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Should We Be Trusting These People?
Every time our country revisits the topic of developing closer relationships with questionable countries, I can’t help but feel uneasy. Currently, President Trump is ingratiating himself with several Middle Eastern countries; most of them have discomfiting reputations. I realize that we can benefit from relationships with many countries that don’t have stellar backgrounds, but is there any line to be drawn that would stop us from building alliances with them? Frankly, I don’t think there is an easy answer to this question, but I do wonder if our country should be considering the history of these countries, and whether we should be friendly with them. There are several examples I would give.
The first country I’ll focus on is Saudi Arabia. After the brutal murder of Amal Khashoggi in 2018, which appeared to be ordered by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the appropriateness of supporting such a cruel regime seemed worth debating. That incident aside, the Saudi government’s involvement in 9/11 has recently been called into question:
In its report, the [9/11] commission took particular pains not to implicate Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who met two of the 9/11 hijackers in Los Angeles shortly after they arrived in the US. Bayoumi then helped them move to San Diego, where he signed as the guarantor on an apartment they rented.
[snip]
But over the past several months, a raft of new documents released by the American and British governments suggest that the 9/11 Commission got it wrong. An FBI memo declassified in March, in response to an executive order by President Joe Biden, reported that Bayoumi was receiving a monthly stipend from Saudi intelligence. In other words, he was not a student but a spy. According to the FBI memo, dated June 14, 2017, Bayoumi was tasked with gathering information ‘on persons of interest in the Saudi community’ and passing the intelligence to Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, the Saudi ambassador at the time.
Has enough time passed that we can assume that if the Saudi government was involved, it’s ancient history by now and doesn’t need to be reviewed in the present?
Apparently, President Trump has also welcomed Syria into a relationship with our country. Its new president, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, impressed Trump, and Trump has not only chosen to drop sanctions against Syria but is encouraging al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords. But al-Sharaa has a sketchy history:
The U.S. had slapped sanctions on Syria several times over the past 20 years, aimed at the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who had taken over the country following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad. Hafez had ruled Syria for decades with an iron fist.
But the sanctions had remained in place after Assad fled the country in December in the wake of a surprise lightning campaign led by Sharaa and his coalition of rebel fighters. Sharaa was himself on the U.S. list of designated terrorists at the time for his past links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, but that designation was swiftly removed as Sharaa vowed to build an inclusive society with protection for all of Syria’s myriad ethnic and religious minorities.
Al-Sharaa has also traveled to many countries to enlist the support of their leaders as he tries to bring order to Syria. There still remains one problem with his governance, however:
Starting in April, rampant violence has been committed against the Druze by Syria’s new government. Al-Sharaa seems to be hoping that dapper Western tailoring will fool the West into assuming that his thoughts align with his wardrobe. The Sunni Muslims of HTS [terrorist group] have caused the deaths of countless Druze civilians. Videos posted on social media show HTS forces executing Druze civilians in the town of Sahnaya. Other HTS footage shows Druze civilians abducted and humiliated.
Al-Sharaa isn’t off to a great start.
Finally, there are the Qataris, whom Trump has openly praised. The country has given us billions of dollars, particularly to the universities, and has done so since 1986. Their plans to infiltrate our education system have become obvious. These were my observations in American Thinker:
‘The Qataris are implementing a very clever strategy,’ says [Brig. Gen. (Res.) Sima] Vaknin-Gill. ‘They are focusing their activity on the academy, since they understand that this is the best way to reach and influence future generations. But even within the academy, there is a focus on areas of interest that are, in turn, agents of influence – campuses that are identified with very advanced technology, campuses that specialize in media studies, healthcare, politics and policy and so on.’
But the reasons for gaining that type of influence are even more insidious and detrimental to the national security and future of our country. Qatar is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the supporters of Hamas. Their unified mission is to gain world power and destroy the Jews. Given their patience and determination for global power, it is a mystery why they have been supported as a quasi-ally of the United States. Except that the lack of transparency, accountability, and reporting on the changes to their programs are almost non-existent, so who really knows what is transpiring?
One observer provided the following reaction regarding President Trump’s attitude toward foreign governments. He is not interested in nation-building or limiting support exclusively to democratic regimes:
As Trump sees it, how a government is organized internally—whether it’s a liberal democratic republic or a repressive police state—is irrelevant to America’s national interests. What matters is how that state behaves. If Iran sponsors terrorism and pursues a nuclear weapon, then Trump will use at least economic coercion to punish Iran’s adventurism. So long as Saudi Arabia and its ruling family are willing to invest in America’s economy and act as a stabilizing force in the region, then who cares if it is an undemocratic monarchy accused of murdering its critics abroad?
