UPDATE 9/11/2020: President Trump announced Bahrain would normalize relations with Israel, the second gulf nation to do so in 30 days.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer thanked President Trump for unifying the region against Iranian terrorism.
Israel waited 26 years to make peace with a 3rd Arab country and only 29 days to make peace with a 4th. Thanks to the leaders of 🇦🇪 and 🇧🇭 for this historic breakthrough and to @POTUS Trump for confronting 🇮🇷 and helping transform our region for the better. More to come!
— Amb. Ron Dermer (@AmbDermer) September 11, 2020
Will John Hickenlooper have anything to say about this historic deal after refusing to acknowledge the UAE/Israeli peace accord?
We’re not holding our breath, but this deal is another reminder that Hickenlooper’s weak approach to Iran is downright foolish.
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Colorado’s John Hickenlooper is among a number of Democrat Senate candidates who have refused to acknowledge the historic United Arab Emirates/Israel peace agreement brokered by President Trump.
Among competitive Senate races, curiously only Mark Kelly in Arizona has commented at all on the deal.
Hickenlooper’s silence on the matter is remarkable when one considers his past efforts to portray himself as pro-Israel, especially during his short-lived presidential campaign.
The reason Democrats like Hickenlooper are at a loss for words is because they have long maintained Trump and Cory Gardner’s hawkish approach to Iran would have dire consequences for American allies and regional stability in the Gulf.
Instead, as the Republican Jewish Coalition pointed out last week, the opposite has proven true.
“The Israel-UAE peace deal absolutely exposes the Democrats’ foreign policy strategy of appeasement of Iran as a failure,” Strauss said. “President Trump’s strategy of maximum pressure and standing shoulder to shoulder with our trusted ally Israel, and the Arab states willing to stand up to Iran, is an absolute success.”
Hickenlooper was harshly critical of Trump’s decision to kill Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani and withdraw from the 2015 Iran deal, arguing both moves would set back regional peace efforts. As a presidential candidate Hickenlooper also said he would consider reentering the Iran deal.
Ironically, analysts credit former President Obama’s reckless 2015 Iran deal with initially thawing relations between the UAE and Israel as the nations sought to present a united front against Iranian terror in the region.
Even former Obama Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged funds from the Iran deal would likely be funneled towards terrorism, a matter of immense concern to both the UAE and Israel.
Kerry’s own admission is at odds with guarantees from Democrats like Hickenlooper, who dishonestly claimed the Iran deal would not put Israeli security at risk.
Upon taking office, Trump’s aggressive approach isolating Iran further created space for the UAE and Israel to foster even closer ties without fear of alienating pro-Palestinian elements within the Democratic party.
Ultimately, Trump’s approach paid off with a historic deal that could pave the way for other Gulf nations to make peace with Israel.
As the RJC pointed out, all of this is of course incredibly embarrassing for naive Democrats like Hickenlooper who favor a weak approach to Iran.
“Remaining silent is preferable to ‘exposing yourself as clueless,” they quipped.