Foreign Digest: Trump’s Board of Peace, Iran, Russia and Ukraine

Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” held its initial meeting, after being snubbed by most European and some other United States allies. The Board is intended ostensibly to administer the Gaza Strip and provide a forum for other international disputes. The unusual structure of it has given some States pause or caused them to reject the invitations to join, such as the Holy See, which expressed perplexity over the Board's structure and expressed the concern that it would supplant the United Nations. For example, Trump would be chairman for life, holds unilateral veto power, and the invitation-only form costs $1 billion to join. The European Union and Italy, an ally whose center-right Prime Minister is close with Trump and acts as a bridge between the two sides of the Atlantic, will participate only as observers. The Italian Constitution prohibits participating in any organization in which Italy would not have voting parity, which Board of Peace members would not have. Most other key allies that were invited have not joined, but some dictatorships and a few allies have. Iran: Over a million people turned out for the Day of Action rallies for Iran around the world, including in American cities over a week ago. There was also a new round of protests in several cities in Iran, despite the killing of thousands of Iranians by the Islamic Republic and mass arrests of others, with threatened executions, after the largest round of protests in years last month. The theocratic Shi’ite Muslim Iranian regime foments Islamic revolution throughout the Islamic world, especially among fellow Shi’ites, and is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. Iran has been developing a nuclear weapon program. The Islamic Republic arms the Russian Federation for its aggression against Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine: Trump has delayed a vote by the United States Congress on sanctions against the Russian Federation for its aggression against Ukraine through his pressure on the majority Republican caucuses of each chamber. There is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine. Today is the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia had invaded the former Soviet Republic in 2014, seizing Crimea and then fomented a separatist rebellion in the Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. Russia’s aggression violates the Unted Nations Charter, as the organization was formed after the Second World War to oppose aggression, as well as Russian recognition of Ukrainian independence and agreements to respect Ukrainian independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity that were given in exchange for Ukraine giving up its Soviet nuclear weapons and missiles, a deal which was supposed to be backed by American and British security guarantees for Ukraine. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who intends to restore the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. Russia invaded the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2008 and has kept troops in Moldova, a former Soviet Republic west of Ukraine, against Moldova’s wishes in support of a breakaway region of Russian-speakers.

Trump Proves Why Only George Washington Should be Honored on the Holiday for His Birthday

Every year, I advocate for a restoration of the holiday of “George Washington’s Birthday,” which is the name of the federal holiday, but not that of most States in the American Union and not used in common parlance, both of which usually refer to it, if not as “Washington and Lincoln’s Birthdays,” but especially as “Presidents’ Day” or something similar. I explain how the holiday is never observed on Washington’s February 22 birthday, and that it was intended to celebrate not only Washington’s presidency or the Presidents or the presidency in general, but Washington’s indispensable contributions as the General who led the Continental Army in the American Revolution and as a Founding Father. His great character, particularly his bravery, willingness to make great sacrifices out of service to his State and America, his honesty and integrity, is an exemplary one for all Americans. I have noted in the past that honoring Washington alone is a unifying practice, instead of a divisive one by honoring all the Presidents, and especially how honoring those who were scoundrels, particularly the two who had dodged the military draft during the Cold War through deception, namely William J. Clinton and Donald J. Trump, would be inappropriate and harmful to the spirit of the American people. Alas, Trump’s poor character, which has caused unprecedented corruption, authoritarianism, cruelty, dishonesty, and a decrease of understanding or respect for American ideals, has proven my point. The presidency was created by the Framers of the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention that Washington chaired in Philadelphia in 1787 with Washington in mind for the office, and his immediate successor as President, fellow Founding Father John Adams, had prayed that only people of good character would ever hold the office. But the cult of the presidency has grown along with its disproportionate power relative to the other Branches of Government, particularly the Legislative, as has populism, at the expense of federalism, fiscal discipline, discernment and restraint, in violation of the principles of the Founders and Washington. Restoring “Washington’s Birthday” would remind Americans not only of the Father of his Country’s contributions to America throughout his life and his character, but of the ideals of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers that remain as timely as ever.

