{"id":60678,"date":"2016-01-22T17:46:23","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T17:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/01\/22\/senators-begin-push-for-jet-sales-to-kuwait-qatar\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:29:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:29:31","slug":"senators-begin-push-for-jet-sales-to-kuwait-qatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2016\/01\/22\/senators-begin-push-for-jet-sales-to-kuwait-qatar\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators Begin Push for Jet Sales to Kuwait, Qatar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WASHINGTON and DUBAI \u2014 Two powerful US senators have begun raising questions over why <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">a pair of <\/span>US fighter jet deals with Qatar and Kuwait have been delayed for two years \u2014 and placing blame for the delays on the Obama White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qatar\u2019s request for the F-15E Strike Eagle\u00a0and Kuwait\u2019s request for the F-18E\/F Super Hornet are two years old. According to a congressional source, the Defense Department and State Department <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">are <\/span>both support<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">ive of<\/span> the sales, while the White House has put on the brakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That belief was reinforced Jan. 20, when Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, a frequent critic of the Obama administration, questioned the delay at a time when America&#8217;s\u00a0Sunni allies are looking for reassurance while diplomatic relations are improving between the\u00a0US and their chief rival in the region,\u00a0Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I have no doubt that the Obama administration has pursued a new relationship with Iran because it believed doing so would diminish sectarian tensions in the region, but the reality is that the administration\u2019s overtures to Iran have only exacerbated those tensions<span class=\"rte rte-comment\"> and deepened feelings of suspicion and alienation among our traditional Sunni partners and our allies such as Israel and Turkey<\/span>,&#8221; McCain, R-Ariz., said in a <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">SASC <\/span>hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This dynamic has only grown worse because the administration has been so slow to offer support to those allies and partners, as we have recently seen with delayed fighter aircraft sales to Qatar and Kuwait.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, McCain told reporters he was actively working to hasten the sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It shouldn&#8217;t happen,&#8221; McCain later <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">said <\/span>said of the delays, &#8220;and we&#8217;re doing everything we can to expedite it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That same day, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker attended<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">\u00a0said he was heading to<\/span> a briefing on the matter and <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">was hoping to better understand why the White House is holding up the sales \u2014 and whether it was an attempt to preserve issue of the US preserving Israel&#8217;s qualitative military edge. He <\/span>said he expected the White House to make a decision in the next month or two, then\u00a0seek Congressional\u00a0approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Corker,\u00a0Qatar is seeking 73 jets,\u00a036 in the first tranche, a buy that would take\u00a042 months\u00a0to be delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corker declined to say who was briefing him, but AA source with knowledge of the meeting said the briefing with Corker had been on the books for some time and had not been was not something that had been recently scheduled.called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It hasn&#8217;t come from the White House yet, and I&#8217;m having a conversation about that very topic today,&#8221; Corker told Defense News. &#8220;First thing I want to do is understand why the request, which has been held up for almost two years, hasn&#8217;t come to Congress yet. There has to be some reason why the White House is holding it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It&#8217;s been open for two years, it&#8217;s been rather unusual,&#8221; Corker said. &#8220;Personally I&#8217;d like to see it move along.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A leading Democrat on the SASC\u00a0<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Senate Armed Services<\/span>\u00a0Airland subcommittee, Sen. Claire McCaskill, said she was sure the fighter jet\u00a0sales in question\u00a0would go through. McCaskill hails from Missouri, home to Boeing\u2019s US headquarters.\u00a0Boeing would be the prime contractor for both orders, giving much needed work to the company\u2019s St. Louis facility.<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, MO., facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t think anybody is going to criticize anyone for being careful about who we sell weaponry to at this point \u2014 with the world such as it is, especially in that part of the world,&#8221; McCaskill told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scrutiny\u00a0on these requests\u00a0comes as\u00a0Washington has\u00a0stepped up arms sales to assuage its old allies wary of the warming relationship with Tehran. Since the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit at Camp David in May, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency has announced more than $20\u00a0billion in sales of\u00a0bombs, aircraft, ships and other military equipment for Middle Eastern allies and Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While a boon to US\u00a0American defense contractors in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets, the transfers have been criticized as fueling a dangerous new arms race in the Middle East\u00a0\u2014 just as the region\u00a0descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for the Department of State&#8217;s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs declined to comment on the specific sales\u00a0a matter of policy, but said\u00a0arms transfers &#8220;fit into the overall US\u00a0regional diplomatic strategy by improving interoperability with the US\u00a0and Gulf Cooperation Council\u00a0countries&#8217; forces to meet their legitimate external defense needs.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u00a0is not unusual, &#8220;and in fact quite appropriate &#8230;\u00a0for transfers of major US\u00a0weapons systems to any partner nation to require significant interagency consideration and consultation, given the potentially significant long-term implications for US\u00a0national security interests,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pressure from lawmakers could not come too soon for Kuwait\u2019s Air Force, which is sticking to plans to purchase 28 Boeing F\/A-18E\/F fighter jets, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">to Kuwait, <\/span>a deal valued at around $3 billion. US industry executives and military officials have reportedly grown <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">increasingly <\/span>concerned about delays.<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">, particularly amid Kuwait\u2019s role in the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The lengthy US bureaucratic process is really not serving anyone&#8217;s interests,&#8221; said Abdullah al-Shayji of Kuwait University, also a lecturer at the Mubarak Al-Abdullah Joint Staff Command College. &#8220;Kuwait is fighting in two wars, one in Yemen and another against ISIS. The State Department, Pentagon and the White House need to expedite these sales.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Support for the F-18 remains strong in Kuwait, which is\u00a0good news for Boeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Super Hornet is one of the best solutions for us,&#8221; Abdullah al-Foudary, commander of the Kuwait Air Force, told Reuters Jan. 21. &#8220;We have the legacy F-18s that we have to find a solution for in 2030-2040.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;A debate is ongoing on what sort of air power will Kuwait use,&#8221; al-Shayji said. &#8220;This debate included the Eurofighter, Rafales and the F-18s, but the Air Force had clearly stated their preference for\u00a0the F-18s and they at the end have the power in this matter.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force prefers the F-18 because adding in either Eurofighter or Rafale will &#8220;require the conversion of the systems used and will be more costly and time-consuming at a time when\u00a0the oil prices are collapsing and may cause problems in the future if this deal is further delayed,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Aaron Mehta in Washington contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:jgould@defensnews.com\">jgould@defensnews.com<\/a> | <a href=\"mailto:amustafa@Defensenews.com\">amustafa@Defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reporterjoe\">@ReporterJoe<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/awadz\">@Awadz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two powerful US senators are blaming the Obama administration for delays in fighter sales to Kuwait and 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