By Shmuel Katz, JNS
Why is the U.S. president willing to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and maybe to Qatar too? The answer may lie in a broader strategic attempt to redefine the Middle East map.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s logic appears straightforward: If Hamas and its ideological partners refuse the conditions that Washington and Saudi Arabia agreed to, the Saudis should no longer feel bound to condition its future, its regional partnerships or its global ambitions on the creation of a Palestinian state dominated by violent factions.
In effect, Trump is offering Riyadh an exit ramp from the decades-old diplomatic trap in which progress with Israel was contingent on a radical Palestinian position that repeatedly rejects compromise.
At the same time, Trump seems to believe that deepened commercial ties, including defense deals, will incentivize the Saudis to channel their energies into economic modernization rather than regional power projection. Most probably, his long-standing conviction is that major business interests can moderate the geopolitical ambitions of the Saudis.
But this strategy comes with risks. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are masterful global players. They know how to appeal to Trump’s commercial instincts and use them to advance their own agendas.
There is a legitimate concern that we may wake up one day and realize that the Saudis and the Qataris were playing the traditional game of Muhammad, where it is a mitzvah to deceive the Infidel, and when the opportunity arises, advance their ideology to take over the entire world, step by step. Are they leveraging American openness to expand their influence far more than anticipated?
Across the West, we already see the effects of Islamic expansive campaigns: massive investments in media, education, religious outreach, philanthropic networks, and political advocacy. Demographic trends and migration patterns further amplify these efforts. Some of these trends may be inherently malicious.
We must be worried, especially when we see rewriting of history and rampant deceptive messages. Unquestionably, these steps may be strategic, as they intensified recently to levels that we have never seen before.
Washington must be vigilant and recognize that every state, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, pursues their interests with a long-term vision. When Western policymakers assume otherwise—guided by optimism, business excitement or short-term gains—they may misread the deeper currents of Islamic hegemony in the region.
A classic recent example of a potential problem is the transformation of the peaceful state of Turkey into a radical Islamic state with expansionistic dreams, led by a sympathizer of the Muslim Brotherhood: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Selling advanced weaponry to powerful regional actors is not a trivial transaction; it is a bet on the future alignment of interests. Such bets require vigilance and strategic wisdom.
Some of the most important indicators of a transition into a mindset of peaceful coexistence are: fundamental changes towards peace and reconciliation in the educational systems; the elimination of deceptive messages; and a proper education for peace, in all classrooms and in all the media outlets, including Al Jazeera.
May our leaders act with foresight, and may we hear only besorot tovot ("good tidings").
Originally published in Israel National News.