These are some of the reasons I’m uneasy about building relationships with leaders who have a vicious history. Will they be reliable in following through on agreements? Is there a danger of their betraying our trust? Are there any criteria for countries to be welcomed into the fold or rejected as a partner?
I think I have good reasons to be uneasy.
Published in Foreign Policy
“keep your friends close, your enemies closer”
Time will tell.
I agree. And I want to emphasize that I’m not saying he shouldn’t develop these relationships, but I wonder if there are any limits on setting them.
I forgot to mention that the Qataris have supported Hamas…
A lot of good questions, Susan. I don’t know enough about the region to have any answers. Sometimes you partner up with someone who you would not invite to your house because they oppose someone even worse. For the sake of the Syrian people, I hope the new regime is not as brutal as the old one.
One factor that perhaps stands above the others .
The alternative is these nations fall in line with BRICS and leave the dollar . Trump is using honey instead of Bush/Obama bombs and blood . It’s important to keep the petrodollar afloat as long as possible . Our mountainous dept depends on it .
Good point, Kevin. I think Syria was making noises about talking to Russia, too. Not good.
Syria has been a Russian ally for decades, right?
True. Russia has bases in Syria, but we don’t want them to get even closer!
Last I heard, Bashar al-Assad was apartment hunting in Moscow. I’m a little surprised Vladimir hasn’t invited him to the Kremlin for a spot of tea.
Good thing you posted, Susan. I was trying to compose a post linking to your excellent article.
As to Trump changing our stance on Syria, that which is bestowed can also be snatched away. I’m sure someone in the State Department will so inform Al-Sharaa before too long.
One question is whether the attacks on the Druze and Christians are led by the terror group he used to be in. He’s supposed to avoid those terror groups.
I don’t know, but after twenty years of this nonsense, even the splinters have splinters.
Nobody trusts anybody. Truly.
President Reagan summed up the answer to your post’s title:
“Trust, but verify.”
I look at all of these in the lens of “does this relationship make us (USA) safer? Plus I think there is a lot of FAFO thinking by these countries going on. Trump wants peace and prosperity for all but is not afraid to use FO when a country FAs and the Syrias, etc see that.
We are giving you an opportunity to be our “friend” but we will verify your actions.
I think I understand what you’re saying, Bunsen, but what is FAFO?
Fool Around and Find Out, with an ungentlemanly substitute for “fool.”
Thanks, Percival. Sounds about right to the situation.
Exactly
To put it another way. “Here is enough rope to hang yourself or run with it. Your choice (insert country here)”
It will be interesting to see the choices that they all make…
I think the real question is “trust them to do what?”. International relations has so many moving pieces that it is a constant balancing of interests. If there is any comfort to take from Trump’s maneuvers in the Middle East it is that he has familial connection to Jews, has pursued policies all along that he believes reduces genocidal mania directed at Jews, and has no illusions about how the world works. Trump’s detractors want to believe that he can be fooled by flattery, that his ego is so big he really takes favorable treatment to heart and can be easily manipulated as a result. I can’t say that that can’t happen, but the last decade has taught President Trump that there are even more vipers out there than he was dealing with in construction and Hollywood. I don’t think he is under any illusions and wants to create an environment where most of the Arab world has a lot to lose by not working with America and Israel.
I completely agree. Trump is world-wise (or maybe world-weary is a better term), and although he may over-estimate his ability to influence people (like Putin, for one), he adjusts when he sees their true colors. That’s why I said I was “uneasy” rather than “cynical” about his trip to he Middle East. Thanks!
The damage to this generation of college students has already been done, thanks to billions of dollars Qatar has donated to universities, especially to Middle East Studies Departments, which are invariably anti-Israel. Today, a college degree comes with a license to demonize Israel and hate Jews, due in no small part to the largesse of Qatar and other Arab sheikdoms.
We can’t just do business with countries that share our culture and meet our purity standards. We have also learned how hard it is to make other cultures like us. You make agreements where you can.
The USA allied with Joseph Stalin in WWII, even though USSR’s long-range policy was to foment a worldwide Communist revolution. We also lined up with some pretty unsavory governments during the years of the Cold War (the Shah of Iran, Ferdinand Marcos in the Phillippines, various authoritarians in S. Korea and S. America, and others). Our decisionmakers believed these ties were in the national interest.
There is a difference, though, when one starts getting too close to people who yet today apparently or overtly avow an intention to destroy the West, the USA included, so the tangos now underway with the Qatari and Saudi governments seem fraught with danger.
Ed. for clarity
You are confusing Jamal Khashoggi with Amal Clooney. Common mistake.
Time isn’t the only information that’s available.
They will make alliances, with us, or with China or Russia.