December 24, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump gave national security awards on Wednesday to several top advisers for their role in helping broker agreements aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and four countries in the Arab world.
Trump awarded the National Security Medal to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, senior adviser Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and John Rakolta, U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
“Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, the region will never be the same as it finally moves beyond the conflicts of the past,” the White House said in a statement.
In the past four months, Israel reached deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of what the United States calls “the Abraham Accords.”
Senior U.S. officials are hoping to seal one more agreement before Trump’s term expires on Jan. 20.
The president’s authority to award the National Security Medal dates to 1953, under an executive order that allows for recognition for major contributions in the field of national security.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)
