The US President Joe Biden is considering signing a security agreement with Saudi Arabia for one billion dollars annually, security sources revealed.
The Biden Administration is discussing the terms of a mutual defense treaty with Saudi officials in an attempt to create a military pact that would mirror the ones the US has with some of its Asian allies and normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, despite growing reservations about American involvement with the Saudis.
Among the features of the potential deal is guaranteed military support if either Saudi Arabia or the U.S. is attacked in the region or on Saudi territory, the sources reported.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly asked the Biden Administration for assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program—despite longstanding concern from some in Washington.
In exchange, President Joe Biden would get the credit for normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, something Biden has been working towards for months.
But democrats have already raised questions about the prospective deal in view of the Saudi poor human rights record.
More than half of American voters oppose a defence pact with Saudi Arabia that would commit the US to send forces to defend the kingdom in the event it is attacked.
In a poll conducted between 29-31 August by Harris Poll and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 55 percent of Republicans and Democrats said they were against such an agreement.
“If and when a US and Saudi Arabian defence pact will be announced, the piece of the agreement that military families in our network will be paying closest attention to will be the nature of the mutual defence obligation,” Sarah Streyder, executive director of the Secure Families Initiative, a non-profit focused on military families, said.
“Does this agreement increase the obligation that US service members would be deployed to Saudi Arabia in the case of an attack? If so, that would give us a lot of concern.”
Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, said that pledges from the Biden administration saying that any deal with Saudi Arabia would meet nonproliferation standards was “hardly reassuring, given Saudi Arabia’s stated intentions”.
“It’s important that the US seek a legally binding Saudi commitment not to pursue or acquire uranium enrichment, or spent-fuel reprocessing technology which is not necessary for Saudi Arabia to pursue its peaceful civilian nuclear ambitions,” he said.
“MBS is the last person you would want to hand a nuclear weapon to,” Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, said. “This deal would be devastating.”
