm through more precise targeting. In the hands of a government like Benjamin Netanyahu’s, which has no political will to protect civilians, however, these weapons become tools to precisely target aid workers, journalists, and structures indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.

Under international law, Israel has an obligation as an occupying power to facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza. Instead, it has turned nominal aid distribution sites into killing fields. The billions of dollars of weapons, aid, and logistical support the United States has provided to Israel for more than 20 months mean that the United States is complicit in bringing about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. By continuing to supply weapons that have a substantial likelihood to be used to facilitate gross violations of international humanitarian law, the United States runs the risk of being legally liable for aiding and abetting war crimes. After 20 months of failure to enforce U.S. law, Congress should use all means at its disposal to prevent the transfer of these JDAMs, and other weapons likely to be used in war crimes.”

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This Conflict’s Disinformation is Out of Control

Director at the Center for International Policy Ari Tolany added that the current crisis is also a consequence of nationalist projects in both countries, but is harming attempts at de-escalation. “Using social media to inflame public sentiment makes it much harder for leaders to save face domestically while trying to de-escalate externally,” she explained

“If Pakistan now believes the U.S. won’t intervene diplomatically, maybe it will rethink its behavior,” Tolany speculated. Without the U.S. as a dampening force, or an “established power broker,” as Tolany described it, the situation could escalate further. Some also believe Pakistan has become more isolated in recent years, making U.S. dialogue even harder. The country has become closer to India after finding Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan in 2011. “No one is really standing by Pakistan,” said Syed Athar Ali, a former Pakistani defense official.  

Read in The Juggernaut

Trump Executive Order on Defense Sales

The actions outlined Executive Order “Reforming Defense Sales to Improve Speed and Accountability,” issued April 9, 2025, will further obscure a vast portion of the arms trade from public and congressional oversight, undermine Congress’ legally mandated authority over arms sales, and increase the flow of U.S. weapons to actors in armed conflicts and criminal groups without adequate end-use monitoring measures.

Obscuring the arms trade from Congress by raising thresholds for notification:

 

Section 3(a)(iii) of the Executive Order dictates that the Executive “submit a joint letter to the Congress proposing an update to statutory congressional certification (also known as congressional notification) thresholds of proposed sales under the FMS and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) programs in the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).”

 

  • At present, under the Arms Export Control Act, arms sales that reach a certain financial value require congressional notification and review. The transaction value triggering notification and the duration of the review period vary depending on the proposed recipient and weapons system in question. 

  • These notifications provide lawmakers an opportunity to weigh in on arms transfers and act as de facto transparency mechanisms in an otherwise opaque enterprise, facilitating public engagement and inter-branch negotiation on security assistance decisions which have massive impact on U.S. grand strategy and public image, as well as human rights and civilian protection.

  • Already, an enormous number of arms sales pass below this notification threshold. Between 2017 and 2020, the Department of State’s Office of the Inspector General found that more than 4,211 below-threshold arms transfers, worth roughly $11 billion, were made to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as they bombed Yemen. Raising notification thresholds would increase the number of arms transfers that proceed without congressional review, warping the political risk calculus for sales and incentivizing even more permissive and less restrained practices. 

 

Undermining congressional authority regarding arms sales:

 

Section 3(a)(iii) of the Executive Order further dictates that “The Secretary of State shall also work with the Congress to review congressional notification processes to ensure the timely adjudication of notified FMS and DCS cases.”

 

  • This is likely a reference to eliminating the “tiered review process,” one of the few tools Congress has to exert authority over the transfer of defense articles and services.

  • As the State Department Office of the Inspector General explains “the Department has by longstanding practice submitted a preliminary or informal notification of prospective major arms transfers in advance of their formal notification to the congressional committees of jurisdiction.” This process allows for Congress to ask questions or raise concerns prior to formal notification confidentially with the administration.

  • Because Congress has never successfully passed Joint Resolution of Disapproval to entirely block an arms sale, this is de facto the only opportunity for Congress to exercise its Constitutional oversight role in matters of foreign relations. Since 95% of arms sales are approved by the State Department within 48 hours, this tiered review process only impacts transfers which pose a significant risk to U.S. national security or violations of international law.

 

Increasing the flow of arms to conflict zones, while risking U.S. proprietary information:

 

Section 3(c)(ii) orders “The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall review and update the list of defense items that can only be purchased through the FMS process (the FMS-Only List).”

  • The United States restricts the sale of some items, including those with advanced capabilities and proprietary defense information, to the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) government-to-government process. Among these defense articles are autonomous weapons systems, intelligence libraries, and select electronic warfare items. Allowing these sensitive weapons to be sold through the Direct Commercial Sales process cuts public oversight, while raising the risk of unauthorized transfer or diversion.

