President Trump has brokered yet another peace deal in the Middle East, this time between Sudan and Israel. The Guardian. Sudan now joins Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in normalizing relations between the countries and Israel. Though Sudan is not a major player in the Middle East or Africa, the move has major symbolic value as in 1967 a major summit was held there with the Arab states and agreed to the "three noes" pledge. That pledge said no to peace, negotiations and recognition of Israel, but now Sudan has agreed to yes on all three. It is also a major accomplishment as unlike the UAE and Bahrain, Israel and Sudan have had wars, including the 1948 war, the six day war and the Sudan insurgency in 1970's.The deal will be an economic boon to Sudan, which has had major economic issues due to instability and the poor leadership of former leader Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has also been removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list due to their agreement to pay for damages suffered under the 1990's embassy attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, assuming congress agrees.
My Comment:
In the unlikely event that President Trump leaves office in 2021 his real legacy isn't going to be his tweets or his impeachment, it's going to be all of these peace deals that President Trump has made. This one between Sudan and Israel is just the latest in a long line of peace efforts that have helped the world remain a safer place. This, plus his efforts in Serbia and Kosovo, plus his avoidance of war in Syria, Iran and North Korea are his real legacy and it's a legacy I sincerely hope he gets a chance to add to.
I also have to say that this was very good reporting from The Guardian, to my surprise and shock. It didn't spend much, if any, time on bashing the President and had a good round up of why the this deal is important and who will benefit in the end. Though I often bash the media, with good reason, I think it's also good to give them credit when they put out a good story like this one.
As for the deal itself it will work out well for both parties. Sudan is going to get a lot of aid out of this deal and they desperately need it. They have been ravaged by war, poor leadership and the 2020 locust plague and they could use the help. In addition to foreign aid they will also gain economic stability due to trade that they would not have access to otherwise.
For Israel this is a major victory as well. They will get some economic benefits as well, but the real win for them is that they will be getting a major boost in credibility and stability. With one fewer enemy surrounding them they can relax a bit and not worry so much about being destroyed. And like the article said, Israel has in fact been at war with Sudan so this is a major symbolic win for them.
The big loser though? Iran. They used to be allied with Sudan but it's pretty clear that Sudan is backing the winning horse. Same with the UAE and Bahrain. This new peace effort isn't just to end the conflict between the Arab and Sunni Muslim states, it's about isolating and containing the Iranian state. And since more nations are likely to make peace with Israel, including Saudi Arabia itself, the Iranians must be furious.
Finally, I do think that this is a major win for President Trump himself. He promised to be a peacemaker and to avoid stupid wars and this is another example of him keeping his promises. Though I doubt it will change too many votes (though a few Jewish-Americans might switch their votes, the real value here is turnout. His anti-war base will love this move and will likely turn out to vote for him this November.
No comments:
Post a Comment