The U.S. Is Buying Arms From Russia

For the past year, the Obama administration has been criticizing Russia for selling weapons to Syria and blocking the United Nations from condemning the conflict that’s killed more than 10,000 people. Yet at the same time, the U.S. has been buying military helicopters from an unlikely source: the same Russian-government-owned company that Congress says is arming the Syrian regime. Since May 2011, the Pentagon has paid Rosoboronexport $411 million for 21 Mi-17 helicopters.

Now some U.S. lawmakers are saying the sales must stop. “We should not be using U.S. taxpayer dollars to support a firm that is arming a regime in Syria that’s murdering innocent men, women, and children,” says Representative Rosa DeLauro. The House recently passed an amendment sponsored by the Connecticut Democrat that would ban future contracts with the company.