The Obama White House had made the transfer of the F-16s “contingent on human rights improvements in the country,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes.
The current administration, however, told Congress to move forward with the deal, which is likely to take place, though the deal has yet to be completely finalized.
The decision to allow the sale may be “part of [the Trump administration’s] articulated policy to counter Iran’s regional influence,” CRS added.
Bahrain has been an active participant in the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a situation that’s deteriorating into a more severe humanitarian crisis by the day. Further, the monarchy has been called a dictatorship by human rights groups for marginalizing the Shia population in Bahrain.
According to Human Rights Watch, Bahrain routinely tortures prisoners, silences political opponents via legislation and “arbitrarily strips rights activists and political dissidents of their citizenship,” the group said in its 2016 report on Bahrain.
What’s more, Reporters Without Borders, the Index on Censorship and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy signed a document penned by the foreign secretary of the UK blasting Bahrain’s refusal to allow a free press in the country, the Guardian reported in August 2016.
Bahrain has also deployed sorties to conduct airstrikes against Daesh in Syria, “but not in Iraq,” the CRS wrote.
Bloomberg estimates the US deal could be worth between $2.7 and $4 billion, depending on whether the package includes supplies to upgrade Bahrain’s current F-16s.
On Thursday, US Army Gen. Joseph Votel told the House Armed Services Committee that human rights concerns have been a source of tension between Bahrain and the US in the past, impeding lucrative arms deals.
“Slow progress on key [foreign military sales, or FMS] cases, specifically additional F-16 aircraft and upgrades to Bahrain’s existing F-16 fleet, due to concerns of potential human rights abuses in the country, continues to strain our relationship,” Votel said.
