U.S. Senate clears way for $1.15b arms sale to Saudi Arabia

The United States Senate has finally cleared the way for a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
The White House said on Thursday in Washington D.C. that the Senate voted 71 to 27 to kill legislation that would have stopped the sale.
It noted that the overwhelming vote stopped an effort led by Republican Senator, Rand Paul and Democratic Senator, Chris Murphy to block the deal.
It noted that Paul, Murphy and other opponents of the arms deal were sharply critical of the Riyadh government during debate before the vote, citing Yemen, the kingdom’s human rights record and its international support for a conservative form of Islam.
“If you’re serious about stopping the flow of extremist recruiting across this globe, then you have to be serious that the brand of Islam that is spread by Saudi Arabia all over the world is part of the problem.
Senator Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said that the motion was coming at an unfortunate time and would serve to convince Saudi Arabia and all other observers that the U.S. does not live up to its commitments.
The backers of the deal said Saudi Arabia is an important U.S. ally in a war-torn region, therefore it deserved the U.S. support.
The agency said that General Dynamics Corp would be the principal contractor for the sale.
President Barack Obama had earlier promised to veto bill, but congressional leaders say there is a strong chance that lawmakers would override the veto and let the measure become law.
Overriding a presidential veto in U.S. required a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.