| Question Everything! |
Bipartisan bill would give Israel a veto
on U.S. arms sales in Middle East
The bill “would require the President to consult with the Israeli government to ensure [qualitative military edge] concerns are settled.”
By RON KAMPEAS October 06, 2020 "Information Clearing House" - A bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives would enhance protections for Israel’s qualitative military edge to include an effective Israeli veto on US arms sales to the Middle East.
The bill “would require the President to
consult with the Israeli government to
ensure [qualitative military edge] concerns
are settled” when it comes to arms sales to
Middle Eastern countries, said the news
release Friday announcing its introduction
the previous day. The release came from the
office of the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Brad
Schneider, D-Ill.
Existing law already guarantees Israel a
qualitative military edge in the Middle
East, but
Congress — not Israel — is the arbiter
of whether an arms sale meets QME standards.
Most of the sponsors are Democrats,
including a number of Jewish lawmakers,
among them Schneider, Elaine Luria of
Virginia, Max Rose of New York, Josh
Gottheimer of New Jersey, and Ted Deutch and
Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
Jewish Democrats expressed alarm after it
was revealed that, parallel with the
U.S.-brokered normalization deal between
Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the
Trump administration was negotiating the
sale of state-of-the-art F-35 stealth combat
jets to the
UAE. Israel opposes the sale.
AIPAC, the prominent Israel lobby, supports
the new measure.
|
No Advertising - No Government Grants - No Algorithm - This Is Independent Media |
