Rand Paul says he will propose a bill to prevent sending F-16’s to Egypt
Kentucky Libertarian-leaning Republican Senator Rand Paul followed up on statements via an off-the-record “Monday Meeting” that he will propose a bill that would ban sending F-16 fighter jets to Egypt according to a Buzzfeed report, with a statement he posted on his official Facebook page just hours ago.
This comes after several days of comments by the junior Senator from KY. Late last week Paul told Greta Van Susteren that the sale of the jet fighters would be “a huge mistake” that could come back to “haunt” America in the years ahead, depending on the direction Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi takes his country.
” I think there’s a potential that it elevates an arms race, and what we give to Egypt, Israel wants more or needs more to defend themselves,” Paul continued. “And I think there’s a risk. President Morsi’s had words . . . calling those who are in favor of Israel, calling them bloodsuckers, and apes, and descendants of pigs. I’d be a little bit concerned about arming a person who had that kind of language.
“I’m also concerned that these are weapons that could come back to haunt us,” Paul added, recalling how the United States helped arm Osama bin Laden in the 1980s when he was part of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, Newsmax reports.