The US-Saudi nuclear deal needs improvement

The United States and Saudi Arabia are in the final stages of a landmark nuclear arrangement. But a pact between longtime allies must not become a backdoor for America’s enemies. Congress must demand that the administration make the classified agreement public and put essential safeguards in place.On July 22, the White House announced that the two nations had reached an agreement that would allow the U.S. to export nuclear technology to the desert kingdom.President Donald Trump vowed that it would not include uranium enrichment. He pledged that Saudi recognition of Israel would be a precondition. Some experts voiced concern that Washington was upending decades of policy aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation in dangerous parts of the world.But Saudi Arabia holds considerable leverage and influence as a net energy exporter and as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and cities.It can also play an important role in U.S. strategy to counter China. Our allies will depend on foreign energy for the foreseeable future, and so will China.Washington, not Beijing or Moscow, should provide Riyadh with the technology it seeks. The Saudis could go elsewhere for their nuclear needs, and the Trump deal can give America oversight that it might otherwise lack.But oversight and transparency are the chief problems facing supporters of the proposed deal.On Aug. 25, the administration sent the pact, known as a 123 agreement, to Congress, triggering a mandatory 90-day review.Unless Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval, the agreement will automatically take effect after 90 days. Congress should demand transparency and accountability, as it has become clear that the administration wishes to avoid them.It submitted the text of the agreement to Congress as classified legislation. That should be unacceptable.Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of the nonproliferation program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, pointed out that this is “an unprecedented action that appears intended to limit open congressional review and public scrutiny.”That would be a terrible precedent in principle, but Saudi Arabia’s recent actions add to legitimate concern.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s leader, refuses to join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel. That is a serious mistake for his country. But Trump is also making a serious mistake by breaking his promise to require Saudi recognition as a precondition for a nuclear agreement.The Trump administration and Congress have leverage to push the Saudis toward peace in the Middle East, and they should use it.The kingdom announced on Aug. 7 that it had signed a mutual defense pact, called the Mecca Agreement, with Pakistan and Turkey, which will mean greater security cooperation among the three nations.Pakistan has an extensive strategic relationship with Beijing, including defense and nuclear cooperation, so closer Saudi-Pakistani security integration raises proliferation and technology-transfer concerns. The U.S. should worry that sensitive U.S. nuclear technology provided to Riyadh could find its way to Beijing.Congress should demand safeguards to prevent America from inadvertently helping China and should press the administration to renegotiate the deal to include a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing.THE BLUE-STATE CORPORATE EXODUSCongress should also require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, the strongest inspections regime to date. A 2009 U.S.-UAE nuclear agreement can serve as a model.A U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal should strengthen America’s strategic position, not weaken it. It should secure lasting peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel, not empower their enemies. For this to happen, Congress will have to step up where the administration has failed to do so.