Lawmakers Question Sale Of Smart Bomb Kits To Saudi Arabia | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.12.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.13.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.14.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-05.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.16.25

Wed, Nov 21, 2007

Lawmakers Question Sale Of Smart Bomb Kits To Saudi Arabia

Fear Boeing-Sourced Weapons Will Be Used On Israel

Just how much can we trust Saudi Arabia? A letter sent to President Bush last week by 188 lawmakers, questioning a proposed sale by Boeing of satellite-guided laser bomb kits to the Islamic country, says that question must be answered before the sale goes through.

Bloomberg News reports the letter, sent last Thursday, asks for "solid assurances" from Saudi Arabia it won't use the weapons -- intended as a defensive measure against Iran -- on Israel instead. Those concerns could result in a bipartisan effort in Congress to block the transaction, lawmakers warn.

"Without such assurances, we will oppose the sale," said the letter, arranged by Congressmen Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Christopher Carney (D-PA).

Ostensibly an ally with the United States in the War on Terrorism, Saudi Arabia does not maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, and supports the position that country must withdraw from territory occupied in June 1967. The country also maintains an economic boycott of Israel.

The US State Department wants to sell kits to convert older bombs into precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia. Such kits have already been sold to Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, as part of $20 billion in arms sales to bolster the region against possible threats from Iran.

The letter sent last week includes the signatures of 47 lawmakers who signed a similar letter in August, opposing any weapons sales to the Saudi government.

Among the signatories on the most recent letter includes Florida's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs panel; C.W. "Bill" Young, ranking Republican on the House defense panel; and the Select Intelligence Committee's top Republican, Congressman Peter Hoekstra. The #2 Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Howard Berman, also signed.

"The numbers of signatures are so large they would be wise to heed our counsel very directly," Kirk said Monday.

State Department spokesman Jay Greer said the agency had no immediate comment on the letter.

FMI: www.saudiembassy.net, www.state.gov

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.19.25): Fuel Remaining

Fuel Remaining A phrase used by either pilots or controllers when relating to the fuel remaining on board until actual fuel exhaustion. When transmitting such information in respon>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.19.25)

Aero Linx: Piper Aviation Museum Preserving the history and legacy of the Piper Aircraft Corporation and its founding family. In the past three years, the Piper Aviation Museum has>[...]

Klyde Morris (05.16.25)

Klyde Has No Patience... FMI: www.klydemorris.com>[...]

Airborne 05.19.25: Kolb v Tornados, Philippine Mars, Blackhawk Antler Theft

Also: Tentative AirVenture Airshow Lineup, Supersonic Flight Regs, Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide, Boeing Deal The sport aircraft business can be a tough one... especially when Moth>[...]

Airborne-Flight Training 05.15.25: Ray Scholarship, Alto NG, Fighter Training

Also: FedEx Pilots, Army Restructuring, Alaska ANG, Incentive for ATC Hiring EAA Chapter 534 in Leesburg, Florida announced that the 2025 Ray Aviation Scholarship winner is Abdiel >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC