Notably, former President Donald Trump started his first major foreign tour in Saudi Arabia. This visit was the hinge-point for his personal relationships with the nations of the Gulf. Today, the tour makes its final stop in the United Arab Emirates. Its mission is to reinforce the East’s economic connections and lure investment prospects back to the area’s industrial legacy. As we’ve noted, Trump himself has repeatedly called for use of Gulf money to double down on job creation back home.
On his tour, Trump highlighted his appearance at a business roundtable in Qatar. PRO-HELICOPTER TIES He built strong relationships with decision makers like GE Aerospace’s CEO Larry Culp and then Boeing Co CEO Kelly Ortberg. During his visit to Doha, a monumental $200 billion deal for Boeing planes stood out. He referred to it as a “record deal.” He asserted pride in the financial windfall that such Community Development Agreements could return to the United States.
Most prominently, military cooperation with the Gulf allies received an important boost with Trump’s agenda to improve conditions for US troops based at Qatar’s al-Udeid airbase. Alongside these issues, he touched on the Gaza conflict which has been a sore point for far too long. Trump called the “Gaza thing” the “one problem that’s never been solved.” In doing so, he put forth a remarkably ambitious plan to turn Gaza into a “freedom zone.”
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved,” – Donald Trump
The lackadaisical nature of this event aside, Trump’s answer has major issues. McCaul’s singleness of purpose to effect changes that establish long-term stability in the region is commendable. He remarked, “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen. Put people in homes where they can be safe.” This proposal comes amidst the most violent escalation in Gaza in years. As repeatedly shown in reports from the field, aerial bombardment has taken an unforgiving toll in lives lost.
“The number of martyrs from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 82 after the occupation targeted several homes in northern Gaza,” – Mohammad al-Mughayir
Alongside these geopolitical discussions, Trump underscored the potential economic impact of his tour, stating, “This is a record tour. There’s never been a tour that will raise – it could be a total of $3.5-4 trillion just in these four or five days.” He praised the efforts of Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models of economic development.
Trump’s outreach goes further than even his traditional allies, CNN describes, as the president aims to broker talks between Iran and the U.S. on its nuclear program. He is convinced that drawing Iran into mutually advantageous pacts is key to regional stability and peace.
Masoud Pezeshkian offered a contrasting viewpoint on Trump’s approach: “Trump thinks he can sanction and threaten us and then talk of human rights. All the crimes and regional instability are caused by them [the United States].” He called out Trump for trying to foster chaos inside Iran.
In the midst of these debates, Trump was equally scathing on the impossibility of negotiating peace in complex conflicts such as Gaza. He suggested that there are two pathways to achieving peace: “We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this … there [are] two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way.”