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New START withdrawal would ease path for bomber sale to Israel

Debate over whether to renew the 2009 nuclear treaty with Russia could have implications for US defense ties with Israel.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 (C) flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, January 10, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji - GF20000089868

The Donald Trump administration’s two-year deadline to take a fresh look at the Obama-era New START nuclear treaty with Russia could give pro-Israel advocates another chance to deepen defense ties.

The potential lapse of the treaty, inked in 2009, would remove a prime legal obstacle to transferring US-made bombers overseas. Such a sale would in turn give Israel the platform it currently lacks for delivering bunker-busting bombs that could target Iran.

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