As President Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince to the White House this week, what will both leaders hope to achieve?

President Trump will seek progress on Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic relations with Israel (via the Abraham Accords) and finalizing the $600 billion of Saudi investment pledges in the US.

Crown Pince Mohammed bin Salman (“MBS”) will aim to secure a defense treaty with Washington, assistance with building a civilian nuclear energy program as well as deals on advanced semiconductor chips, F-35 fighter jets and weapons.

Based upon Mr. Trump’s November 17 statements to the press, it appears as if he will allow Saudi Arabia to purchase American F-35s. This despite Pentagon concerns over China possibly acquiring the aircraft’s sensitive technology through its security cooperation with Riyadh or via espionage.

For their part, the Israelis have been apprehensive that a future Saudi procurement of F-35s would compromise Israel’s........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)