[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 153 (Wednesday, October 10, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   URGING MEMBERS TO SIGN ON TO KIRK-CARNEY-POE-BERMAN-HARMAN LETTER 
                  REGARDING ARMS SALES TO SAUDI ARABIA

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, it is sad when another country turns its arms 
against the United States or our allies, but it is a tragedy when those 
arms were made by Americans.
  Many of us remember when advanced F-14 Tomcat fighters were provided 
to the Kingdom of Iran only to see these airplanes become the backbone 
of the ayatollah's air force.
  Newspapers indicate that the United States will now offer a large 
arms sales package to the Saudi Kingdom. And while much of what is 
proposed looks useful against Iran, patrol craft and warning radars, 
satellite-guided bombs pose a particular danger if used in the wrong 
hands.
  These satellite-guided bombs, called Joint Direct Attack Munitions, 
or JDAMs, are particularly lethal in battle, and if misused against 
American forces or our allies in Israel, their effect could be not just 
devastating but tragic.
  We should not provide such weapons without ironclad, written 
guarantees to the Congress that such munitions could not pose a danger 
to future Americans or our allies. I urge Members to sign the Kirk-
Carney-Poe-Berman-Harman letter to block this sale unless guarantees 
are made.

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