Qatar, Bahrain duck congressional backlash against Gulf arms sales

As scrutiny grows over arms transfers to Washington’s Gulf allies, the Senate narrowly voted to allow weapons sales to Qatar and Bahrain.
South Korean army Apache helicopters fly during a demonstration at a media event of 2018 Defense Expo Korea near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Pocheon, South Korea, September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji - RC14D5CD39F0
South Korean army Apache helicopters fly during a demonstration at a media event of 2018 Defense Expo Korea near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Pocheon, South Korea, Sept. 11, 2018. - REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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Bryant Harris
@brykharris_ALM

Qatar and Bahrain today narrowly avoided the growing congressional backlash against US arms sales to the Gulf Arab states.

The Senate voted 57-42 against moving forward on a resolution blocking a $3 billion sale of 24 Apache attack helicopters to Qatar and 56-43 against a separate bid to stop a $750 million sale of air-to-air missiles for Bahrain.

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