by Philip Giraldi, The Unz Review:
It would be an interesting exercise if one might view and consider in retrospect the week that began with the United Nations General Assembly speech in New York on September 23rd that included the “Your countries are going to hell” performance by President Donald Trump followed on the 26th by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu experiencing the boycotting UN Delegate walk-out before moving on to Netanyahu subsequently at the White House revising the Trump plan for Gaza. The week concluded with the meeting by Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at Quantico with America’s flag officers. One might, without any particular bias against either Trump or Netanyahu, well come to the conclusion that those days constitute the absolute worst that the United States government now has to offer the American people and to the world in general.
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The absolute low points during the week have to be Trump’s pathetic pleading for “his” Nobel Peace Prize in light of the fact that he and Hegseth also were setting the stage for regime change by military intervention initiatives in both Venezuela and Iran, while also increasing tension with Russia and allowing war criminal murderer Netanyahu to have a free hand with the Palestinians. Media reports note the impending supply of new US missiles to NATO states confronting Russia and the movement of US aerial refueling tankers from the US bases toward the Middle East, similar to the preparations made to attack Iran in June. So is this all about new wars?
On Monday, regarding the release of “his” ceasefire proposal for Gaza, Trump enthused that “This is a big, big day, a beautiful day, potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.” He added that the deal would resolve millennia-old problems and bring “eternal peace.” He later qualified the enthusiasm by characteristically blaming the Arabs if the plan should not succeed, declaring that “If Hamas rejects the deal, Bibi you will have our full backing to do what you have to do” to “finish it” in Gaza. He added that “Hamas is either going to be doing it or not – and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end.”
It should surprise no one that Netanyahu was privately allowed a final edit on the draft of the Trump 20-point Gaza plan/proposal that several Arab states had agreed to support in its first 21-point draft version. The “significant” changes were made on Sunday after a meeting between Chief US Negotiator Steve Witkoff and his colleague Jared Kushner together with Netanyahu’s chief negotiator Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. The text inter alia had already conceded to Israel a “security” corridor around Gaza, not unlike confining the “Gazans in a concentration camp” situation that prevailed prior to October 7th, as well as other modifications, permitting a free hand to continue the slaughter no matter how things turn out.
The principal changes demanded by Netanyahu were related to two of the most sensitive issues in the negotiations: the actual disarmament of Hamas and the pace and substance of the Israeli Army’s physical withdrawal from Gaza. The issue of a future Palestinian state was ignored. The new proposal links the actual Israel withdrawal from territory to the “demilitarization” of Gaza and the ability of an international armed peacekeeping/policing force to take over the land, which will be a highly subjective process on both counts. Israel, in the edited text now being promoted by Trump, “will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the US.”
The original text stated only that the IDF “will progressively hand over the Gaza territory that [it] occup[ies].” The revised proposal will instead allow Israel to occupy the “security” perimeter zone surrounding and even intruding into the Strip until Gaza is “properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.” That will be highly subjective and can be used to prolong the process or even subvert it.
