by Giovanni Giacalone
US President Donald Trump’s obsession with winning the Nobel Peace Prize has become a paradox, as his efforts to achieve it are creating more turmoil, thereby putting at risk the path to peace in both Ukraine and the Middle East.
Trump appears so desperate for the Nobel Prize that he attempts to attribute to himself, at all costs, merits that he does not possess and paints situations in an unreal and naive way, often contradicting himself from one day to the next.
His latest initiative involves the attempt to enforce on Israel another catastrophic “deal” with Hamas, obviously pushed by the terrorist organization’s diplomatic guarantor, Qatar, instead of backing Israel for a final offensive that would oblige Hamas to surrender, give up its weapons and immediately release all the remaining hostages. There can be no other solution since Hamas is now cornered.
The 60-day ceasefire makes no sense since it will only help the Palestinian terrorist organization to rebuild. Any sort of guarantee given to what remains of Hamas and the gradual release of the hostages makes absolutely no sense other than trying to provide Hamas with a little something, therefore keeping Qatar happy.
However, a final IDF offensive in Gaza would not go in the direction of Trump’s idea of “peacemaking”. The President wants to show the world that he brought a deal and a few hostages back, no matter if it will go against Israel’s security interests.
It is probably not by coincidence that, on Thursday July 3rd, Trump put up a show at the White House with former Israeli-American hostage, Edan Alexander. On this occasion, Alexander said that “his treatment during captivity improved after Trump was elected in November.”
He also added: “I came to thank the person responsible for saving my life. It was deeply moving to be in the White House, the same place where my parents had fought for my release so many times, but this time together with them”, as reported by the New York Post.
Timing is critical, and such a show coming while the new “deal” with Hamas is being set on the table is surely interesting.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest of a series of absurd moves, such as forcing the ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 24th, basically stopping Israel from fully destroying Iran’s military capabilities and therefore winning the war.
As if it wasn’t enough, Trump, even verbally attacked Israel for responding to the Iranian ceasefire violation with some serious and inappropriate statements:
“There was one rocket that I guess was fired overboard [by Iran]. It was after the time limit, and it missed its target. And now Israel’s going out. These guys gotta calm down. Ridiculous…” And again: “Now I hear that Israel just went out because they felt [the deal] was violated by one rocket that didn’t land anywhere…That’s not what we want, I’ll tell you. And I’m telling you, I’m not happy about that, Israel, either.”
Putting aside the quality of the statements coming from a US President, Trump should have rather said “That’s not what I want”, and the reason is obvious.
In Jerusalem, the Israelis were puzzled and replied to Trump’s claims by stating: “We’re trying to understand the meaning of his latest remarks.”
Trump does not understand that a ceasefire violation is not a “feeling”. It either happens or it doesn’t. If it does occur, then the other party has the full right to respond.
It is also important to consider that a ceasefire agreement takes time; you don’t just enforce it, out of the blue, which is what happened since, when Trump announced it, Israel hadn’t even approved it yet. Trump also does not understand that the concept of “peace through strength” implies cornering the enemy, forcing him to surrender. It is not some sort of real estate deal, because on the other side you have a terrorist organization or a state that is sponsoring terrorism, not a business partner.
Unfortunately, Trump also created confusion and disappointment among the Iranian dissidents inside and outside of Iran. He initially said: “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!“
The following day, he contradicted his previous claim and said that he did not want to see a regime change in Iran because it would lead to chaos. Not exactly the best move towards those anti-regime Iranians who already feel betrayed by the West due to the past lack of support.
Regarding the nuclear issue, after the US bombings on the Iranian nuclear sites, the results of which are still unclear, Trump said he was convinced that Iran would not pursue nuclear capabilities anymore:
“The way I look at it, they fought the war is done. I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear. We’re probably going to ask for that. But they’re not going to be doing it.”
However, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami immediately shattered such an illusion by saying that arrangements for nuclear restoration were already being made. Furthermore, on July 2nd, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, ordered the regime to suspend its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
A recent poll by Yahoo/YouGov indicates that only 22% of Americans believe President Trump’s claim that the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran have “completely and totally obliterated” that country’s “key nuclear facilities”.
As a matter of fact, on July 2nd, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the US strikes had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years: “We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department (of Defense) assess that”. Something very different from Trump’s previous claims.
Trump’s hasty attitude in trying to immediately close conflicts, without respecting the due timing and necessary developments, trying not to use force when necessary, limiting himself to externalizing threats, slogans and impulsive and premature declarations is creating more problems than solutions.
Another dramatic example concerns the Ukraine-Russia war. Trump said on multiple occasions that he would put an end to the war in 24 hours; that Putin would have never invaded Ukraine if he had been president at the time. In April, Trump said that he believed Putin would cease attacks on Ukraine at his request. The result? The war is not only ongoing but, on the night of July 4th, Russia conducted the largest attack against Kiyv since the beginning of the war, pounding the city with over 500 drones and 11 missiles, killing one person and injuring at least 23. The ruthless attack came not long after Trump decided to suspend some weapon shipments to Ukraine; a decision that was welcomed by the Kremlin.
Trump also claimed credit on several occasions for having stopped the war between India and Pakistan despite the fact that Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, clarified that India had agreed to a ceasefire after a request advanced by Pakistan.
On June 21, just three days before the sudden ceasefire forced on Israel, Pakistan announced the intention to nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, once again bringing up his alleged role in the ceasefire with India. The fact occurred just one week after the meeting at the White House with the Pakistani Army Chief, General Syed Asif Munir. On that occasion, Trump stated in front of the cameras that “he loved Pakistan”, generating outrage in India.
Furthermore, on June 24, just a few hours after the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Fox News reported that Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga) wrote to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, declaring Trump had an “extraordinary and historic role” in having ended “the armed conflict between Israel and Iran and preventing the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet.”
However, on June 25, Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign committee announced he had withdrawn his nomination of Trump for the Prize, saying he had “lost any sort of faith and belief” in the US President.
Trump said on several occasions that he did not believe he would win the Prize, complaining that his merits for peacemaking, including in the Russia/Ukraine and the Israel/Iran conflicts were not being acknowledged, but “people know, and that’s what matters to me”.
Unfortunately, Trump does not seem to understand that the reality of conflict is much more complicated than a business deal, and that terrorist organizations, terror-supporting states, and genocidal regimes cannot turn into business partners. As a US President, you cannot throw your allies under the train, you don’t force them to accept reckless “deals” and ceasefires, in an attempt to present yourself as a peacemaker, because reality hits and hits hard.