Congress eyes military aid boost for Jordan

Key House members are seeking to expedite the delivery of precision weapons to fight the Islamic State.
A plane belonging to the Jordanian Royal Air Force flies over the headquarters of the family clan of pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh in the city of Karak February 4, 2015. Jordan hanged two Iraqi jihadists on Wednesday including a female militant in response to an Islamic State video showing captured Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh being burnt alive by the hardline group. Islamic State had demanded the release of the woman, Sajida al-Rishawi, in exchange for a Japanese hostage who it later beheaded. Sentenced t
A plane belonging to the Jordanian Royal Air Force flies over the headquarters of the clan of pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh in the city of Karak, Feb. 4, 2015. - REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
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Julian Pecquet
@JPecquet_ALM

Key House members are poised to introduce legislation to speed up shipments of advanced US weapons to Jordan, Al-Monitor has learned.

The bipartisan effort comes amid mounting concerns that the kingdom is ill-equipped to fight the Islamic State (IS). It is being offered by the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs panel on the Middle East, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and by Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, the powerful chairwoman of the committee that holds the foreign aid purse strings.

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