On last night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Dr. Daniel Pipes and Ben Baird of the Middle East Forum joined Ezra Levant to discuss Trump's recent trip to the Middle East and where his second term as president might lead in terms of advancing peace in the region.

The Abraham Accords, orchestrated by Donald Trump during his first term, were a monumental step toward achieving meaningful peace in the Middle East. However, strained by four years of the Biden administration and disrupted by the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, it remains to be seen whether Trump's return to office will serve to rekindle the embers of peace between Israel and its neighbours. 

Regarding the President's recent trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, Dr. Daniel Pipes observed that the emphasis appeared to be on building rapport with key Islamist regimes: "First in Syria — a group has come to power that has looked over the five months since December has looked very bad. But yet, now the United States is working to help them consolidate power," he said. "And secondly, Iran…. It looks like something along the lines of the 2015 Iran deal are now being discussed with the leaders in Tehran. So if there is an overarching theme besides making deals, it is getting to be more at ease with the Islamists in Syria and Iran and Qatar, all three."

Of those three countries, Qatar — a small nation with a population roughly equal to that of Wyoming — may be the least familiar to most North Americans. Still, its influence cannot be overstated, says Ben Baird: "They have outsized wealth, outsized influence, not only throughout the region, but throughout the world. And as our study showed, influence even here in the United States. This is a gas-rich country that is using its petrodollars and not always for the right reasons." 

Baird continued: "We're talking about universities, K-12, businesses, private equity firms, hedge funds, real estate trophy properties — Qatar's deeply invested in America, even in our critical infrastructure. As we seek energy independence from the Middle East, we are outsourcing our domestic energy supplies to Qatar — to a Persian Gulf state that does not have America's best interests in mind."