For the duration of the entire lives of most adults living in the United States today, the Middle East has been embroiled in conflict both with themselves and other countries, including the United States.
So when this most crucial issue is to be addressed by the current U.S. presidential administration, it will be addressed by the inexperienced and scandal-plagued son-in-law of the president, a man who has been heavily criticized for his close relationship to the leader of a murderous regime in Saudi Arabia.
Jared Kushner will crisscross the Middle East later this month seeking buy-in for his peace plan from leaders throughout the region https://t.co/KxZgpaDOVv
— POLITICO (@politico) February 7, 2019
The State Department’s cooperation, which requires a certain level of trust, will be critical to this plan. So of course, Trump chose an administration official whose security clearance was challenged by that very department.
According to a senior official, POLITICO reports:
‘Jared is going to present the economic plan to the region. The economic plan only works if the region supports it. We understand that if the political aspect of it is not solid, the economic aspect is meaningless. But at the same time the political aspect will not succeed without a proper economic plan.’
NEW: Jared Kushner will travel to several Middle Eastern capitals in late February for talks on the Trump administration's upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal, U.S. officials tell @BarakRavidhttps://t.co/StbbO9iCZL
— Axios (@axios) February 7, 2019
The economic plan has not yet been developed, but Kushner is going to present ideas to leaders in the Middle East in order to get them on board with the Trump administration’s ideas for bringing peace to the region. It’s important to note here the presence of places like Iran and Palestine, both of whom have been directly harmed by Trump.
‘The White House is preparing to release a finalized plan for a negotiated solution between Israel and the Palestinians in the coming months, administration officials said, though they stressed they are unlikely to do so before Israeli elections scheduled for April 9. The economic portion of the plan includes a package of public and private-sector investments in all sectors of the Palestinian economy.’
How does Jared Kushner still have security clearance? https://t.co/EM2xFPzfbk
— KushBot (@KushBot2000) February 7, 2019
The plan was promised in September 2018, but the administration failed to even come close to that deadline. The trip by Kushner was planned for January 2019 but was delayed by the government shutdown.
‘The White House has tightly held details of the peace plan, which many Middle Eastern officials thought might be unveiled last year. President Donald Trump said in late September of last year that the plan would be released within four months, a timeline that proved optimistic.’
Can someone please tell us why Jared Kushner is in charge of the president’s Middle East peace plan even though his business sought a $100 million investment from a Saudi-backed fund?? https://t.co/U4NBaVah7n
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) February 6, 2019
The Trump administration has, at this point, had no conversations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose cooperation would also be necessary for success. After Trump moved the Israeli U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Abbas declared that Trump was too biased to be relied on as a “credible peace broker.” The Trump team plans to move forward, anyway.
‘If regional leaders think our ideas offer a transformative vision for the Palestinians, for integrating the Palestinians and Israel into the region, and if they agree to financially support our plan — that would be a success.’
Featured image via Flickr via Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under a Creative Commons license
