Last Friday the White House notified Congress that it intended to waive the arms embargo to permit the temporary export of C-130 cargo transport aircraft to China. The waiver was granted at the request of an unnamed European company that uses the aircraft in oil spill cleanup operations and would permit these aircraft to land in China. A temporary export license would be required and would be granted on a case-by-case basis, likely restricted to the oil spill scenario that served as a basis for the waiver.

Nevertheless, the usual suspects are predictably upset and see this as a slippery slope that culminates in the U.S selling fighter jets and atomic bombs to China

The C-130 proposal is obviously a toe in the water and, as such, should be rejected,” said John Bolton, former undersecretary of state for international security. “This administration seems to have two messages about America for foreign governments: weak and weaker.”

An administration official said that the waiver was not intended to allow the sale and export of C-130s to the Chinese government.

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