Despite Torture Video, U.S. and Emirates Sign Key Pact

The United States signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to help develop its civil nuclear program, despite an outcry over a video depicting the torture of an Afghan man by a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates.

The agreement now goes to Congress, where it will face resistance from some lawmakers, who say the gruesome video, at a minimum, raises concerns about the legal system in the Emirates and its ability to prevent sensitive nuclear technology from leaking to its neighbors.

These opponents are unlikely to amass the necessary two-thirds majority to strike it down. But Representative Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and a longtime critic of these agreements, filed a resolution opposing it.