A senior Republican lawmaker has told US President Barack Obama she was prepared to block foreign aid money if the administration did not provide fighter jets and tanks to Egypt and arms to other regional allies fighting Deash militants, The New York Times reported on Friday.
In a letter to Obama, Kay Granger, chairwoman of the House of Representatives State and Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said Egypt needs F-16 aircraft, M1A1 Abrams tanks and other weapons that have been held up since 2013. Granger has the power to place holds on foreign aid, including general assistance and weapons shipments.
Granger urged the administration to give Iraqi Kurds tools and training to fight Deash and to make providing weapons to Jordan a priority, according to the letter.
Dated Thursday, the letter criticized the administration as Congress is about to consider Obama's request for formal authority for a military campaign against Islamic State.
Republicans, who took control of the U.S. Congress in January, have pressed for more robust U.S. military involvement in fighting the militants, who have killed thousands of civilians while seizing territory in Iraq and Syria.
"As Egypt, Jordan, and the Kurds retaliate and defend themselves against ISIL's heinous acts, U.S. security assistance is being held or delayed by bureaucratic processes and ill-advised policy decisions by your administration," Granger wrote, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The U.S. State Department referred requests for comment to the White House, where officials did not immediately respond.
Source: MENA