By Kary Love
Mr. Trump is besotted with calling others traitors. Fortunately the US Constitution defines treason in the supreme law, not yet dictated by any president’s whim:
“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” US Constitution, Art III, § 3.
Trump has agreed to give Saudi Arabia civilian nuclear capacity. It is widely reported that: “Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia will receive nuclear power reactors and potentially a facility for enriching uranium locally.” Civilian nuclear power requires enriched uranium. The capacity to enrich uranium for civilian reactor fuel, can be used to further enrich uranium until it is bomb-level enriched, producing plutonium and other deadly isotopes along the way.
Saudi Arabia was once identified as suspect regarding the 9-11 attacks on the US (15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis). Usually, those who attack a nation are considered enemies. Saudi Arabia remains suspect in terms of fidelity to the law of nations, human rights, consent of the governed, and most of the other principles espoused by America as its highest and dearest values. Saudi Arabia is governed by a monarchy arguably worse in its enslavement of its people than George III was against the Americans who rose in rebellion 250 years ago to establish a better form of government. Arguably, Saudi Arabia remains an enemy opposed to American principles.
Does enabling Saudi Arabia nuclear power and possibly nuclear weapons consist in giving aid and comfort to a suspect enemy? Does giving Saudi Arabia the technical capacity to enrich uranium, possibly to bomb-level enrichment, adhere to the enemy definition by contributing to Saudi Arabia’s ability to make nuclear weapons, just like Trump attacked Iran to supposedly stop?
Once the engineering technique for enrichment and the supply chain of uranium exists, the genie is out of the bottle, and the nation so endowed can begin accumulating weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. Granting Saudi Arabia this capacity makes one wonder, will the next 9-11 be nuclear? If so, will it have been enabled by those approving the deal with Saudi Arabia? If yes, is that not treason?
Kary Love, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Michigan attorney who has defended nuclear resisters and many others in court for decades.
