Trump Brings Middle East Closer to Peace

President Trump’s Peacemaking Efforts Have Achieved Incredible Results Including Obtaining Historic Peace Agreements Between Arab Countries And Israel, Garnering President Trump Two Nobel Peace Prize Nominations

TODAY, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS FINALIZING A HISTORIC DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE UAE, WHICH “COULD REORDER THE LONG STALEMATE IN THE REGION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ITS NEIGHBORS”

• Today, Israel will join the United Arab Emirates at the White House to sign a ” historic peace agreement ” focused on normalizing relations in the region.
  • The agreement is considered a ” treaty of peace ,” and will carry the “most serious status, demanding the greatest commitment from both parties.”
• On August 13, 2020, the Trump Administration announced that the UAE and Israel had agreed to the full normalization of relations between the two countries in a “historic deal.”
• Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE Ambassador to the United Nations: “Under the oversight of the U.S.” the historic deal is promoting ” a new dynamic” in the Middle East.
• Axios : The deal is a “major breakthrough” between “Israel and a major Arab power.”
• The New York Times : “Israel and United Arab Emirates strike major diplomatic agreement.”
  • “It could reorder the long stalemate in the region between Israel and its neighbors, potentially leading other Arab nations to follow suit while taking prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explosive annexation plan off the table at least for the moment.”
• Vox News: ” Israel and the UAE just struck a historic peace deal. It’s a big win for Trump .”
  • This agreement ” may help the UAE do business with Israel, which in turn should help the Arab Nation’s economy .”
  • This deal is a win-win for the UAE, as ” it helps itself, and reduces the risk of calamity happening in the region .”
• MSNBC’s Craig Melvin and Ayman Mohyeldin called the peace agreement between Israel & UAE a ” diplomatic breakthrough ” and expressed that the deal marks “an important day.”
• Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass said that President Donald Trump’s diplomacy ” changed the dynamics ,” which led to the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
• Atlantic Council’s Thomas Warrick: ” It’s a good day for Israel and for the UAE, they both get something out of this that they very much want .”

BAHRAIN QUICKLY FOLLOWED THE UAE IN NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL, MAKING IT THE SECOND ARAB COUNTRY IN TWO MONTHS

• On September 11, 2020, the Trump Administration announced that Bahrain joined the United Arab Emirates in striking a deal to normalize relations with Israel.
  • The agreement marks “the second time in a month” that an Arab Gulf nation announced new ties with the Jewish state, ” further reshaping alliances in the Middle East .”
  • CNN’S Oren Liebermann: ” 26 years since the last peace agreement between Israel & an Arab nation…now two within a month .”
  • The deal with Bahrain makes it the fourth Arab country , after Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, to have full diplomatic ties with Israel.
  • Leaders from Israel and Bahrain praised President Trump for ” his dedication to peace in the region, his focus on shared challenges, and the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to bringing their nations together .”
• Associated Press: ” The agreement represents another diplomatic win ” for President Trump.
• The New York Times: President Trump made history on Friday when he announced the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain would establish full diplomatic relations with Israel.
  • ” The announcement that Bahrain would establish full diplomatic relations with Israel leaves open the possibility that more Arab states will follow .”
• The Washington Post’s David Ignatius: ” Bahrain’s diplomatic agreement with Israel is a building block toward Middle East stability .”

PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CONTINUED TO TAKE THE LEAD IN PEACE TALKS AS HE SIGNED A HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN, WHICH WOULD END AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR

• On February 2, 2020, the Trump Administration signed a preliminary peace agreement with the Taliban that sets the stage to end America’s longest war.
  • Under the agreement, the U.S. will withdraw nearly 5,000 troops from the country in 135 days in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism.
    • Time Magazine reported that other components of the agreement included an agreement that U.S. counterterrorism forces stay in the country, permissions for the CIA to operate in Taliban-held areas, and details of how the Taliban’s promises to reduce violence will be monitored and verified.
  • The deal has been called the ” best chance to end this conflict ,” a ” decisive move ” towards peace, and ” the best path ” for the United States.
  • The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history, a conflict that has killed more than 3,500 U.S. and NATO troops and cost U.S. taxpayers nearly 900 billion dollars.
  • As part of the peace agreement, the Taliban and the Afghan government recently began historic peace, talks which would end decades of war that Afghanistan has consumed.
    • The negotiations will cover the terms of a ” permanent ceasefire, the rights of women and minorities, and the disarmament of the country’s many militia groups .”

JUST THIS MONTH, PRESIDENT TRUMP SUCCESSFULLY OVERSAW A HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGH WITH SERBIA AND KOSOVO AS THE TWO COUNTRIES AGREED TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

• On September 4, 2020, President Trump announced that Serbia and Kosovo would agree to normalize economic ties as part of the Administration’s brokered talks, as a part of the deal, Belgrade will move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel.
  • The agreement shows a sign of much-needed progress between the two Balkan nations as the deal establishes a single market with Kosovo and provides an opportunity to boost both nations’ economies .
• The deal is historic as Kosovo will be the first country with a Muslim majority to open an embassy in Jerusalem .
• National Review: ” Trump oversees ‘breakthrough’ Serbia-Kosovo agreement to normalize economic relations .”
• NBC News: The deal is another ” diplomatic win ” for President Trump and furthers his administration’s “push to improve Israel’s international standing.”
• The Wall Street Journal : This latest deal shows that the White House continues to make ” progress on several foreign-policy fronts .”

