Trump's "Board of Peace"

It is possible to argue that cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump's entire existence is built on a mountain of lies. We could probably dissect any aspect of his biography and find that this is true. The latest effort by Trump to conjure something into existence on the basis of falsehoods and misrepresentations is his "Board of Peace," which he inaugurated yesterday. Trump presents himself as a peacemaker and is obsessed with the fact that he has not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, Trump has a poor record when it comes to peace, and his new board has little to do with peace and a lot to do with money. Judging by the Board of Peace, Trump still does not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, but he does have a serious claim to a prize for innovation in grifting. In that realm, Trump is certainly a world leader.

Nobody should be deluded into thinking that Trump has an interest in peace. Trump is interested in money and his own aggrandizement. For Trump, working for peace is simply a means to those ends. The Board of Peace grew out of ideas for administering Gaza after the Israel-Gaza War. Trump has long been influenced by his son-in-law Jared Kushner into seeing the devastated Palestinian land as little more than a real estate opportunity. The Palestinian residents of Gaza play almost no role in their plans to rebuild the territory.

Somehow, at some time, Trump got it in his head that he has successfully stopped a number of wars. The number of wars that he claims to have stopped changes frequently, as does the individual entries on the list. Sometimes Trump has even invented wars that have never taken place, such as when he said, "I solved wars that was unsolvable. Azerbaijan and Albania, it was going on for many, many years..." To be clear, Azerbaijan and Albania have never fought a war. But a president who confuses Greenland and Iceland can hardly be expected to differentiate between Albania and Armenia. At best, Trump can claim to have assisted in achieving ceasefires, most of which subsequently collapsed. Nevertheless, based on Trump's fabricated list of wars that he has ended, he convinced himself that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. His failure to receive this prize has become an obsession.

Trump's main representatives in the Middle East are Steve Witkoff and Kushner. Neither has much experience in the Middle East, though Kushner has been successful in funneling Gulf Arab money into his own portfolio. Witkoff is a real estate investor. Witkoff and Kushner have developed grandiose plans for redeveloping Gaza with modern high-rises, sports complexes, hospitals, and educational facilities. Right now, Gazans are living in tents that get flooded when it rains. They need emergency housing, not a Gaza Riviera. But they are of little concern to those who see Gaza as real estate rather than people.

Combine Trump's delusion that he is a peacemaker with the Witkoff/Kushner plan for a board to administer Gaza, and you get Trump's Board of Peace. Trump's stated vision is that leaders of the world's nations will join under his leadership. What they will then do is not exactly clear, though administering Gaza seems to be the first order of business. Membership is by invitation only. Trump has extended invitations to the leaders of several countries, including Russia and China. A requirement for permanent membership is to donate $1 billion, though countries can be members for three years free of charge. Trump will be chairman of the Board, seemingly for life because the term does not expire. Trump can also designate his successor. An Executive Board serves under Trump, currently consisting of Marco Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, investor Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Robert Gabriel, who is currently Trump's deputy national security advisor. Obviously, this board is almost completely beholden to Trump and will presumably do his bidding without objection. Regardless, the Board of Peace charter gives Trump considerable power no matter what the executive board might prefer. Trump can also veto any decision with which he disagrees. Essentially, the Board of Peace is Trump's to do with what he pleases. The rest is window dressing.

Trump, as ever, is a bully and has been using bullying tactics when it comes to the Board of Peace. Many countries, including several U.S. allies, have been hesitant about joining the Board. When French President Emmanuel Macron declined to join, Trump threatened to put 200 percent tariffs on French wine, including Champagne. On the other hand, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was critical of Trump during his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump withdrew his invitation.

The countries that have confirmed participation in the Board of Peace are the United States, of course, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Almost all of these are either authoritarian governments or have right-wing leaders aligned with Trump. There are none of the United States' traditional Western European allies. Israel's participation was only grudgingly, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still upset by the composition of the subcommittee charged with overseeing Gaza. Trump has visions of his board replacing the United Nations, but that seems delusional given this membership.

The current membership includes poor countries that have joined because they want to curry favor with Trump and wealthier nations that will be expected to pay for the board's activities. It is unlikely that the rich countries will hand over their cash without strings attached. The billion-dollar fee for permanent membership already demonstrates that this is a club in which status is solely determined by wealth, but the need for huge sums of money will give greater influence to those nations who are able to provide it. Of course, a certain amount of that money will be siphoned off to Trump's and his associates' pockets. 

The Board of Peace is likely to struggle with its initial project, the reconstruction of Gaza. It is unlikely that those such as Witkoff and Kushner have the slightest clue what will be required to rebuild Gaza. A humanitarian disaster, including a genocide, has been unfolding there for more than two years. Israeli attacks occur daily. The Palestinian people are being killed by Israeli weapons and Mother Nature. Their needs are being ignored. This is the environment in which Trump, with a band of autocrats, thinks he can build luxury condominiums. Ultimately, the Board is not aimed at peace or necessarily even Gaza reconstruction. The primary goal is very likely to be further enriching Trump and his close circle of supporters as well as giving Trump an ego boost. The result is going to be both a farce and a tragedy.