Opinion - Leland Vittert's War Notes: Something for Nothing

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14-05-2025

NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight's 9 pm ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.
President Trump heads to Qatar tomorrow.
Let's look at his foreign trip in the only way that matters: Is America safer at home, more respected by our allies and more feared by our enemies after it?
President Donald Trump's speech in Saudi Arabia just turned 80 years of American foreign policy on its head – and that is a good thing.
'It's crucial for the wider world to know this great transformation has not come from Western interventionists, or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs,' Trump told the Saudis.
'In the end, the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,' he continued.
Trump's first international trip of his second presidency – like his first – is to Saudi Arabia, thumbing his nose at Europe.
'The birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves, the people that are right here, the people that have lived here all their lives, developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions and charting your own destinies in your own way,' Trump said.
Goatherders with oil: The Europeans and many Americans long looked down their noses at Arab leaders – but now, Trump is calling them the future. He's showing them the respect they have longed for.
The opposite: Former President Joe Biden once said he wanted to turn Saudi Arabia into a 'pariah' nation – then cozied up to Iran.
His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the Middle East was the quietest it had been in two decades – then came the October 7 attacks on Israel, less than two weeks after Sullivan's remarks.
Results matter: Biden's foreign policy failed on every front.
Reset: Trump's speech was a giant 'F-you' to French President Emmanuel Macron and his fellow European leaders.
Europe has always looked down on the Middle East.
Then, President Trump said that he respects them and got hundreds of billions in investments.
'You don't get something for nothing,' goes the old phrase.
Well, Trump kind of did get something for nothing.
He got investments just for acknowledging that these Gulf states, like Saudi Arabia, are legitimate nations on the world stage.
To be fair: 'But but but,' says the neoconservatives that dominate both sides of American foreign policy. 'This requires making deals with some unsavory characters,' they argue.
Sure: Foreign policy has always been this way.
Think about Reagan's alliance with the mujahedeen in Afghanistan.
Or Roosevelt's alliance with Stalin.
Recently, the Europeans stopped upholding their end of the bargain.
America shouldered the cost.
Europe gave away their countries – parts of France, England, Denmark and Germany now resemble Damascus, Syria.
The new residents have zero interest in assimilating into the existing European culture.
For all the crying about protecting NATO and our European allies, they have done precious little for us, and it's unclear if their armies could even fight if necessary.
Usual praise: Trump lifted sanctions on the new regime in Syria – yes, they are a bunch of (former) jihadists, but sanctions only push them to Iran and Syria – Trump's plan offers a route to buy, or at least rent, them.
Tommy Vietor, who served on former President Barack Obama's national security council, posted on X in agreement with Trump on lifting sanctions on the new Syrian regime:
'Getting rid of sanctions is the right thing to do. It's ok to say it.'
The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom also praised the move by Trump:
'Takeaways from Trump in Riyadh: big, welcome news on lifting Syria sanctions, although now we wait for details.'
Foreign policy is about seeing the world as it is, not the way you want it to be.
The 1980s neoconservative system worked until the world changed.
Having Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deeply intertwined with America is a good thing – not a bad thing – and it didn't cost Trump anything.
Tune into 'On Balance with Leland Vittert' weeknights at 9/8 CT on NewsNation. Find your channel here.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.
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