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UPDATE: The Ynet quote remains up, but McGurk is reportedly not involved. I have no confirmation on this however from the State Department, but will reach out to confirm.
This may be a simple error by a media outlet, but if it’s not, this is deeply troubling.
In response to an inquiry from Ynet, the White House did not deny reports of indirect contact with Hamas. A State Department official said, “We cannot comment on ongoing negotiations, but we note recent statements from Qatar and Egypt indicating their continued efforts to reach an agreement. Brett McGurk and his team remain involved in these efforts.”
We already know from Steven Witkoff, the current envoy, that he largely outsourced the whole original ‘ceasefire’ to Brett McGurk who was Biden’s envoy.
Witkoff then lavishly praised McGurk.
In Jan, at Mar-a-Lago, Witkoff stated that “the Biden administration is the tip of the spear” in the Hamas negotiations. Biden has “got a solid team, and I appreciated that they’re allowing us to be collaborative.”
Much later, Witkoff told Tucker, “When I first got in and I was talking to Brett McGurk, who was the envoy on behalf of Biden, he was a smart guy.”
“He said to me, ‘This is where I want to get to, Steve.’ And so when I went in there, I went in with the imprimatur of the president.”
“Steve became a close partner of mine, I think it’s safe to say a friend,” McGurk told PBS.
McGurk’s involvement should have ended when the Biden administration did. Is that actually the case? Witkoff’s ‘big accomplishment’ in Gaza was implementing McGurk’s proposal as he already admitted. If McGurk is still involved that would raise a lot of red flags since he also joined Lux Capital which keeps bashing Trump.
But lately the Trump foreign policy on Israel and Iran is looking like it’s being copied from the Biden administration and that would make sense if Biden’s people were still running it.
Amateur negotiators vs professional liars. That’s one area where Hamas has the edge. Going back to Ancient times, their culture specialized in lies and deceptions, trickery and deceit, to get their way in negotiations. Sir Richard Burton pointed out that even though their culture is backwards in some ways, it is more developed in other ways, particularly in fraudulent negotiations. Their brain power just goes into that kind of thing, instead of science.
Or agriculture, the arts or anything else civilized. They’re the world’s biggest liars and belong in their crappy bazaars selling carpets.
Yeah, like 1001 Tales of Arabian Nights 🙂
I actually liked that book when I was a kid! You know Burton translated the definitive version, of course.
What is so scary about Trump/Witkoff policy towards Israel is that it appears, in practice, in ‘negotiation’, neutral towards Israel. Rather than being an ally, America is acting as a third party; and in so doing, giving legitimacy to terror, pressuring Israel, blurring the moral lines, reducing a globally (UN) supported existential war against Israel to a conflict between two sides as if of equal standing.
Is Trump in over his head?
Will he become a figurehead like Biden? If support for terror has been woven into the fabric of America, it’s logical to think that, certainly since 9/11, but even decades before, it’s also been woven into what would become the second Trump presidency. The planning by evil forces for all contingencies, whether Democrat or Republican, is truly, truly diabolical. If that is the case, will America resort to negotiation as the most effective method to rid herself of terrorism, of total destruction, from within?
President Trump could never be a mere figurehead. He’s a giant.
Perfectly said.
In my view, I think Trump is in over his head. He appears lost and flailing, as when, to give one among a mounting list of examples, he threatened Hamas (not once, but twice, on nearly back-to-back week-ends) with dire consequences if they didn’t release all the hostages, only for there to be no consequences. All bluster and bravado with no teeth. It made Hamas look to be in the driver’s seat and Trump appeared weak, clueless, and foolish.
And now he’s trying to negotiate a deal with Iran. It’s shocking.
There’s no excuse for any of what’s going on with him and his adminstration right now with respect to Israel and the ME at large. He is moving in a very bad direction, seemingly starry-eyed and enamoured with Islamic countries as if ignorant of what they represent at their core. Any Western leader who takes their eyes off the prize is a fool. The Islamic world is always moving toward the global Caliphate by any means necessary. Meanwhile we here in the West, including Trump, limp along willfully ignorant with no excuse to be so, ensuring our own demise.
