The US administration plans to approve a multi-billion-dollar deal with Bahrain for selling fighter jets to that country despite Manama’s long list of rights violations.
The office of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed that the State Department is determined to proceed with the sale. If finalized, Manama will be allowed to purchase nineteen F-16 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., plus improvements to other jets in Bahrain's fleet. Rights groups have repeatedly called on the White House to abandon the plan. They argue that the sale would encourage further repression in the Persian Gulf Kingdom. Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s fifth fleet. The country has been the scene of anti-regime protests since 2011. It has launched a heavy-handed crackdown on activists. Bahrain is also a member of the Saudi-led coalition launching airstrikes on Yemen since March 2015.
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