Bipartisan bill on sale of bunker-buster bombs to Israel
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A bipartisan bill to be presented in Congress this week requires the US Defense Department to consider selling bunker-buster bombs to Israel, the Times of Israel (ToI) reported Tuesday. The bill would be part of an effort to bolster Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge in the Middle East, a policy which the US is legally bound to maintain.
Preceding the presentation of the bill entitled ‘US-Israel Common Defense Authorization Act, America and Israel signed an agreement last week, in which the US promised to maintain Israeli QME: the agreement followed recent Israeli/UAE normalization accords, further to which the US plans to sell the Gulf state advanced F-35 fighter jets.
Sponsoring the bill, lawmaker Rep. Josh Gottheimer told US Special Envoy to combat anti-Semitism Elan Carr that the aim of the legislation is to “help sure-up Israel’s QME in the region and secure both of our countries from the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,” ToI reports.
Under the terms of the bill, the Department of Defense would consult with Israel and inform Congress on Israeli defense capabilities, “including whether transferring [Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) also known as] ‘bunker buster’ munitions… would advance both countries’ security,” Gottheimer said.
Although the US currently prohibits the sale of bunker-buster bombs, Israel has been seeking them in the event it should have to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities: some of these facilities are believed to be located too far underground for Israel’s current arsenal to reach.
Latest Worthy News
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.