Forget Europe. Our Real Allies Now Are in the Gulf
While Europe continues to dither, freeloading off our efforts while complaining about them, our allies in the Gulf are stepping up.
There’s a darling video making the rounds on social media of spring breakers being interviewed about the news, in which it’s revealed that the kids know nothing. Their biggest concerns are who to hook up with, how to stay drunk, and getting that perfect tan. Yesterday, I wrote about how the clip is a great reminder that a measly 4% of Americans vote on foreign policy. Of course, the chattering class was appalled by the video of the carefree spring breakers. How can journalists lie about the news if people refuse to follow the news?
I don’t use the word lie lightly. But if you turn on liberal cable news channels or open the pages of the legacy media, you’ll be bombarded with people trying to convince you that the U.S. is losing the war in Iran. And it’s not just the American press. According to that erstwhile vaunted publication The Economist, “For now, at least, the advantage lies with the Islamic Republic.”
What advantage would that be? We’ve obliterated Iran’s navy and ballistic capabilities. Their nuclear ambitions are now a pipe dream. And while the Strait of Hormuz is still closed, oil is back down to under $100 a barrel. The U.S. economy is doing just fine.
The idea that Iran is winning is just wishful thinking.
But consider for a minute what it means that, absent any evidence that this is true, these vaunted journalists are wishing it to be the case that Iran has “the advantage”: The godless elites in Europe and America are actually rooting for Iran—because it’s fighting Trump. Their TDS runs so deep, they are so thirsty for bad Trump headlines, that they have handed Iran—Iran!—the victory, under the guise of their “analysis.”
They’re not the only ones. So unwilling to partner with Trump are many of our European “allies” that they are refusing to get their hands dirty in the fight to free their own grandchildren from having to face off against a nuclear-armed Islamic Regime—even though it is Europe’s oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. is a net-exporter of natural gas—we’ll be fine.
Like the Democrats, our European allies are enjoying the fruits of a mission they will, under duress, admit is in the world’s best interest, but they want the privilege of freeloading off the benefits of that mission while complaining about it, holding their noses and pretending to be above it—pretending even that we’re losing.
You know who’s rooting for the United States?
The Saudis, who urged the President to bomb Iran in February and are now begging him not to stop until the job is done.
The New York Times reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been “pushing President Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a ‘historic opportunity’ to remake the Middle East,” according to people briefed by American officials. Outwardly, of course, “The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict,” the Saudis keep insisting. But behind the scenes, both before the war and since, MbS, a close friend of the President, is pushing Trump to finish the job, and recently did an about face and are allowing American forces use its King Fahd air base.
Many have blamed Israel for the conflict. But according to the Times, when Trump expressed interest in winding down the war, “Prince Mohammed has argued that would be a mistake. . . and has pressed for attacks against Iran’s energy infrastructure to weaken the government in Tehran.”
This isn’t surprising. Iran has shot ballistic missiles at all of its Gulf neighbors over the past four weeks. As a result, this war is uniting them, creating a new anti-Iran alliance. The UAE, the target of many of Iran’s strikes, is now debating whether to send its military to fight and is vociferously lobbying against a ceasefire that leaves Iran’s military capability intact, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bahrain and Qatar, too, are solidly in Trump’s corner, as is Israel, whose cooperation has been indispensable.
That’s what Trump knows when he’s out there taking on the global liberal elite: He’s created a new anti-terror coalition in the Middle East, one based not on the myth of exporting democracy but on the reality of shared interests, bringing together Israel and the moderate Muslim countries of the Gulf, countries that have committed trillions of dollars in investment into the U.S. to reshore our manufacturing.
These are our real allies now—countries invested in fighting state-sponsored terror, not excusing it or rhapsodizing about how the Islamic Regime is winning against the Evil Trump.
You probably haven’t heard about this from our perfidious media: While Europe and the Democrats moan and groan about how terrible it is that we’re striking Iran, the Israelis, the Qataris, the Saudis, and the UAE have joined hands—with each other and the U.S.—to rid the world of the largest state sponsor of terror.
Our European allies, meanwhile, have been importing exactly what the Gulf worked so hard to suppress: the Muslim Brotherhood. “As the radical Islamist group’s influence wanes in the Middle East, it is growing stronger in Europe by the day,” writes Tareq Alotaiba, a fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard University, in the Washington Post.
The war is not won yet. The President is still trying to get the Iranians to sign a deal. I myself would not support boots on the ground. But it’s clear the President has a plan, and things are going better than expected.
It’s absolutely ridiculous that the Democrats and our European allies are rooting for the losing side because it’s losing to Trump.
Very sad and worrisome to this grandmother that college age and recent college grads are so very poorly educated--and so susceptible to the emotioial, simplistic, Socialist/Marxist/American-hating talking points. Aso the intense TDS suffered by so many others. Great analysis Batya.
Batya this is so good. Out the gate strong, but rather than quote back a few paragraphs annoyingly I’ll just take the crown jewel: “How can journalists lie about the news if people refuse to follow the news?”