CONGRESS WILL AVOID OPPOSITION TO MEGASALE OF ARMS TO THE SAUDIS….SEE NOTE
REP. ANTHONY WEINER SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY ONE IN ACTIVE OPPOSITION…RSK
http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/……AVAILABLE ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION
Congress seen unwilling to fight Obama on major Saudi deal
WASHINGTON — Congress was expected to avoid a battle with President Barack Obama over a proposed $60 billion U.S. weapons deal with Saudi Arabia.
Congressional sources said the administration’s plan to sell hundreds of fighter-jets and helicopters to the Saudi kingdom would be scrutinized over the next few weeks. But they said they doubted that opponents would garner support among most of the leadership in the House and Senate.
“There is no mood to fight the president when he says this could help the American economy,” a congressional source said.
So far, congressional reaction to the reported Saudi request has been mild. Only a handful of House members have signed a letter to Obama that opposed the Saudi deal.
“Saudi Arabia is not deserving of our aid, and by arming them with advanced American weaponry we are sending the wrong message,” Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat, said.
Weiner organized a letter by his House colleagues that opposed the U.S. sale to Saudi Arabia. The administration was expected to formally notify Congress of the Saudi deal in late September. Congress would be given 30 days to review the Saudi request.
“Saudi Arabia has a history of financing terrorism, is a nation that teaches hate of Christians and Jews to their schoolchildren, and offered no help to the U.S. as gas prices surged during the spike in oil prices,” the letter to Obama said.
Still, the sources said, the proposed Saudi deal has garnered the support of most of the House and Senate leadership. Israel has not spoken out against the U.S. sale.
“The defense industry has lobbied very strongly the chairs of the committees that deal with defense,” the congressional source said. “They see this as the administration’s compensation for cutting the defense budget.”
In 2009, the House passed an amendment that blocked military aid to Saudi Arabia. The amendment was said to have affected a training program to the Saudi kingdom, which pays for its weapons.
“The United States needs to remain committed to Israel’s qualitative military edge over its rivals in the region and should cease all negotiations over new weapons sales to Saudi Arabia,” the Weiner letter said.
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