Trump apparently wants to pull the U.S. from the Open Skies Treaty, and nobody knows why

(Image credit: Maxim Shipenkov/AFP/Getty Images)

On Monday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) released a letter to National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien expressing his deep concern about "reports that the Trump administration is withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty" and urging the administration to abandon "such a reckless action."

The treaty, in force since 2002 with 34 nations as signatories, "aims to increase confidence in and transparency of military activities, particularly in Europe, by allowing unarmed aerial observation flights over the entire territory of its participants for information-gathering purposes," the Arms Control Association explains. Specifically, "the Open Skies Treaty allows the United States and our allies and partners in Europe to monitor Russian military deployment," especially in Ukraine, Engels said, and "American withdrawal would only benefit Russia."

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Of course, Russia and former National Security Adviser John Bolton could both want to scrap the treaty.

Engels asked that before Trump burn the treaty, the decision be put through "a transparent process that includes a thorough interagency review and consultation with Congress."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.