The World - News from Dec. 17, 1987

Congressional negotiators voted to sell sophisticated, shoulder-held Stinger missiles to Bahrain despite an overall prohibition on sales of the anti-aircraft weapon to other nations in the region. House and Senate conferees agreed to a provision in a $606-billion measure that would permit the Reagan Administration to sell $7 million worth of the weapons to the Persian Gulf nation. Proponents of the sale argued that Bahrain has been a firm U.S. ally for 40 years, while detractors said the missiles could end up in Iranian hands or be used against Israel.