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Citing Israel’s military edge, top Democrats aim to slow sale of F-35s to UAE
[IsraelTimes] Raising concerns about implications of transferring stealth jets to United Arab Emirates, Senators Menendez and Feinstein introduce bill requiring congressional oversight on deal.

Top US Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would slow down the sale of F-35 stealth combat aircraft to the United Arab Emirates, part of the deal closed by the Trump administration as an incentive to normalize relations with Israel.

Critics of the sale say it undercuts Israel’s "qualitative military edge" in the region.

Sen. Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein
...Dem Senator-for-Life from Caliphornica. She has been a politician since about the time she was weaned. Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and tried it a second time in 2012. Feinstein has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. At age 80, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator....
, a longtime former chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, have introduced legislation that would mandate congressional oversight to ensure that the transfer of the aircraft complied with US law upholding Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East.

"I remain concerned with the implications of a sale of our most advanced fighter jet given numerous outstanding, unanswered questions about the implications of this sale for US national security, our technology interests, and implications for regional stability including the legal parameters of Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge," Menendez said.

An official of AIPAC, the main pro-Israel lobby, said the group had not taken a position on the bill "although we appreciate the senators’ commitment to preserve Israel’s QME."

President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body....
 froze the sale, prompting criticism from Republicans that he was undercutting the normalization agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords. He unfroze the sale last week.

Israel at first opposed the sale but relented after lobbying by top Trump defense officials. A number of pro-Israel Democrats nonetheless remained wary about selling the state-of-the-art aircraft. Israel already has its own F-35 jets.

The oversight according to the bill would considerably delay any sale, and a provision that would require showing "the recipient country has not committed or enabled human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
 violations" would likely be onerous for the UAE, which human rights NGOs score low.

The bill also fires a warning shot not to sell the aircraft to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
Posted by: trailing wife 2021-04-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=600105