It has been an interesting few days with the United States renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Persian Gulf while also doubling down on spying directed against Greenland in expectations that it will be acquired as a US territory sometime soon. Meanwhile, some of us who have been watching developments in what has been described as Donald Trump’s “peace initiative” trip to the Middle East, which might also have included a stop in Istanbul to sit in with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, are now examining the pluses and minuses as the travel has ended. In my mind, high grades should be awarded for two aspects of the trip. The first one is what he did do, and that was speak sensibly and decently in his address to the Saudi, Emirates and Qatari leadership when he specifically rejected a hegemonistic “neocon” inspired approach to US foreign policy, saying that independent countries in the Middle East and elsewhere are perfectly capable of acting to develop their economies and societies in such a fashion as to prosper and provide fundamental liberties for their citizens.
Trump put it this way in a speech that was widely publicized and well received by his audience: “But in the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves. No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation builders’, Neocons or liberal non-profits, like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Baghdad and so many other cities. The birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves—the people that are right here, the people who have lived here all their lives, developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions and charting your destinies in your own way.” Trump also cited how what he called the “great transformation” of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East “has not come from western interventionists…giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.”
The second ray of sunshine was something that Trump did not do. He did not stop in Israel to kiss Benjamin Netanyahu’s ring even though he was in the neighborhood and it is widely being reported that he is not even any longer on direct speaking terms with the Israeli leader. Trump allegedly attributed the distancing of Netanyahu to what he referred to as “manipulation” but it is becoming clearer that the process he was describing was good old-fashioned espionage, with members of the Trump cabinet, possibly to include Mike Waltz the National Security Adviser, being tapped clandestinely to provide information on security developments and plans and/or options relating to the Middle East and possibly also to Ukraine. The Atlantic’s chief Editor Jeffrey Goldberg might have been involved in the process during a notorious top secret national security group phone call using the Signal system back in mid-March. Waltz was subsequently demoted and given the post of United Nations Ambassador, where he will be carefully scripted in terms of what he says and controlled in terms of whom he meets. Reports have also come in about other dismissals apart from Waltz for what is being described as “leaks” and “politicization.” Tulsi Gabbard, Director of the Office of National Intelligence, fired two top officials on Tuesday, a top analyst and the head of her National Intelligence Council, possibly connected to the allegations about spying or simply because they disagreed with some Trump policies, including his stance on China.
So those were the good parts. Somewhere in the middle are the transactional aspects of the trip. Saudi Arabia was closely tied to Washington due to a $142 billion arms package and other energy related deals. Qatar, in a move that has become notorious, gifted Trump with a Boeing 747 aircraft that will replace the current ageing presidential plane Air Force One that is designated for presidential travel. As the new Boeing is reported to be a flying “palace” in terms of its amenities and is estimated to be worth $400 million, it is a substantial gesture tying the two nations together. Nevertheless, there has been a tidal wave of criticism over where the plane goes after 2028, when there may be a new president if there is no Trump “third term.” Trump expects the aircraft to be a “gift” that he will graciously receive before turning it over to his presidential library, one of his corporate subsidiaries. The move smacks of corruption for many in the political world and in the media, even including a number of prominent Republicans. Trump does not seem to care.
As expectations were high when President Trump started his trip it is inevitable that there should be regrets over those possible initiatives that were not pursued. Prior to leaving Washington there was much talk that Trump would likely tell his Arab audience that the United States would be recognizing the Palestinian State as a first step in the actual creation of a physical entity with real independence from Israel and actual sovereignty. It certainly would have been a game winner for his audience and also for the majority of Americans, 70% of whom now do not support Israel. Internationally it would also translate very well to the worldwide audience that has been watching Palestinians being slaughtered on live television. That audience knows full well that Israel and Netanyahu only get away with what they are doing due to the complicity of the United States – both under Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The US is a partner in the genocide and provides the political cover that enables the slaughter to go on, not to mention the steady flow of Made in USA weapons that the Jewish state uses to carry out the actual killing.