I expected better from him and am mystifed by recent events.
Do people even know that “Trump” isn’t working alone? That he has a team (not counting this holdover) working with him? So they’re ALL over their heads?
Personally. I believe what PDT is doing is historic, and when the corporate media finally realizes that (heh, not much chance), maybe people who keep underestimating him will wake up and smell the coffee.
This pretension that PDT is stupid (“over his head”) is silly. Sure did a lot for decades for someone simple-minded (which, of course, we all know is meant by that figure of speech.).
I wrote to a friend and I hope I am wrong: Trump is so desperate for a Nobel prize he with recognise a fakestinian terror state. And I fear Bibi is the coward who would agree.
I’m guessing your friend wrote back with “Are you INSANE”?? Everything you posted is ridiculous! Try that crap over on cnn!
Bibi has been called hesitant and too hesitant and too connected to the USA.. True but I have read that the last couple of weeks have changed Bibi. He made a a statement to that effect.
In terms of Trump, what you say looks plausible. You will get those thumbs down votes here because people do not want to believe it. They see it but twist like pretzels for any other explanation.Maybe it is 12 D chess. How could someone who was our last hope now favor far left plans for Israel, for its ultimate destruction. What happens in the middle east will happen in the US. Look at the UK! and France! Look at Canada!
Plus is Trump minimizing the crimes of Hamas and its sponsor, Qatar.?
Trump is desperate to prevent nuclear war. Even though it might start out as a “limited” attack on Iran by Israel, it just might be the match that sets off a world wide conflagration by itchy trigger fingers.
Hey friends, the truth often hurts…
Eh. Trump is going to drop missiles on the heads of the Iranian mullahs. It’s only a matter of time.
Actually, Trump doesn’t have to do it himself. He only needs to busy himself on the golf course while the Israelis do the deed.
Everyone is anticipating that the Israelis are going to do it anyway so why not? The only people who have a lot to lose are the Iranians. They need to learn that words means things and every action has a reaction and reactions imply consequences. Consequences for which the leaders of Iran and their military won’t likely survive.
Either way works for me. 😛
Here we go again. Trump’s seeming inability to be coldhearted and ruthless when necessary is eventually going to bite him in the ass–again.
Trump often recites the allegory about the lady and the snake. Perhaps he should heed his own words.
Brett McGurk perhaps has made the enemy comfortable with him and he is talking ending the war. Steven Witkoff and the Art of the Deal in this dire and tenuous situation with the Trump 47 administration knows it may be uncomfortable to switch envoys abruptly so they are letting the enemy get used to Witkoff – If the parties are all with the same MINDSETS working for permanent peace and cooperation and potential prosperity of their people so they lay down their arms and tell their Iran proxy militias to stop.
This could be the reason Brett McGurk is still on the scene?
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮. Wtf. …….//
I think it’s past time to go at least one step further. Trump is the man in charge. We have to stop acting as if mistakes are being made by others that he is somehow unaware of or not directing outright. The growing series of serious mis-steps in the ME on Trump’s watch at this point are becoming a trend and he cannot be absolved of responsibility. What is driving this madness, I do not know. Some desire to be a “peacemaker” at all cost?
~ He’s suddenly smitten with the idea of making a deal with Iran. What?????!!!!Their nuclear capabilities must be physically destoryed. Full stop. Needless to say, the Iranian regime cannot be trusted in any kind of a deal, something Trump seemed to have understood a few years ago, but now he’s all on board.
~ Negotiating with Saudi Arabia and leaving Israel out of it.
~ Negotiating a “truce” with the Houthis that didn’t include a commitment by them to stop attacking Israel.
~ Negotiating with Hamas without any coordination wtih Israel.