DUE TO HIS EFFORTS, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE TWICE IN THE SAME WEEK

• Recently, President Trump received a second nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize after his Administration successfully brokered several deals just within the last few months.
• The latest nomination marks President Trump’s second nomination within less than a week .
  • On Friday, Swedish Parliament member Magnus Jacobsson nominated the President and the U.S. Government due to the U.S. achievement of brokering an economic normalization agreement between “longtime political foes Kosovo and Serbia.”
    • Jacobsson: ” Trade and communications are important building blocks for peace .”
  • On Wednesday, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian parliament, said Trump should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize due to his work ” for a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel which opens up for possible peace in the Middle East. ”
    • Tybring-Gjedde: ” For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees.”

SINCE BEING ELECTED, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS TAKEN ACTION TO DEFEAT ISIS AND ELIMINATE DANGEROUS LEADERS

• Under President Trump’s leadership, ISIS has been defeated, and its notorious leader and founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been eliminated .
• On October 27, 2019, President Trump announced the United States had successfully eliminated Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the notorious terrorist and rapist who led the terrorist group the Islamic State (ISIS), which had subjugated large portions of Iraq and Syria.
• On March 23, 2019, President Trump announced the United States and its partners had officially liberated all ISIS-controlled territory.
• Military officials widely praised President Trump for his ISIS strategy:
  • Lt. General Stephen Townsend said, ” I don’t know of a commander ” that didn’t appreciate President Trump’s decentralized military decision-making strategy in the fight against ISIS.
  • Brigadier General Andrew Croft: ” I couldn’t ask for a better leadership team to work for, to enable the military to do what it does best.”
  • Foreign Policy : ” The days of White House micromanagement of the military are over.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS DELIVERED ON HIS PROMISE TO END ENDLESS WARS BY BRINGING OUR TROOPS BACK HOME

• Due to President Trump’s leadership, the United States will pull out thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan by November.
• President Trump has been pushing for a reduction since 2016 and has fulfilled his promise by taking action to ensure the Iraqi Security Forces to have the ability to operate independently .
• The reduction in Iraq troops from 5,200 to about 3,000 ” reflects the Trump Administration’s confidence in the ability of U.S. trained Iraqi security forces to handle the militant threat from the Islamic State group .”
• Iraq, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, said that with the reduction, the U.S. will still be able to accomplish core tasks, and ” we’ve shown more than ample goodwill and our willingness to demonstrate that we don’t want to be an occupying force in this country .”
  • ” The U.S. Decision is a clear demonstration of our continued commitment to the ultimate goal, which is an Iraqi security force that is capable of preventing an ISIS resurgence and of securing Iraq’s sovereignty without external assistance .”
  • Iraqi forces have improved their ability to fight ISIS and that ” the fact we’re getting smaller is actually a sign of campaign progress.”
• Starting in March, U.S. forces began pulling back from bases across Iraq, turning them over to Iraqi security partners .
• The reduction is part of a long-planned consolidation which reflects the ” success of the anti-ISIS fight .”

WHILE PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CHAMPIONED PEACE, JOE BIDEN HAS TAKEN THE LEAD IN PUSHING FOR ENDLESS WARS, INCLUDING THE DECADES LONG WAR IN IRAQ

• While President Trump has continued to push for peace in the Middle East successfully, Joe Biden has had a history of pushing for endless wars, and failed leadership:
  • In 2001, then-Senator Joe Biden supported an invasion of Iraq and said that the U.S. should move forward regardless if there were no support of others .
  • In 2002, Biden affirmed his previous statement and voted for the use of force in Iraq ; the decision led to tens of thousands of deaths .
    • During the Senate debate in 2002, Biden fought against alternatives to work with the U.N. to authorize an invasion on Iraq, and insisted Democrats should vote on the ” resolution to go to war .”
    • Before his vote, he claimed that his decision to support the Iraq war was a ” march to peace and security .”
  • Following his vote, Biden continued to support the war and even expressed the use of more forces.
    • In 2003, Biden said the U.S. should have had more forces in Afghanistan over the previous year.
    • In 2006, Biden said that the U.S. should be pushing for ” more force ” in Afghanistan.
    • In 2007, Biden called for a surge of troops in Afghanistan , and even said the use of force ” is justified and necessary .”
      • Biden also continued to back the surge and said that the U.S. went into Afghanistan ” the right way .”
• In an attempt to push back on his 2002 vote, Biden has falsely claimed that he was responsible for pulling out 150,000 combat troops from Iraq.
  • Biden has said that Americans can trust his judgment on questions of war because, as Vice President, he was in charge of pulling U.S. combat troops from Iraq .
  • The Washington Post found that Biden was actually part of the Obama Administration’s effort to return thousands of U.S. troops to Iraq , and ranked his claim as false.