The second “sin of omission” is related to the first in that it was expected that Trump would present the Israelis with an ultimatum to immediately end the blockade of Gaza and enter into a ceasefire without any pro-Israel loopholes that would lead to a peace agreement to end the bloodshed. Trump’s only comment on the issue came when he addressed food shortages in Gaza on Friday, saying that “a lot of people are starving” but the US is “going to get that taken care of”… His mediator Steve Witkoff went so far as to say that the US will not interfere in Israel’s slaughter of the Gazans.
Insofar as is known, resumption of aid or a ceasefire were not discussed with the Arabs, possibly due to Israeli intransigence over both issues, which means that Palestine was a blank spot on the president’s trip. While Trump was flying around and being feted, Netanyahu was calling up army reserves and insisting that his plan to wipe out Hamas and apply a final solution to Gaza would be adhered to.
I would be remiss if I were not to mention that some very knowledgeable observers are detecting fraud in the whole narrative about a rift between Trump and Netanyahu. While the major Arab states were distracted when negotiating with an accommodating Trump, the Palestinians were left completely alone and without anyone really arguing their case. That means that the US was feigning a “breakup” with Netanyahu to enable it to reach an agreement with all the leading Arab countries of the Middle East in order to confirm Israel’s security while Netanyahu is completely wiping the Palestinians off the face of the earth. Trump has in fact said that his policies and the Mideast trip are “very good for Israel,” a claim that can be given credibility by his administration’s energetic efforts to dismantle all pro-Palestinian protests in the United States.
Upon his return on Friday the president declared, not for the first time, that “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone. I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen. Put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with.” Washington is also reportedly negotiating with Libyan factions to accept one million Palestinian refugees who, presumably, would be forcibly removed from his “freedom zone” by the Israeli army. It is always important to pay attention to what Trump actually does, not what he says, since what he says is usually primarily designed to make himself look good and powerful.
These two roads not taken insured that Trump would not be able to claim a major victory by extending his “Abraham Accords” to include the Saudis, Emirates, and Qatar in diplomatic relations with Israel. It is well known that the Saudis will not accept any diplomatic arrangement with Israel that does not include Palestinian Statehood within the borders defined by the United Nations in 1948. That would include “international status” for Jerusalem and a return of most of historic Palestine to the Palestinians.
Trump is far from predictable and an initiative that no one expected did take place, namely the ending of sanctions on Syria that have been in place since 2019 and the 37 minute long meeting with the new Syrian interim head of state Ahmed al-Sharaa, former al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), in the Royal Palace in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arranged the meeting and encouraged the president to help rehabilitate Syria while also encouraging it to develop its republican institutions that have been crippled by government corruption. Trump’s quid pro quo for al-Sharaa will be to provide an open door for the US to invest in the economic recovery of the country, which has suffered between $200 and $400 million dollars worth of damage. That would include development and marketing of oil and other resources as well as creation of new communications and transport infrastructure by companies like AT&T.
Normalization of ties with Syria does not appear to have been coordinated in any way with Netanyahu and it creates a sticky situation in that Israel has occupied a considerable chunk of southwestern Syria close to Damascus with no signs that it will be leaving soon. Trump apparently suggested to al-Sharaa that he would benefit from establishing normal relations with the Israelis even though Israel is regularly attacking targets inside Syria. Turkey is also holding on to territory in northern Syria through its Turkoman allies. That the United States is somewhat involved in developments is suggested by the recent decision by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) to end its “war” against Turkey which has been raging for over 50 years. It is the US that has been arming largely Kurdish militias in their war against Syria’s al-Assad government, now deposed, and would have the leverage to bring about such an arrangement.
And finally there are the meeting going on in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia and the negotiations between the US and Iran over its nuclear program. Zelensky was in Albania meeting with European leaders and Putin did not show up in Istanbul in spite of expectations that both might be present. It was assumed that Trump would drop in for a visit to give his blessing to the peace process which he was taking considerable credit for, but, without the Russian and Ukrainian leaders it did not happen and the talks went nowhere, though, on a positive note, both sides did agree to keep on talking. And is anything happening on Tehran’s nuclear program? Trump has stated that he has presented the Iranians with a written proposal, but Tehran denies the claim. We will find out soon enough and the Zionist controlled US Congress is already threatening to block any agreement that does not ban any and all capability by Iran to enrich uranium. That is also a bit of negotiating that is unlikely to go anywhere.
Reprinted with permission from Unz Review.
