Thread by @GsmittySmith

Former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien (@Robertcobrien) spoke at the Nixon Library (@nixonlibrary) tonight. He jointly received the Richard Nixon Foundation’s (@nixonfoundation) 2021 Architect of Peace Award alongside fmr Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo)

Past recipients include former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Senators Elizabeth Dole, Joe Lieberman, and John McCain, and both Walter and Leonore Annenberg.

Highlights from O’Brien’s speech: “years from now…when the heat of partisanship has cooled and historians evaluate the Trump presidency on its merits, I believe they will conclude that the President left a legacy of peace.”

“President Trump accumulated political capital in the region. He moved our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. And, the sky did not fall as the foreign policy elite predicted.”

“The President was then willing to spend that capital to achieve peace. At critical stages of the negotiations, Mike, Jared and I were able to move the process forward by reminding the parties of what America and President Trump had done for them.”

“Trust and personal relationships between the key players allowed us to get hard things done – notably by moving beyond the stale construct that gave the geriatric and authoritarian Palestinian politicians in the West Bank veto power over Arab-Israeli peace deals.”

O’Brien noted the team effort it took to get to the South Lawn, O’Brien praised @AviBerkow, Col. @RC_Greenway and General Miguel Correa and his Chief of Staff, Alex Gray.

O’Brien also highlighted the critical roles of Brian Hook, David Friedman, John Rakolta, David Fisher, as well as Larry Kudlow, Tom Storch and @stevenmnuchin1.

“Like Middle East peace, the hot and, more recently, Cold War between Serbia and Kosovo showed no signs of abatement. EU efforts to bring the parties together when I took office were going nowhere.”

“I received a call from our Ambassador to Germany and good friend of all of ours, Ric Grenell (@richardgrenell). He had met recently with Serb and Kosovar leaders in Berlin and thought there was the potential for a breakthrough if America lead.”

“Several months later, after intense negotiations, we were in Oval Office with Serbian President Vucic, Kosovo Prime Minister Houti and President Trump, signing an economic normalization deal between these long-time foes.”

“As a bonus, Muslim-majority Kosovo agreed to move its embassy to Jerusalem without opposition from Serbia, which itself opened a trade office in Israel’s eternal capital.”

Regarding hostages and detainees: “During the Trump Administration, we brought over 55 Americans home. We used every tool in the kit from military rescues to diplomacy to economic pressure to Intel operations. We never paid ransom and we never compromised our principals.”

“Getting wrongfully detained Americans and U.S. hostages home was the essence of an America First foreign policy for President Trump, Mike and me. We stayed on those cases literally until our last hours in office on January 20.”

“While we take pride in and are grateful for the captives who came home – the majority of those held when President Trump took office – our heart continues to break for those still held captive, Austin Tice, Morad Tahbaz and Siamak Namazi and Jeff Woodke, to name just a few.”