re: What’s up with the Saudi Nuclear deal?

Gotcha.

At any rate, I'm sure there is a unique calculus that would go into the decision regarding any country pursuing a civil nuclear program and whether or not the US would want to help them build it. But the discussion here is Saudi Arabia. It, like any other country, is going to have its own unique set of circumstances.

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Saudi Arabia has lots of money and can easily buy plans and hire people with the knowledge and expertise to design nuclear facilities to convert their civil grade uranium to weapons grade.

It will take a little while, but there's almost no chance they won't do it. They've already said they intend to acquire nukes if Iran gets them. And they've also refused to agree to international nuclear inspections.

What could go wrong?

But hey, Trump's son in law got his $2 Billion investment commitment from the Saudis, and Trump has been getting licenses from their government to put up all kinds of golf courses and hotels up over there, so what the frick?

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If, in the news reports, the name "Donald Trump" was replaced by the name "Joe Biden", and the name "Jared Kushner" was replaced by the name "Hunter Biden", MAGA people would be losing their fricking minds.

Thank you Ed.

I will keep it to SA. I do have concerns for the long term stability of the SA government. Using 1917 Russia and 1980 Iran, you can see that a small group of radicals can over turn a government and shift the paradigm.

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Saudi's radicals

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Bin Laden was Saudi Arabian.

Ignite War or Peace in the Middle East?

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Whether you like it or not, Saudi Arabia has been a US security partner for decades whereas Iran has been bombing American interests for decades.

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Can you elaborate on how KSA has provided any form of "security" for the United States?

The worst act of terror on US soil was perpetrated by 15 Saudi nationals. The government of KSA did nothing to prevent that.

They have not prevented the Houthis, Hezbollah, ISIS or Al-Queda from targeting US assets in the region. We have to deal with those groups directly.

We provide way more security for them than they ever have for us. Remember when Sadaam was threatening to invade KSA? Who bailed their arse out?

On top of all that, their oil production policies harm American companies and our economy.

Next time they can just nuke us instead of funding pilots to fly into major buildings and landmarks. WTF are we doing?

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If there ever comes a time when the Saudi government gets overthrown by the terrorists

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Its a genie you cannot put back in the bottle. The Taliban were our friends until they weren't. Trusting a authoritarian like MBS who hacks his enemies to pieces without trial to honor an agreement is risky.

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Can you elaborate on how KSA has provided any form of "security" for the United States?

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1. Counterterrorism cooperation. After 9-11 Saudi Arabia became an important counterterrorism partner, as much as that is going to pain the people trying to finger them for masterminding the attacks. They have helped us, track terrorism networks, share intelligence on al-Qaeda and ISIS, disrupt financial channels, and prevent attacks.

2. Regional military cooperation. They host and support US military forces, allow access to bases and facilities, they participate in joint military exercises, they purchase US military equipment. We sell them F-15s, Patriot missile defense systems, THAAD missile defense systems, helicopters and armored vehicles.

3. Containing Iran. This is where the comparisons to Iran become absurd. We share concerns about Iranian missile development, Iranian naval activity in the Persian Gulf, and concerns about Iranian proxy terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries most directly threatened by Iranian influence in the region and for that reason is a security partner of the United States.

4. Energy security. We partner with Saudi Arabia in an effort to stabilize global oil markets. During the first Gulf War Saudi Arabia allowed hundreds of thousands of US troops to deploy from within Saudi Arabia. They also helped finance the entire operation.

5. Intelligence and regional diplomacy. Saudi Arabia has influence that the US uses diplomatically. Relations with other Arab states, religious influence in the Muslim world, and communication channels with governments Washington has limited access to.

Hope that helps.