Ongoing reports and analysis

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, several critical issues will be on the agenda, including a potential U.S.-Saudi defense pact and the Trump administration’s push for Riyadh to normalize ties with Israel.

The defense pact on the table is reportedly similar to the one that Trump agreed to with Qatar in September in which the United States committed to treat any attack on Qatar as a threat to U.S. security and to “take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.” Importantly, that agreement was only an executive order, which, unlike a Senate-ratified treaty, carries basically no legal weight and can easily be undone by a future president.

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, several critical issues will be on the agenda, including a potential U.S.-Saudi defense pact and the Trump administration’s push for Riyadh to normalize ties with Israel.

The defense pact on the table is reportedly similar to the one that Trump agreed to with Qatar in September in which the United States committed to treat any attack on Qatar as a threat to U.S. security and to “take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.” Importantly, that agreement was only an executive order, which, unlike a Senate-ratified treaty, carries basically no legal weight and can easily be undone by a future president.

If a U.S.-Saudi defense pact also consists of nothing stronger than an executive order, it will........

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