Lebanon Ceasefire Fulfills Trump Campaign Promise to Arab and Muslim Voters — Before He Takes Office
President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that is set to take effect Wednesday morning. But in many ways, it is the fulfillment of a key campaign promise by President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump promised Arab and Muslim voters that he would end the war in Lebanon. And Massad Boulos, who is Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, assured the Arab world that Trump would push for an end to the war before taking office.
Biden had struggled for months to obtain a ceasefire. Originally, the Biden administration, through envoy Amos Hochstein, proposed that Israel, not Hezbollah, withdraw from the border — though Hezbollah was the aggressor.
In September, Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron were pushing for a ceasefire — when Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Had Biden had his way, Hezbollah’s leader would have survived, in command.
It was Israel’s unexpected military dominance that set the stage for a vastly improved deal. But it was also Trump’s election that catalyzed the agreement by changing the incentives for both sides in the conflict.
Hezbollah — and Iran — feared that the Trump administration would give Israel a freer hand on the battlefield. And Israel was more prepared to compromise, secure in the knowledge that a much friendlier administration is about to take office.
The question is whether the ceasefire will last. That will likely depend on Iran’s ability to re-arm Hezbollah.
Trump has committed to restoring sanctions on Iran — a “make Iran broke again” strategy. If so, peace is a real possibility.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
