President Trump brokers deal between Israel and UAE to normalize relations.

President Trump announces the deal with representatives of the UAE and Israel. NPR/Getty.

President Donald Trump has brokered a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize diplomatic relations between the two countries. NPR. The agreement also includes a halt to Israel's controversial annexation of parts of the West Bank. The UAE will join Egypt and Jordan as being the only Arab countries with formal diplomatic relations with Israel. The two countries will meet soon to hash out agreements on trade, security and the establishment of embassies among other issues. 

My Comment:

I tend to avoid writing about Israel for obvious reasons as people tend to lose their minds every-time they get mentioned. However, I thought this was important enough to cover. It's a huge diplomatic change and one that should help President Trump in November. It's a big news story and one worth covering. 

The elephant in the room here is pretty obvious. Both the UAE and Israel share a very powerful common enemy in Iran. UAE is deeply involved in the Yemen war which is a proxy conflict between Iran and the Gulf Arab states. By working together they have a better chance of avoiding a potential war with Iran and winning it if the unthinkable happens. 

Of course that's not the only thing that the two countries gain from this. They will also gain a lot in trade and other economic factors and doing so will be a boon for both. Iran will be furious and so will some of the citizens of both countries but I believe that both countries will end up benefiting from normal relations. 

This is a huge win for President Trump. The Israel lobby will love this and they are a big supporter of President Trump. They mostly liked him in the first place but there is always a fear that they might go for Joe Biden instead as he is more of a war hawk than Trump is. It's telling to me that even Biden couldn't find fault for this deal.

I think President Trump deserves quite a bit of credit for foreign policy in general. This is only the latest example of making the world a safer place. The chances of a war breaking out in the Middle East is slightly smaller now and I am not sure that this deal happens without President Trump.

I do wonder if other Gulf States might follow the UAE. Their major ally, Saudi Arabia, supposedly has some informal contacts with Israel over the same fears that the UAE has. They are terrified of Iran and want any ally they can get, even if it ends up being Israel. I don't think Saudi Arabia or the other Gulf States are there yet but it's very possible that some day soon they will be.