by Douglas Schwartz
Trump establishes a win-win-win scenario by encouraging national sovereign wealth funds to recycle dollars back into America.
September 15 marks the Abraham Accords’ fifth anniversary.
President Trump arrived in Washington recognizing that the Middle East consumed an inordinate amount of American lives and treasure.
The hegemonic strategy of imposing peace by warfare was a failure.
Barack Hussein Obama’s efforts to empower the Muslim Brotherhood created chaos, but eventually provided opportunities.
Trump visited Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ascended to power several years before Trump. He promptly made life miserable for Saudi supporters of Islamic terrorism.
In 2014, Egypt successfully reversed the Muslim Brotherhood’s takeover of the most populous nation in the Middle East. Abdel el-Sisi came into office by defeating Muslim Brotherhood factions.
Trump sought to extricate America from its principal role in Middle Eastern policing. Regional proxies would replace America, modeled on NATO.
He recognized that Middle Eastern dominance of global energy markets drives issues of prosperity and peace.
Trump distrusted typical establishment foreign policy approaches, academics, or bureaucrats. He appointed oil executive Rex Tillerson Secretary of State. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was appointed Trump’s personal envoy to negotiate Middle Eastern peace agreements. Foreign leaders would deal with someone directly representing the president, insulated from diplomats. Kushner brought a unique qualification: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had slept in his bed (but not when Kushner was in it). Netanyahu is close to Kushner’s family. When visiting America he stayed in Jared’s bedroom. Kushner slept in the basement.
Kushner developed personal relationships with regional leaders and identified those anxious to support Israel. The UAE and Bahrain signed first. Sudan and Morocco subsequently agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Egypt and Jordan have longstanding peace agreements with Israel. Trump intends to get Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia to sign next. Leaders of these nations (except Syria) share an antipathy toward the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, and al-Qaida.
After Trump’s first administration, Kushner conducted substantial business deals with regional administrations, including Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. The more nations engage in commerce, the more harmonious their relations. Trump’s current envoy, Steve Witkoff, sold the Qataris a New York City property. Eric Trump, representing the Trump Organization, reached a deal in April to build a Qatar luxury golf resort. Under a May agreement, Trump secured billions in sales of Boeing planes and defensive weapons to Qatar. The $1.2 trillion price tag Trump slapped on the deal is probably inflated, but significant nonetheless.
America's balance-of-payments deficit is longstanding. Trump establishes a win-win-win scenario by encouraging national sovereign wealth funds to recycle dollars back into America. Dollars flowing inward reduce our trade deficit. They revitalize domestic manufacturing, further reducing trade deficits. And they invest foreign nations in America’s success. Turning rivals into business partners encourages comity.
Putin’s special envoy to Washington to meet with Witkoff on Ukraine was Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund head. Don’t be surprised if Trump gets Putin to invest petrodollars in America.
Qatar represents the principal impediment to Middle Eastern peace and domestic tranquility. Qatar spent almost $100 billion purchasing influence in America, including our universities, media, and influencers, on the Left and Right. It spends billions funding Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, including such chaos agents as Hamas, Hezb’allah, and ISIS.
Hezb'allah’s collaboration with Latin American drug cartels directly undermines our security.
Trump began targeting Qatar in June 2017: “The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level.” By April 2018, progress resulted.
Here’s how the Oval Office discussion went:
TRUMP: It’s a great honor to have the Amir of Qatar with us. He’s a friend of mine — knew him long before I entered the world of politics. He’s a great gentleman. He’s very popular in his country. His people love him. We’re working on unity in that part of the Middle East, and I think it’s working out very well. There are a lot of good things happening. … those countries [which] are stopping the funding of terrorism, and that includes UAE; it includes Saudi Arabia; it includes Qatar and others. A lot of countries were funding terrorism and we’re stopping it. It’s getting stopped and fast. Very important. And you’ve now become a very big advocate, and we appreciate that.
AL THANI: I want to make something very clear, Mr. President: We do not and we will not tolerate with people who fund terrorism. We’ve been cooperating with the United States of America to stop funding terrorism around the region. We do not tolerate people who support and fund terrorism.
Portions of the globe that Western/American arms and colonization didn’t conquer are thrust into America’s orbit by our culture and commerce. Since WWII, accompanying the rise of Hollywood, television, and the Internet, cultural icons such as Walt Disney, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, and Michael Jackson contributed far more to global peace than America’s diplomats or military. The British Empire paved the way for America, spreading a common language globally.
Trump grasps the cultural angle. A dozen Asian, African, European, and Latin American spin-offs of The Apprentice appeared. Viewers in more than 40 countries watched the original American version. A sixth of the world watched the 1969 lunar landing. Forty-five years ago, 350 million viewers in 57 countries watched the Who Shot J.R. episode of Dallas. Turkey’s parliament adjourned early so members could watch from home. Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and Lionel Ritchie have performed in Qatar. As younger foreign leaders assume power, the lure of American culture and trade becomes increasingly powerful, replacing conflicts. Funding terrorism becomes stale when you can make money and be entertained.
Qatar’s regional opponents include Saudi Arabia, Israel, Tunisia, the UAE, and Bahrain. Qatar’s Muslim Brotherhood funding poses a threat to them. Qatar maintains close economic ties with Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iran. But it can’t offer what Trump does as the leader of the world’s economic and cultural juggernaut.
Israel’s Doha strike sent a message. It’s time for Qatar to come in from the cold.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II represents the emerging cultural reality. Jordanian intelligence intercepted communications revealing Sasha Baron Cohen would be arriving to film in Jordan, featuring his flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion journalist character Brüno.
Unbeknownst to Cohen, agents were dispatched to the Amman airport to whisk him and his cameraman to the royal palace. The king is a huge Borat fan. He’s also appeared in a Star Trek episode. His mother is British. Saudi Prince MBS is another American culture aficionado. He promotes tourism, lifted a movie theater ban, plans to build 350 cinemas, granted women enhanced rights, and introduced WWE, Formula 1 racing, and boxing events. Kim Jong Un attended a Swiss high school and palled around with Dennis Rodman.
In February, Netanyahu was the first foreign leader summoned to the White House this term. He returned in April. He smiled broadly before the press. Plans from earlier this year are being implemented.
Additional Abraham Accords signatories will be forthcoming. Although nobody believed him, Trump promised, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip” and “own it.” Gaza, sitting atop valuable Mediterranean waterfront real estate, is being prepared for redevelopment. Sand traps will replace terrorists’ torture tunnels.
Image: The White House, via Wikipedia // public domain
Douglas Schwartz blogs at The Great Class War, applying pattern recognition of historical cycles to place current events into context.
Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/09/five_years_later_the_abraham_accords_represent_the_middle_east_s_future.html
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