President Trump’s Mideast Triumph, Grounded in Foreign Policy Realism, Marks a Pivot for American Strategy

President Trump is leading a triumphal tour of key Arab countries, and the propaganda press can’t bring itself to cover the trip honestly.It is useful to remember that Mr. Trump’s first overseas trip in 2017 began with a visit to Saudi Arabia. That event was brilliantly orchestrated by Jared Kushner. The Saudi king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, convinced 53 other Muslim countries to attend the historic summit with the new American president.As Mr. Trump told me a few days after he returned, the Saudi king met him at the airport and was at his side for every event throughout his stay. That family friendship has clearly carried over to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been modernizing the kingdom at an amazing rate. He is opening it up to tourism and modernity on a scale no one would have thought possible 10 years ago.Nothing is a more vivid contrast between liberalism’s imperative to render judgement on everyone it dislikes and Mr. Trump’s willingness to work with people even if they disagree on policies or issues. During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden promised to isolate the Saudis. He said he wanted to make them “pay the price, and make them in fact the pariah that they are.”When Mr. Biden visited Saudi Arabia, he was met by a low-level official at the airport. It was a sign of the crown prince’s bitter resentment of the American left’s attitude. Mr. Trump retained a good relationship with the Saudi family throughout his four years out of office. When Air Force One was escorted by six American-made Saudi air force fighters, it was a sign that relationship has endured. He was then greeted warmly by Qatar with an eight-jet formation.The first two days of the trip have already yielded huge economic gains for America.Beyond the economy, the trip has demonstrated Mr. Trump’s ability to act decisively. The Saudis and Turks asked him to recognize the new government of Syria. Both countries are eager for their war-torn neighbor, long a puppet of Iran, to re-establish its economy and ally itself with the West.Traditional presidents would have a professional staff spend six weeks or more studying the request. Mr. Trump responded intuitively and immediately. The new Syrian president (still designated a terrorist by America) showed up in a Western suit. He embraced Mr. Trump’s offer of recognition and was grateful (and, I suspect, surprised) when Mr. Trump dropped American sanctions on Syria.This new American-Syrian relationship is a gamble. But it is a gamble that could further isolate Iran and drive Russia out of the region. Further, it pleased Mr. Trump’s Arab allies.While focusing on deal-making Mr. Trump also gave a speech in Saudi Arabia of historic importance. This speech is so important every American should watch it and ponder its historic implications. He clearly contrasted the failed, moralistic fantasy policies of Presidents George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden with his return to an American sense of realism and limits of power.In 2006, Mr. Bush’s State of the Union Address outlined a fantasy that led to failure in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said, “We seek the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it.”Compare that to Mr. Trump in Saudi Arabia this week: “The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation-builders,’ ‘neocons,’ or ‘liberal nonprofits.’ Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the people of the region themselves.”Here’s the reality of our Middle East relations. Thousands of young Americans have died. Tens of thousands have been wounded. And trillions of dollars have been spent pursuing a hopeless fantasy of America imposing our complex self-governing system on deeply resistant cultures.Mr. Trump’s greatest triumph this week was his pragmatic, practical approach of working with people where they are. The hope is better relations and closer ties will gradually bring them to freedom and peaceful self-governance — on their terms and at their pace.It was a triumph week in the Middle East for Mr. Trump — and a huge step forward for America and the goals of peace and prosperity.

President Trump’s Mideast Triumph, Grounded in Foreign Policy Realism, Marks a Pivot for American Strategy

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