Section 3(a)(ii) similarly orders the Executive to “Reevaluate restrictions imposed by the Missile Technology Control Regime on Category I items and consider supplying certain partners with specific Category I items, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce.”

  • The Missile Technology Control Regime is an international agreement which seeks to limit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and limit the risk of related items reaching violent or destabilizing groups.

  • Undermining the MTCR not only risks the greater proliferation of the equipment that enables the use of weapons of mass destruction, but means other parties to the MCTR, including Russia, Turkey, and India, may follow suit and make the transfer of these risky technologies to U.S. adversaries more likely.

 


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DOGE Access to Defense Database Increases Risks of Corruption, Oligarchic Capture

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may soon gain access to USXports, a database of US-made defense items for export, a potentially massive conflict of interest, Ari Tolany tells Zeteo News’ Spencer Ackerman:

“USX often contains sensitive business information, including technical data, contracts information, and blueprints, including [on] SpaceX and its competitors,” says Ari Tolany, who directs the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy.

“Corporate interests too often dictate US government policy through the revolving door between government and industry. One corporation having privileged access above others is yet another example of the bald-faced corruption characterizing the intrusions of an unelected billionaire into government decision-making.”

Read the original article, Musk and DOGE Might Soon Have Access to the Most Lucrative Defense-Contract Database of All.

Trump Willingness to Pressure Israel on Ceasefire Positive But Complicity with Other Abuses Likely

Any pressure for Israel to accept the terms is good, but likely to be accompanied by full-throttle support for West Bank annexation, Security Assistance Technology & Arms Trade Director Ari Tolany tells Voice of America Indonesia:

“I think it is likely that Biden still wants to get some degree of credit for this ceasefire still happening on his watch, even though it does seem from speaking to a range from sources both in Israel, Arab states and Palestinian groups that pressure from the incoming Trump administration was really what moved the needle with the Netanyahu administration.”

“They [the first Trump administration] moved the United States embassy to Jerusalem. They did a lot of inflammatory actions including backing Israel’s annexation of territory in the West Bank. And so, while I think the ceasefire is a good thing and I think Trump’s willingness to use the leverage that he does have with Netanyahu is a good thing, I remain pessimistic for what the Trump administration is going to look like vis-a-vis Palestinian affairs.”

Watch the full interview here.

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Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) is the first and only public resource to comprehensively collect, organize, and house all available federal data on U.S. weapons sales and transfers in one place, making it easily searchable by year or country on its website.

Biden Administration Defies Law with Israel Arms Transfers

ProPublica’s Brett Murphy reports on the Biden administration’s violation of arms transfer law:

In late May, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its assault on the city, citing the Geneva Conventions. Behind the scenes, State Department lawyers scrambled to come up with a legal basis on which Israel could continue smaller attacks in Rafah. “There is room to argue that more scaled back/targeted operations, combined with better humanitarian efforts, would not meet that threshold,” the lawyers said in a May 24 email. While it’s not unreasonable for government lawyers to defend a close ally, critics say the cable illustrates the extreme deference the U.S. affords Israel.

“The State Department has a whole raft of highly paid, very good lawyers to explain, ‘Actually this is not illegal,’ when in fact it is,” said Ari Tolany, an arms trade authority and director at the Center for International Policy, a Washington-based think tank. “Rules for thee and not for me.”

Read the original article on ProPublica, A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy: How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza.

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Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) is the first and only public resource to comprehensively collect, organize, and house all available federal data on U.S. weapons sales and transfers in one place, making it easily searchable by year or country on its website.

Anti-Personnel Landmines to Ukraine Violate International Law and Threaten Civilians

In response to the Biden administration’s decision last week to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine, Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) director Ari Tolany issued the following statement:

“The Biden administration’s decision to violate its own landmine policy by exporting anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine —a state party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, popularly called the Ottawa Convention— is the latest action by the United States to undermine international law and global norms to protect non-combatants. The decision to send first cluster munitions and now anti-personnel landmines will have devastating impacts on civilians for decades to come, raising the risk of blast injury in large swaths of Ukraine, contaminating arable land, and eroding the efficacy of the Convention. 

The United States proudly advertises itself as the “world’s single largest financial supporter of steps to mitigate the harmful consequences of landmines.” Yet the United States cannot effectively engage in land clearance of explosive remnants of war and support mine victims while continuing to refuse to accede to the Ottawa Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The continued stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions shows the Biden administration’s uneven and selective enforcement of both its own policies and the law.

Rather than using its last months in office to further undermine international norms, the Biden administration should take immediate steps to accede to the Ottawa Convention and join the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In accordance with those treaties, it should cease the transfer of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions to all states, including both Ukraine and the Republic of Korea. It should also begin to destroy its own stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines and stop the manufacture of new cluster munitions. Arms control can be effective only when the world’s largest manufacturer of weapons upholds international law and applies its standards consistently to all parties, including allies, partners and itself.”