Trump admin drops human rights conditions for Bahrain F-16s

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration told Congress today it plans to approve a multibillion-dollar sale of F-16 fighter jets to Bahrain without the human rights conditions imposed by the Obama administration.

If finalized, the approval would allow the Gulf island to purchase 19 of the jets from Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp., plus improvements to other jets in Bahrain's fleet. Though Congress has opportunities to block the sale, it is unlikely it will act to do so, given the Republican majority's strong support for the sale.

The decision is the latest signal the Trump administration is prioritizing support for Sunni-led countries seen as critical to opposing Iran's influence in the region over human-rights issues that President Barack Obama had elevated. Under Obama, the U.S. withdrew approval before the deal was finalized because it said Bahrain hadn't taken steps it had promised to improve human rights.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker's office said the committee was told by the State Department it plans to proceed with the sale. The State Department declined to comment.

The notice triggers a 40-day "consultation" period in which committee staff can review a draft of the Bahrain approval, ask questions about the sale and raise any concerns. Then the State Department will send a formal notification to Congress, setting off a final, 30-day review period, during which Congress could pass a joint resolution or take other steps to stop the sale.

Lockheed had lobbied strenuously for the sale's approval, even as rights groups and pro-democracy activists urged the administration not to jettison human rights conditions. Brian Dooley of the Washington-based group Human Rights First said decoupling the sale from such conditions would "encourage further repression" and fuel instability during a tense period for Bahrain.

"The sale will send exactly the wrong signal to the dictatorship: that the White House thinks the political crackdown is not just morally acceptable but also not dangerous, when in fact it's what's fueling the country's instability," Dooley said.