Nuclear security

US government sued over aid to ‘nuclear’ Israel

A Washington DC non-profit group is suing the US government challenging its authority to provide Israel with foreign aid, arguing that its status – a nuclear power which didn’t sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty – means that aiding it contravenes US law.

“This lawsuit is not about foreign policy. It is about the rule of law, presidential power, the structural limits of the U.S. Constitution, and the right of the public to understand the functions of government and informed petition of the government for redress,” stated the complaint filed By Grant F. Smith, Director of the Institute for Research: Middle East Policy (IRmep).

The lawsuit filed last week in DC federal district court names President Barack Obama, the CIA director and secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Energy, State and Treasury as defendants.

The complaint challenges the authority of the president and federal agencies to deliver foreign aid to Israel, as it is non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) with a nuclear weapons programs.