Grumpy and tired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may not want his job but he is making sure that the world will be a safer place for fossil fuel companies and arms dealers. For example, Tillerson “has decided” to do away with the human rights conditions that would have to be met in order for Bahrain to buy F-16 fighter jets and “other arms” from us.
Mr. Tillerson’s decision comes as the Trump administration looks to bolster Sunni Arab states in the Middle East and find new ways to confront Iran in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain is a key player in that effort, and home to the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols the strategic waterway.
But the decision to drop the human rights assurances as a condition of the sale is bound to be read by Saudi Arabia and other states in the region as a sign that the new administration plans to ease its demands to protect and respect political dissidents and protesters. The conditions on the sale of 19 new American fighter jets, worth $2.8 billion, had been imposed by the Obama administration amid continuing concerns about the tiny Sunni monarchy’s crackdown against majority Shiites.
According to the New York Times, our Republican Congress has two review periods within which to make a decision on whether or not they will let this sale continue under these (lack of) conditions.
The Obama administration signed off on the sale of F-16 fighter jets last year, but included conditions tied to the human rights record of Bahrain, a Middle East ally and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
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"This type of conditionality would be unprecedented and counterproductive to maintaining security cooperation and ultimately addressing human rights issues," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said in a statement. "There are more effective ways to seek changes in partner policies than publicly conditioning weapons transfers in this manner."