The Pentagon on September 14 notified Congress of its intent to sell more than 44 armored HUMMVEEs and 300 TOW missiles to Bahrain, whose crackdown on a popular uprising this year has prompted some US lawmakers to oppose the sale.
“This is a notification about future intent,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. “We will continue to take human rights into consideration as we make future decisions about this.”
Senator Ron Wyden and Representative James McGovern, both Democrats, have introduced resolutions in Congress to prevent the sale “until meaningful steps are taken to improve human rights” there.
It is relatively rare for US lawmakers to oppose such arms sales because they are typically vetted with Congress before they become public.
Prime contractors for the arms sale would be AM General and Raytheon Co, according to the Defense Security Co-operation Agency, the part of the Pentagon that oversees foreign arms sales.
Source: Gulf Times
