Recent international events
paint a complicated picture of the President’s values and goals. When it comes to the
Gaza ceasefire and the Noble Peace Prize, is Donald Trump one who personifies
the peace prize qualification of “fraternity between nations” or are his
actions only about drama and fragile, short-term deals?
On the one hand, despite all
of his faults and the domestic and international carnage caused by his
policies, the Trump administration has achieved an historic breakthrough on the
war in Gaza. For his diplomatic actions, the President deserves all the
accolades he is receiving from Israel, the Middle East, and around the world.
On October 13, Hamas released
all 20 of the last living hostages, and Palestinian prisoners were returned to
Gaza. The same day, Trump flew to Isreal and Egypt to praise his own efforts
and to sign a peace deal, though not the twenty point plan he wanted. A week after the signing, the truce appeared
tenuous, when Israel launched attacks and halted aid into Gaza.
The violence began two years ago with the worst mass murder
of Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli response has killed over 60,000 in
Gaza and 1.9 million have been displaced.
Now that the shooting has stopped, serious challenges lie ahead, leaving many
unanswered questions. However, the exchange of hostages and prisoners is
significant in itself and marks a key first step.
Trump’s administration was
largely responsible for this landmark development. Envoys, Steve Witkoff and the President’s
son-in-law, Jared Kushner entered the negotiations when they were deadlocked to
work out final details. Back at the White House, a critical turning point occurred
when Trump strong-armed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize
to Qatar for an air strike against Hamas negotiators in its capital, Doha.
The citizens of Israel view
Trump and his team in heroic terms for getting the hostages released. However,
there is much work to be done before Trump’s claim of “Everlasting Peace”
becomes a reality. Isreal Prime Minister Netanyahu appears ready to resume the
fighting at the least provocation.
Why the breakthrough now? I
am inclined to agree with the analysis of the Economist digital editor,
Roger McShane, that some of Trump’s most negative characteristics of bullying,
being transactional rather than visionary and his narcissism have actually
assisted in reaching a ceasefire. McShane concludes that, “The choreography
of the negotiations, with so much pressure applied to both sides, Mr. Trump’s
willingness to push Israel hard, and the enlistment of Gulf Arab states not
only to pay for Gaza’s reconstruction, but to underwrite a peace process and
perhaps help provide security—these are huge steps forward, possible only
because of this administration’s efforts. Whether or not Mr. Trump deserves a
Nobel prize, he certainly deserves praise.”
It must be said that the Trump approach, while successful in
the short term, is a far cry from the sustained economic and diplomatic
commitment needed to make a lasting peace. Such a level of commitment is not a
hallmark of Trump or his MAGA followers. However, in this moment, I applaud
Trump’s work in creating possibilities for a new beginning in the Middle East,
while remaining a fierce critic of his authoritarian, domestic policies.
No doubt, the President is seething that his diplomatic
efforts did not land him the Noble Peace Price, announced on October 10. The
award will be presented to Maria Corina Machado "for
her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and
for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to
democracy."
The irony is that Trump has
recently been anything but peaceful toward Venezuela. His administration has
halted diplomatic contacts, increased intelligence activity, deployed military
assets throughout the Caribbean, and mounted at least five military actions
against its citizens in international waters.
In fact, Trump sealed his own
fate in being denied the Peace Prize. First,
before the recent peace initiative, Trump’s Mid East position was to “give war
a chance” by often categorically supporting Israel and sending bombers to
attack Iran’s nuclear program.
Second, at a press conference
last month, the President proclaimed that the Department of Defense would
thereafter be known as the Department of War.
Third, his newly anointed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, proclaimed
that the armed forces would henceforth deliver “maximum lethality” that would
“not be politically correct.”
Fourth, Trump ordered drone
strikes on several small boats headed out of Venezuela suspected of drug
trafficking. This violent alternative to inspecting the boats killed almost all
on board in what some legal and defense experts consider a war crime.
Fifth, at a recent conclave
of all active serving generals and admirals, the President announced a new plan
for using American cities that object to his immigration policies, as training
grounds for the military. He told the
assembly, “That’s a war too. It’s from within.”
Lastly, Trump’s Border Patrol
officials announced that a marine unit would be relocated to Chicago. The explanation was that Chicago’s lakes and
rivers are borders (with Michigan, not a foreign country).
Attacks on revered democratic
institutions, bombing Iran, provoking hostilities in our own hemisphere, and
the fabrication of domestic war zones do not build an ideal resume for winning
the Nobel Peace Prize. One can only
guess what opportunities three more years of a Trump White House will bring.
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