Sometimes Less Is Better President Trump

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” - Mark Twain

Before people jump on my back about being a Never Trumper, let me state that I supported Trump’s first stint as President, and I have supported his re-election. There wasn’t much of an alternative; Kamala Harris? He and his excellent team are implementing some excellent domestic policies that are sensible for a change. I am in agreement with most of his policies. However, it’s my opinion, and I may be proven wrong. There is one area where I see Trump making a significant error: foreign policy.

Trump has a habit of opening his mouth often; sometimes it’s effective, other times it’s counterproductive. Before his inauguration and afterwards, twice, he stated that if Hamas didn’t release all the hostages still in captivity, “There would be hell to pay.” Well, Hamas hasn’t released them, and they are humiliating Israel and giving Trump the finger because they are releasing them in dribs and drabs as Israel is releasing many hundreds of terrorists who can return and do their evil deeds once again.

Alternatively, Trump could have made Qatar pay heavily because Qatar has been the prominent financier of Hamas and its leaders. He could economically crush that country to get it to comply with disassociating itself from Islamic extremism. He could have also put pressure on Turkey, supposedly a NATO country that has been calling for the elimination of the Jewish state and has also been supportive of Hamas.

Trump starts sounding like the boy who cried, “Wolf”. Threatening Hamas, then doing nothing, is not much of a deterrent. Dealing with Hamas is not dealing with rational people. They don’t fear Trump. They will slash and burn their way to achieve their aim of killing Jews and taking hostages in return for having more of their captives released. There is only one solution; eradication of such evil. Instead, Israel continues to supply ‘humanitarian’ aid to its enemy, which Hamas pilfers and then demands distribution payment. In what other war theatre did one side have to aid its enemy?

The other thing that Trump put out there regarding Gaza is his contention that it be turned into a Riviera on the Sea paradise. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Hamas is still in power and could be for some time, especially if Israel does anything and everything to get the hostages returned, even the dead ones.

A little history is important to understand the situation. The ancient land of Israel––Judea and Samaria––now known as the West Bank, was invaded by other empires such as the Romans, then the Ottomans until the end of World War One when the British Mandate of Palestine was established, ultimately leading to the UN partition of the territory into a Jewish state––Israel––and an Arab state, Jordan, in 1947. Once Israel declared itself a nation, five Arab countries attacked it. In the ensuing ceasefire, the territory of Gaza was occupied by Egypt.

Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied Gaza along with the Sinai. Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in the 1979 peace treaty, and in 2005, they left Gaza to give Gazans autonomy. The Israelis removed their settlements, even their cemeteries.

Of course, what Israel got in return was Hamas, which was elected by the Gazans, and they commenced to build a terror infrastructure, including regularly firing missiles into Israel. The culmination of all this was the October 7, 2023 atrocities committed by Hamas, and by the way, supported by the vast majority of Gazans. The Jew-hatred in Gaza is endemic.

To rebuild Gaza would take vast sums of money. Would American taxpayers want their money going to another area where they will “build democracy’? What about the 300 kilometres of tunnels, many of which have stored munitions? Are Americans prepared to send their soldiers possibly dying in a munitions clearing operation?

Trump has also suggested that Gazans should be relocated. There is one problem; Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are not interested in having ‘Palestinians’ in their midst. The so-called Palestinians were a radicalized group created by Yassar Arafat in the early 1960s, and Jordan went to war with them, expelling many thousands from its territory. So the Jordanians don’t want them, neither do the Egyptians or any other Arab nation. Israel has taken in many Jews expelled from different lands. Where are the Arab countries doing the same?

In fact, now, the 46-year peace treaty between Israel and Egypt is under threat. Many Egyptians harbour hatred towards the Jewish state, exemplified by the fact that while many Israelis visit Egypt, few Egyptians return the favour.

Egypt said privately warning Trump’s Gaza plan endangers peace treaty with Israel

Rather than ease tensions in the region, Trump is actually exacerbating them. Egypt already has the extremist Muslim Brotherhood waiting in the wings to resume power. The Brotherhood is linked with Hamas. If suddenly Egypt were to take in a million Gazans, they could have a terrorist enclave develop within their midst.

A big concern is that contrary to the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, the Egyptians are building up their forces in the Sinai along the border with Israel.

Leiter: Israel Will ‘Very Soon’ Address Egyptian Military Buildup in Sinai

As the article states, a big concern is that Egypt has brought up its premier tanks, the Abram class, to Israel and Gaza’s border. It’s a poorly held secret that armaments have been funnelled through Egypt into Gaza for many years.

What Trump seeks to avoid––war––may actually happen because his words may trigger events beyond his control.

We must remember life is filled with complementary opposites, positive and negative. If you become elated, expecting only positive things, you will attract the other side. One of my concerns is that everyone is so elated about Trump that they can’t see any downsides. It’s shutting off the other side. Remember what happened in 2020 with Covid, which brought down his Presidency.

The universe will attract some event that will humble Trump. I would have thought his near miss in Butler, Pennsylvania, would have taught him the lesson of humility. However, some of his misspoken statements on the foreign policy front may come up to bite him, and the adulation being heaped upon him may quickly turn in the other direction.

This is not something I want to see, but it has happened so often before that it is almost predictable.