The overture follows an intense and secretive lobbying push involving Michael Flynn, Tom Barrack, Rick Gates and even Iran-Contra figure Robert McFarlane.
The Trump administration is holding talks on providing nuclear
technology to Saudi Arabia — a move that critics say could upend decades
of U.S. policy and lead to an arms race in the Middle East.
The Saudi government wants nuclear power to free up more oil for
export, but current and former American officials suspect the country’s
leaders also want to keep up with the enrichment capabilities of their
rival, Iran.
Saudi Arabia needs approval from the U.S. in order to receive
sensitive American technology. Past negotiations broke down because the
Saudi government wouldn’t commit to certain safeguards against
eventually using the technology for weapons.
Now the Trump administration has reopened those talks and might not
insist on the same precautions. At a Senate hearing on Nov. 28,
Christopher Ford, the National Security Council’s senior director for
weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation, disclosed that the
U.S. is discussing the issue with the Saudi government. He called the
safeguards a “desired outcome” but didn’t commit to them.
Abandoning the safeguards would set up a showdown with powerful
skeptics in Congress. “It could be a hell of a fight,” one senior
Democratic congressional aide said.
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Source: ProPublica
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