Thread by @DrewHolden360

With today’s announcement of a historic peace agreement between Israel and the UAE, I thought it would be a good time to go to the vault for all the hot takes that Trump’s US embassy move to Jerusalem would never allow something like this.

🧵THREAD🧵

We’ll start with the narrative drivers, who told us that Trump was undermining peace in the Middle East with this decision.

Here’s @nytimes and @juliehdavis saying that the move “complicated prospects for peace.”

Here’s @CNN saying the move will “roil the region” and “undermine regional stability,” which seem like hard predictions to defend in light of the events since.

Perhaps my favorite comes from @NewYorker, who said that the Trump Admin’s assertion that the move would advance peace (in scare quotes) was a “fiction”

@ABC may want to check in with it’s experts who said the move was dangerous.

This whole episode has been a phenomenal reminder that foreign policy “experts” - who’ve built a half century of American policy failure in the Middle East - aren’t worth much (more on that soon).

@maddow is in the mix, as ever. Here she is for @MSNBC, pretending that the violent protests against the move were both Trump’s fault and indicative of threats to the region.

@voxdotcom put on a clinic with this one - a whole thread of misplaced fearmongering about this “explosive move”

You’ll be as surprised as I am that @ajplus and @AJENews is running Palestinian propaganda on this one.

Both @USATODAY and @CBSNews/@CBSEveningNews got in on the fear porn, too.

And of course the oped pages were flooded with concern and woe.

Dem politicians got into the mix too.

Wonder if 🚨@JoeBiden🚨maybe wants this take back? Still think the move wasn’t “part of a wider Middle East peace deal” there Joe?

@SenFeinstein said that the move “will spark violence and embolden extremists,” a prediction that looks less than accurate.

@RepSpanberger said that the move has put “regional stability, and our long-term diplomat partnerships in jeopardy.”

I’m...not sure that that take aged perfectly.

You’ll be stunned to know that @IlhanMN wasn’t on board.

And now, the experts, who warned us that the sky was falling.

The only thing I’ve gotten right on my 2020 bingo card was “@brhodes makes a bad prediction about the Middle East”

Has @JohnBrennan ever been right about anything?

Lot of bad takes by lobbying groups in the “there’s nothing new under the sun” section. Here we have @CAPAction and @votevets

The ones who really shine are the Middle East focused cabals masquerading as issue organizations like @AAIUSA and their founder @jjz1600.

A lot of British people (??) got mad too. Here’s @lisanandy, @standardnews, @RichardBurgon and @CarolineLucas

@SteveSchmidtSES says Trump “destabilized the Middle East with his decision to move the embassy.”

Any follow up to that one today, Steve?

Obligatory @kurteichenwald mention (yikes).

And from behind the block we’ve got @deanobeidallah, who even pull in some conspiracy theories!

Running short on space and patience. Here we’ve got @grantstern (Trump wants blood. Sure.), @Kevin_Maguire, @TalbertSwan (“detrimental to the peace process”) and @Ibishblog.

The problem with broadcasting doom and gloom is that no one ever goes back to correct the record or explain why so many people make such wild predictions that come up empty.

We need more of that, and less blowhardery from blue checks chasing retweets.

Oh and we need to stop taking anyone who talks about “realpolitik” seriously.

This is also another example of the media and blue check types obstinately refusing to give Trump credit for anything because Orange Man Bad.

Look at the stories about this event, and tell me whether it’s clear that the President of the United States brokered this deal.

Also, in case it isn’t obvious, this thread really, REALLY, makes me question the idea that the disastrous Obama foreign policy legacy had anything to do with this.

Also, while there’s surely some bad faith going on, my two cents is that a ton of this has to do with having our foreign policy sacred cows shaped in an unhealthy way by 22 year olds with no life experience but a masters in like “the art of foreign affairs” or some such bullshit.

Also also, had this happened during the Obama Admin, the Nobel committee would’ve held an emergency session to give him the Peace Prize and every story about it would have been titled “PRESIDENT OBAMA BRINGS PEACE TO THE MIDDLE EAST, WORLD LOOKS ON ADMIRABLY”

And his approval rating internationally would go up to 105% and everyone would talk about why he is in fact better than George Washington and look this public perception poll in Germany says they think so too!!!

That also would’ve been wrong and bad - and conservatives would say so, probably with less charity than was warranted for the important achievement and what it portends for peace - but let’s not fool ourselves here.

Anyway, I don’t have anything to sell/subscribe to, but I do these threads often, so throw me a follow.

On the topic of the ME, please don’t forget that Christian persecution remains prevalent. Lots of good orgs are helping & need support, including: christiansatrisk.org/en/donate.html