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.
