President Trump is making big moves the world over. From nabbing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to threatening the conquest of Greenland to pushing for a Ukraine-Russia cease-fire, Trump’s foreign policy plate is full. The World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is still buzzing about it.
Overshadowed by these bigger headlines but no less important is Trump’s newly minted Board of Peace.
The board is designed to implement the president’s 20-point peace plan for the war-torn Gaza Strip, as endorsed verbatim by the UN Security Council in November.
Notable critics, including French President Emmanuel Macron, assert that Trump — through this new board that he personally and indefinitely oversees — is trying to supplant the United Nations as part of a wider overhaul of the international system that, in the wake of World War II, produced the UN, NATO and many of the other organizations that are steadily losing relevance today.
One can understand Macron’s concern: The board’s charter does not mention Gaza but describes a broader mission to promote stability and secure peace in any area threatened by conflict. That sounds a lot like the UN.
Not a military alliance
However, according to Trump administration officials speaking off the record, the Board of Peace has not been conceived as a direct challenge to the UN.
Rather, it should be seen as one of several multilateral entities, like the G20 or the World Bank Group, that could help nudge a flailing UN in the right direction.
It is also not a military alliance, whereas NATO is.
Nevertheless, some countries are anxious that the board will undermine NATO’s purpose as an alliance designed to counter Russian influence. To the horror of our NATO allies, Trump invited Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to join this new board, along with Putin’s ally, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
This comes at a time when NATO is facing unprecedented strain over the dispute between Washington and European capitals over the fate of Greenland and military support for Ukraine.
The coming months will give a clearer sense of where the board is headed. Gaza is an enormous challenge. The board would be wise to deal with that situation first before pivoting to other international conflicts.
The Trump administration has already made some initial steps, forming a subcommittee within the board that will be responsible for managing Gaza. Prominent American and international figures have joined (even as France and Germany have declined).
A Palestinian figure now sits atop the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. And momentum is slowly building for a Hamas-free Gaza.
Still, the board’s key tasks — disarming Hamas terrorists and installing an International Stabilization Force — remain ahead.
However, the inclusion of figures representing Qatar and Turkey, both long-standing and continued patrons of Hamas, raises an uncomfortable question: Will Doha and Ankara continue to back their terrorist client in Gaza, or will they work with the Trump administration to end Hamas rule in Gaza and begin reconstruction of the Strip?
To be clear, Qatar and Turkey bear significant responsibility for the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent wars that have raged more than two years. Including them on the Board of Peace looks like rewarding bad behavior.
Position of influence
While some critics have charged that the board is Trump’s international loyalty test, this perception could actually redound to Trump’s benefit.
He should demand that Qatar and Turkey banish Hamas from their territories and end all support. This should be the condition for their continued inclusion.
If Gaza becomes a success story, then one could easily imagine the board addressing other global challenges, from the Russian war against Ukraine to the appalling humanitarian crisis triggered by the conflict in Sudan.
The jackals at the UN are watching nervously. If Trump succeeds, it will be a further sign of their failures.
Jonathan Schanzer is executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X @JSchanzer.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