~ Getting a bee in his bonnet about providing aid to Gazans which equals aid to people who support Hamas which equals aid to people whose holy book directs them to hate all non-believers and to express that hate with action which equals, anyway, as we all now, aid that goes directly to Hamas.
~ Then there’s today’s report that Trump is thinking of lifitng sanctions on Syria to give them a “fresh start.” Huh? Was this part of the back room deal to get Edan released?
~ And let’s not forget that special new luxury Air Force One replacement courtesy of Qatar who Trump and his admin have been legitimizing for months on end now.
~ And one can never stress enough: Steve Witkoff a disaster.
I have no idea if this will matter because I’m a cynic, but I think we all need to make our voices heard with our elected officials and anyone else in a position of influence to express our concerns about the direction this administration is taking in the Middle East. It it sickening beyond words and is an absolute betrayed by Trump (someone I voted for in all three elections).
~ Trump dropped demands that Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as a condition to receive US assistance in starting its civilian nuclear program.
~ Witkoff undermining Netanyahu by telling families of hostages that the war needs to dend so a deal can be made and that Netanyahu is dragging out a needless war.
Hegseth scrapped his plan to go to Israel and instead will accompany Trump on his ME tour that has not scheduled stop in Israel.
~ Edan, the last American hostage to be released alive, is suppoed to travel to Qatar to express his gratitude! This plan will only happen if he receives medical clearance to fly. But that’s the least of it. Who in the Trump administration had this insane idea and set this up.? That this young man who just endured unthinkable torture for a year-and-a-half in captivity after being taken hostage by Hamas should have to go to the place that harbors these savages, that funds these savages, that is a sponsor of terrorism, and thank them???!!! How utterly depraved, sick, cruel, and outrageous!
Daniel, you conduct such meticulous research and write so well, I hope you will cover these insane pivots in the administration. It is becoming quite alarming.
Sarah,
Hang in there!!!
עם ישראל חי
Sarah:
Some may not agree with the things you point out however, what you point out is an honest and objective assessment of what Trump and his minions have been doing and saying lately.
I say that as someone who likes Trump but Trump is not infallible nor is he always right. Still, I’ll defer to his judgement over the judgement of any democrat 24/7/365. Democrats haven’t been right anything for as long as I can remember.
I hear what you’re saying and I’ve heard that case made before. I’ve also sometimes embraced the comparison that Trump is better any hour of any day over a Democrat, but if that’s our measure then we never hold him accountable because we can always basically say, well, it could always be worse. And I don’t think that’s good.
Similarly, I agree 100% that Trump is not infallible or always right. And I think it’s an important reminder because so many put him on a pedastal as if he can do no wrong. That said, on the subject at hand, I don’t just see one or two disturbing things. I see a trend, and the pace is increasing and continues to move in a bad direction. There’s starting to be a critical mass that I can’t explain away by the points you make, and that I myself have made at times when Trump does things that I find maddening. On the topic at hand, it seems something is shifting in him and/or some misguided individuals have his ear.
And finally, I think that sometimes those of us on the right are hesitant to criticize him because of how much he’s endured from the legacy media, the Democrats (one and the same thing), and even members of our own party. We don’t want to pile on because he’s been unfairly judged. But there are times when an issue is so significant and/or the change in message and behavior is so notable that it must be addressed honestly and out in the open. For me, this is one such time.
If no other thing, Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon nor should Iran be allowed to stall and wait for another administration. Trump should be the man for hour to get the job done and he’s shirking. If Iran gets a nuke, life on earth will be changed forever. We cannot allow it. We cannot do this to ourshelves or to our children.
The latest bad news in what has become a string of truly absurd actions on the part of the Trump administration is that while on his tour through the ME, he’s meeting with the terrorist leader of Syria. It is increasingly difficult to find excuses for his behavior. It’s moving in a dangerous direction.
Trump just lifted sanctions on Syria because, sure, why not reward a terror state.