The State Department last week told Congress it has postponed a request for the sale of GPS-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia until mid-January.
The State Department announced the $20 million arms sales package in July as part of a diplomatic effort in the Middle East. In November, the Defense Department told Congress it intended to proceed with the sale.
Both announcements from State triggered a series of letters from lawmakers questioning the sale of the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) to Saudi Arabia. Boeing [BA] is the prime contractor for JDAM.
This week, the office of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) issued a statement saying the State Department had delayed official notification of the arms sale until Jan. 15, as a November letter from Weiner and other lawmakers had suggested.
Earlier, Weiner and other signatories vowed to press for a vote to stop the sale.
“People of all political stripes have come out against this deal,” Weiner said in the statement. “It’s mind-bogglingly bad policy because the Saudis at every turn have been uncooperative. The idea that we are going to reward the Saudi’s with precision weaponry is a stunningly bad idea, and clearly deserves the full review of Congress.”
A November letter drafted by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.) and signed by 186 House members took a different track. That letter sought assurances from President Bush that the missiles would not be used to harm the United States or Israel.