Dems push Trump to acknowledge Israeli nukes

More than two dozen House Democrats demanded that the Trump administration acknowledge Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons in a letter revealed by the Washington Post Tuesday.

The missive represents a rare public comment from U.S. leaders about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which reportedly now consists of about 90 warheads. It comes amid a war with Iran premised largely on the need to destroy Tehran’s civilian nuclear program and prevent the possibility that the country could pursue a nuclear weapon.

“We cannot develop coherent nonproliferation policy for the Middle East … while maintaining a policy of official silence about the nuclear weapons capabilities of one party central to the ongoing conflict,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), wrote.

The U.S. has long positioned itself as a leading opponent of nuclear proliferation. But, when Israel secretly developed nukes of its own, the Nixon administration decided to accept the secret program and protect Israel from international criticism.

This policy of official silence developed into a broad, bipartisan consensus, undergirded by widespread support among American elites for Israeli security. Now that pro-Israel sentiment is fading, particularly among progressives, some Democrats see an opportunity to accept reality.

As Castro told the Post, the U.S. “shouldn’t refuse to disclose this information about a foreign nation simply out of courtesy when there’s so much at stake for our own service members, our economy and our country.”

Recognition of Israel’s nuclear arsenal would create serious tensions in the U.S.-Israel relationship. U.S. law bans the provision of security assistance to countries that fail to comply with international nuclear safeguards; in order to maintain the flow of weapons to Israel, the Trump administration would have to bypass this rule with a waiver. Israel would also face heightened international criticism at a time of already intense scrutiny.

Still, some on the right have expressed support for recognizing Israel’s nukes. “We've fought two wars in this century to maintain Israel's nuclear monopoly,” argued Scott McConnell, a co-founder of the American Conservative. “Maybe that monopoly is a good and necessary thing, but maybe we can at least talk about it.”

It remains unlikely that the Trump administration will respond to the letter, which requests detailed information about Israel’s nuclear program. But internally, those weapons have become an important matter for discussion, according to the Post, which reported that U.S. officials have “frequently” discussed the possibility that Israel would launch nukes if its air defense systems failed at a large scale.

“There is a low boil of unease about Israel’s nuclear program and what could compel them to use nuclear weapons short of facing a WMD attack,” an anonymous official told the Post.