Congress Unlikely to Block Plans to Sell $123M Worth of Weapons to Saudi Arabia

[babylonsister]

Congress likely to OK Saudi arms deal

Congress Unlikely to Block Plans to Sell $123M Worth of Weapons to Saudi Arabia

MATTHEW LEE and ANNE FLAHERTY
AP News

Jan 15, 2008 01:16 EST

The Democratic-led Congress is unlikely to block U.S. plans to sell $123 million worth of sophisticated precision-guided bomb technology to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns from some members that the systems could be used against Israel.

The Bush administration on Monday notified Congress of its intent to sell the bomb-delivery systems as part of a multibillion-dollar arms package to bolster the defense of U.S. allies in the Gulf.

Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, does not intend to consider a resolution of disapproval, said spokeswoman Lynne Weil. Otherwise, Lantos declined to comment.

The arms deal creates a dilemma for lawmakers, especially for Democrats eager to challenge President Bush's handling of foreign policy. At the same time, they see Saudi Arabia's cooperation as crucial to the war on terror and in deterring aggression from Iran.

"We need to be convinced that the sale makes sense militarily and ensure that it in no way harms our security or those of our allies," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We must also make certain that the administration does not just try to use a few arms sales to substitute for the comprehensive, coherent strategy we need for the region."

more...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/01/congress_likely_to_ok_saudi_ar_1.php

[seemslikeadream]

1. The country that gave us the highjackers

why not :shrug:

[babylonsister]

2. It makes me ill; Congress rolling over again. Sigh. nt

[izzie]

8. I think it is business. We still make arms so-------------------------

we have to sell them some place. SA I think also holds a lot of our loans. One would not wish them to trade in Euros would we? Bush also seems to like these guys and does as they wish. Oil people I mean. Looks to me like sticking a bigger stick into an ant hill to see what will come out. Frankly I think Bush has set back a move to self govt. by the people all over the Middle East for years. We keep backing top down rule by any one that will do what we like and some are pretty bad people. Making a lot of 'rulers' richer I find is just holding things back from what is going on in the Middle East. People who wish to rule them self. No one will be able to get that back into the bottle.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. What is it with Congress?

Do we want the kingdom that exports the Wahhabist hate mongers to have more weapons? I would think that anyone in Congress that is concerned about Israel would vote against this bill.

[babylonsister]

6. I wish I knew. Doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe someone

will explain why they think this is such a good idea.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Maybe b/c 100% of the House and ca. 33.3% of the Senate are running for re-election

and need the lobby money from the defense contractors?

[ixion]

5. Sit up, congress...now rollover... good boy... here's a biscuit

:eyes:

How sadly typical.

[spanone]

7. of course they are unlikely to stop the deal....we must keep the wars alive

:sarcasm:

[bdamomma]

9. oh shit that makes no sense at all, selling weapons to those

who were involved in 9/11. It just never stops.

[Zywiec]

10. I wonder in how many congressional districts these weapons are made?

It might also have to do with jobs?

:shrug: