President Trump announced his self-proclaimed 10th peace deal this morning in the form of a maybe-maybe-not ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Mind you, I voted for Sir Donald three times and would a fourth time if that were possible, but that doesn’t mean I buy into his self-promoting nonsense. Let’s look at his latest claim to the Nobel Peace Prize (leaving aside the issue of his starting a deadly war with Iran).
Okay, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a cessation of hostilities for a week and a half. One problem is that the Israeli Security Council hasn’t even voted on the deal yet. Another problem is that Israel has something like five army divisions stationed in Lebanon. The third problem is that Hezbollah is not a signatory, though the group says it will honor the ceasefire.
Let’s assume that no missiles or shots are fired for 10 days. Does that equate to peace? Not really, just a pause in hostilities.
That’s why I have a problem with Trump’s claiming so many peace deals. For the most part, they are just pauses in ongoing, not-yet-resolved conflicts, not peace when both sides lay down their arms and go back to other pursuits.
Look at Gaza, for example, which I believe Trump claims as his eighth peace treaty. Hamas is still armed to the teeth, and Bibi Netanyahu is looking for the slightest provocation to continue his bombing campaign. Can that really be called peace?
Trump’s policies are worth my full support, but when he makes things up to dictate how the history of his presidency should be analyzed and written about, give me a break.
When I see the President and the Ayatollah shaking hands in the Oval Office, as depicted above, then I’ll believe the Man from Mar-a-Lago has actually achieved a peace deal worth writing about.
N.B. My headline is a spin-off from Johnny Cash’s immortal tune, “Ballad of a Teenage Queen.” The King part I took from the recent “No Kings” rallies across the nation.
