Obama administration using loophole to quietly sell arms package to Bahrain

[sad sally]

Posted By Josh Rogin Friday, January 27, 2012 - 4:41 PM Share

President Barack Obama's administration has been delaying its planned $53 million arms sale to Bahrain due to human rights concerns and congressional opposition, but this week administration officials told several congressional offices that they will move forward with a new and different package of arms sales -- without any formal notification to the public.

The congressional offices that led the charge to oppose the original Bahrain arms sales package are upset that the State Department has decided to move forward with the new package. The opposition to Bahrain arms sales is led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), and also includes Senate Foreign Relations Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee chairman Robert Casey (D-PA), Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).
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Our congressional sources said that State is using a legal loophole to avoid formally notifying Congress and the public about the new arms sale. The administration can sell anything to anyone without formal notification if the sale is under $1 million. If the total package is over $1 million, State can treat each item as an individual sale, creating multiple sales of less than $1 million and avoiding the burden of notification, which would allow Congress to object and possibly block the deal.
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"This message of ‘business as usual' will only strengthen the regime's belief that there will continue to be lack of consequences to their human rights violations internationally," she said. "At a time when the United States is already being criticized for practicing double standards when it comes to the so-called Arab spring, to the protesters in Bahrain, the U.S. selling any arms to the government of Bahrain is exactly like Russia selling arms to Syria. Bahrain has become the United States' test on how serious they are about standing against human rights violations, and they are failing miserably."

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/27/obama_administration_selling_new_arms_package_to_bahrain?du

[cbrer]

1. Ummm... Please excuse

My confusion. Are we supposed to be surprised and outraged that an American politician would DO such a thing? Or is this a call to an opportunity for a Government contract?

[sad sally]

4. American manufacturers who are doing very well - with the government's blessing

1. Boeing – United States of America
($28,050,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)
2. Northrop Grunmman – United States of America
($27,590,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)
3. Lockheed Martin – United States of America
($26,460,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)
4. Raytheon – United States of America
(19,800,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)
5. General Dynamics – United States of America
($16,570,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)
6. L-3 Communications – United States of America
($8,970,000,000 in military equipment sales annually)

[jody]

2. Did AG Holder do that? nt

[Arctic Dave]

3. Hmmm, the same accounting practice Halliburton used to

hide from oversight in Iraq.

Glad to see this administration is better then that.


Or not.