The Team Trump-brokered peace deals that Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates will sign Tuesday won’t end the Middle East’s problems, but they’re big steps in that direction — exactly the opposite of what the left predicted about President Trump’s approach.
On Friday, Trump announced that Bahrain agreed to normalize ties with Israel, just a month after the United Arab Emirates did likewise. Kudos to those nations — and to the president.
Even the bitterly anti-Trump New York Times admits this “leaves open the possibility” more Arab states will make peace.
Fact is, the Trump strategy broke through stale assumptions on the Palestinian-Israeli front, moving past Palestinian refusals to make peace and threats of violence.
Trump acknowledged Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moved the US embassy there and recognized the Jewish state’s claim to the Golan. He also cut aid to Palestinian Authority, which had turned hostile to Washington and refused to stop spending big on payments to terrorists and their survivors.
Democrats and foreign-policy hands blasted Trump for all that, assuring everyone it would trigger disaster. Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted the embassy move would “spark mass protests, fuel tensions and make it more difficult to reach a durable peace.” Nine of 11 former US ambassadors to Israel called it “dangerous” or “deeply flawed,” the Times reported. (Oops.)
Joe Biden still calls it a mistake (though one he wouldn’t undo). He also warned that Israel’s Trump-blessed plan to annex parts of the West Bank “would choke off any hope for peace.” Ha! It turned out to be a key bargaining chip that Israel gave up for its UAE deal.
Some experts even think Palestinians may now finally see the need to get on board.
Trump’s other Mideast moves, like taking out Iranian terror chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, have drawn similarly dire warnings. Yet events keep proving that the critics have no idea what they’re talking about.