Foreign Digest: Hungary, Russia, Syria and Iran

Hungary: Donald Trump endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for re-election in the Hungarian parliamentary elections in April. Using the presidency openly to interfere in a foreign State’s (particularly an ally, as Hungary is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) free elections is inappropriate in the first place, but to endorse a self-described “illiberal” premier who rules autocratically by decree, is corrupt, anti-migrant and pro-Russian is scandalous, and considering his opponent, Peter Magyar, whose center-right party leads the polls, it is also un-Republican and un-conservative politics. As I have noted, Orban’s nationalist xenophobia and anti-European Union views have made him a darling of the self-described “nationalist” American far right and Trumpists. Their fondness for Orban suggests their authoritarian, isolationist and bigoted vision for America. Russia: Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2024 with poison from a South American frog while he was imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony on politically motivated charges, according to five European States who had examined samples taken from Navalny’s body. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are also reporting the Russian Federation to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for breaching the Chemical Weapons Convention that Russia had signed. The European findings validate two independent laboratory tests that Navalny’s widow had conducted. Opposition leaders, human rights advocates, journalists and anyone else who criticizes Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin are routinely assaulted, poisoned, killed, persecuted, imprisoned or banished. Even Russian exiles have been targeted by the Kremlin. Navalny had been poisoned in 2020 with a nerve agent by Russia. Syria: The United States abandoned its military base in northeastern Syria after brokering the integration deal between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Government I had posted about in my last post. The U.S. is relocating its forces to Jordan to continue to prevent the Islamic State terrorist organization from reconquering the territory it had seized in Syria and Iraq, where there are also American bases. The Islamic State broke away from the Sunni Islamist terrorist organization al Qaeda, which had killed nearly 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America. Both organizations remain a threat throughout the Islamic world. The abandonment of the base is part of the reason I urged in my last post for the U.S. to ensure the deal is implemented and that our SDF allies, particularly the Kurds, are not also abandoned to terrorists. Iran: Yesterday was a Day of Action, as called by Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, to overthrow the tyrannical Islamist theocracy Islamic Republic of Iran and transition to liberty and representative government in what he calls Iran’s “Lion and Sun Revolution,” referring to the symbol on the imperial flag before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Protests were led in Munich, Germany, where Pahlavi spoke; Los Angeles, California; and Toronto, Canada, among others around the world by exiled Iranians and freedom-loving people. Pahlavi called for six action steps: dismantling the regime's means for repression, cutting off the regime's financial lifelines, ensure free Internet and communications, expel the regime’s “diplomats” and prosecute its criminals, release all political prisoners, and prepare to recognize a transitional government. During the Munich Security Conference, Pahlavi also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two expressed mutual support for freedom for each others’ people, as Pahlavi expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity against Russian aggression. Iran provides Russia with arms. The Islamic Republic also foments Islamist revolution around the Shi’ite Islamic world and is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism.

Integration Agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Government

The Syrian Government reached an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for integration late last month, in a major step toward national reconciliation after the fall of the tyrannical Baathist Assad regime in December 2024, which had ruled for over half a century, and the Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011 and killed over half a million people and displaced millions. Iran, its Lebanese Shi’ite sponsored terrorists Hezbollah, and the Russian Federation had backed Bashar Assad, while the United States had supported the SDF, which focused mostly on combatting the Islamist terrorist organizations, al-Qaeda and its offshoot, the Islamic State. Al Qaeda had been responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in history, the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks against America that killed nearly 3,000 people. The U.S. led an international coalition to take away the Islamic State’s territory in Syria and Iraq, over which it had claimed a caliphate, but both al-Qaeda and the I.S. remain a threat throughout the Islamic World. The SDF is led by Kurds, but includes Armenian Christians and others, and governed northeastern Syria autonomously, although the new Syrian Government, which took power in 2004 after having been backed by Turkey, had seized some of the SDF’s territory. The SDF had been entrusted with I.S. prisoners, some of whom escaped during the clashes, who will be turned over to the Syrian Government. In the new agreement, brokered by the U.S. and guaranteed by both it and Syria’s former colonial power, France, Syrian Government forces will patrol in the Kurdish-ruled provinces, alongside provincial Kurdish forces, while SDF forces will form units in the Syrian Army while Kurdish provincial civil servants would be integrated into the state civil service. Kurdish civil and educational rights would be guaranteed by the agreement and displaced Kurds would enjoy the right to return to their territory. The integration agreement came after a truce and a decree by the Syrian Government recognizing the Kurdish language as official, along with Arabic, recognizing a Kurdish holiday as a national holiday, and annulling old laws that had stripped many Kurds of citizenship. Syria has multiple religious and ethnic minorities that the Syrian Government must respect and integrate for the sake of peace and national unity, as it has promised to do. After renouncing terrorism and dismantling Syria’s state-run drug production and trafficking operation, the U.S. and its allies have dropped economic sanctions on Syria. The U.S. must demonstrate gratitude and loyalty to its SDF and Kurdish allies by guaranteeing the success of the integration agreement between Damascus and the SDF.