Transcript [00:00] Hey everybody. Uh, let's get right into [00:02] this one. This video is going to be a [00:04] little bit different. Most of the time [00:06] on this channel, we're talking about [00:08] Israel and what's happening with Gaza or [00:10] Iran orbah or the Houthis. Now, today I [00:13] want to take you somewhere that you [00:14] probably don't think about very often [00:16] and that is Usuzbekistan. So, we have [00:19] this headline here from basically today [00:23] because uh what's happening now is right [00:25] now as I'm recording this, Secretary of [00:27] State Marco Rubio is in Samarand, the [00:31] old Silk Road city. They welcomed him at [00:34] Registan Square. These three enormous [00:37] blue tiled Madras from the 1400s there. [00:41] Uh it's a Muslim country, right? And [00:43] there were hundreds of pigeons released [00:45] into the sky and they played pop music [00:48] uh honoring him. And Rubio did not come [00:51] alone. He actually brought with him more [00:53] than 200 American business business [00:56] executives. Now, here's why I'm making [00:58] this video. Reporters asked Rubio before [01:01] he left to go there to Isbekiststan [01:05] uh to Samarand. They asked him more or [01:08] less, look, there's a war with Iran that [01:10] isn't over. Saudi Arabia's in a war with [01:13] the Houthis. Things with Ukraine are a [01:15] mess. Why on earth are you going to [01:18] Usbekiststan? And his answer was [01:20] interesting. He said basically that [01:22] foreign trips are almost always about [01:24] putting out a fire. Uh you know, there's [01:26] a crisis, there's a conference, so you [01:28] go. And he wanted to go somewhere to [01:30] build a long-term relationship instead. [01:32] So my goal today, uh I'm going to be [01:34] talking about this Usuzbekiststan trip, [01:36] but my goal is not really about [01:38] Usuzbekiststan. My goal is to use what [01:40] Rubio is doing in Usuzbekiststan to show [01:43] you to explain the overall approach of [01:46] Trump's foreign policy for the whole [01:49] world because once you see the pattern [01:51] here uh you'll you'll start seeing it [01:54] everywhere including in in our part of [01:56] the world including with Israel and I'll [01:58] get to the Israel connections and there [02:00] are several of them and some of them are [02:02] really interesting. So part one uh is [02:07] where are we and why does this all [02:09] matter? So let's uh pull this down and [02:12] let's take a look at this. So here we [02:15] have the map. Okay. [02:18] So so starting with so first of all you [02:21] see here there are five countries and [02:23] they're all former Soviet republics. [02:25] They're the countries that are in uh in [02:27] blue or turquoise. Kazakhstan, [02:29] Usbekiststan, Turkmanistan, Kyrgystan [02:32] and Tajikistan. And they're all Muslim [02:34] majority and they're all landlocked. [02:37] Okay. And look who their neighbors are. [02:39] Russia to the north, China to the east, [02:42] um Afghanistan. [02:45] Um Afghanistan to the um to the south. [02:48] Sorry, just adjusting the camera there [02:50] for a sec. Um Afghanistan to the south. [02:54] Um we have Iran. Look who they're [02:56] bordering on. Turk menistan shares this [02:59] long border with Iran as you can see [03:01] there. So think about that. If you [03:03] wanted to design the most strategically [03:05] sensitive neighborhood on Earth, you [03:07] couldn't do much better than than this. [03:09] You have Russia, China, Iran, [03:11] Afghanistan. Every one of America's [03:13] major problems basically sits on one of [03:16] these borders. And under the ground, [03:19] there's a lot of what the world needs [03:20] right now. These countries have a lot of [03:22] oil and gas and uranium. uranium and [03:26] especially critical minerals like [03:28] tungsten and rare earths, the stuff you [03:31] need for missiles, for fighter jets, for [03:34] electronics, the stuff that China has [03:36] spent 20 years cornering the market on. [03:38] So this region is a prize and for the [03:40] and for most of the last 30 years, [03:44] America basically abandoned it and left [03:47] it to the influence of Moscow and [03:49] Beijing. And these countries became [03:51] heavily aligned with those countries. [03:55] Now the meeting that Rubio is attending [03:57] today is called the C5 plus1. The C5 [04:03] plus one. Remember that term. And the [04:05] five is five Central Asian countries. [04:08] These five Central Asian countries in in [04:11] turquoise here. Plus one is the United [04:13] States. And I want to walk you through [04:15] the history of this of this [04:17] relationship. C5 plus one. We'll walk [04:19] you through it quickly because the way [04:22] each administration going back to Obama, [04:25] the way uh the way they've each dealt [04:27] with this [04:29] with this alliance or with this group of [04:31] nations is very important and it tells [04:33] you a lot about how how they see the [04:35] world and the approach to foreign [04:36] policy. Okay. So the C5 plus1 alliance [04:40] structure was started under Obama in [04:44] 2015. Secretary of State John Kerry met [04:47] the foreign ministers of these five [04:49] nations in Samarand, same city as Rubio [04:52] is in today. Now why did why did this [04:54] happen in 2015? Because the year before [04:58] Russia had grabbed Crimea. So suddenly [05:02] these countries which had been living in [05:04] Russia's shadow were very nervous and [05:07] America wanted to wanted to signal to [05:10] them that you know we're looking after [05:12] you. We have our eye on you. we respect [05:14] your independence. Give them throw them [05:15] a line. So that was basically it. Um so [05:18] basic so the foreign ministers met with [05:21] John Kerry. They set up working groups. [05:23] A lot of talk about dealing with [05:25] Afghanistan which is right there. Um but [05:29] nothing much happened with the alliance. [05:31] Meaning after it was launched with this [05:33] initial meeting with John Kerry, it was [05:35] largely ignored. And then came Trump's [05:37] first term, right? Trump's elected in [05:39] 2016, [05:41] but it took a little while. Mike Pompeo [05:43] went to Tashkant in February of 2020. So [05:46] even the Trump administration didn't do [05:47] didn't do much with this alliance in the [05:50] first Trump term, but he went in 2020 [05:52] and he chaired a C5 plus1 meeting. The [05:56] State Department at the time actually [05:58] put out a written strategy for the [06:00] region. focus was getting out of [06:02] Afghanistan [06:05] um and and more and more to to you know [06:09] to deal with the China influence that's [06:12] right there. But the meeting then with [06:15] Pompeo and the foreign ministers, it [06:17] stayed at the level of foreign [06:18] ministers. Trump himself never sat down [06:20] with anyone from these countries. Trump [06:22] leaves office after the 2020 election [06:25] and then Biden comes in and Biden's [06:27] Secretary of State Blinken meets with [06:30] the five foreign ministers. You know, I [06:32] should take this off the stage while [06:34] we're at it here, right? We don't need [06:35] this up here this whole time. Um so, U [06:39] Blink, [06:41] Secretary of State Blink, he meets with [06:44] these foreign ministers [06:47] um and he met with them a few times. And [06:49] then after Russia invaded Ukraine in [06:52] 2022, [06:53] suddenly this region mattered a whole [06:55] lot more. And in September of 2023, [06:59] uh on the sidelines of the UN in New [07:01] York, Biden held the first ever ever [07:05] presidential level meeting. So So it was [07:08] in New York, these leaders were there [07:10] already, uh you know, at you know, for [07:12] the at the UN General Assembly and he [07:15] met with the leaders. So that was [07:16] considered kind of a step up, but the [07:19] the whole purpose of the meaning was [07:21] just framed as as we respect your [07:22] sovereignty. We're going to have your [07:24] back if Russia invades, territorial [07:26] integrity, that that kind of thing. Um [07:30] on the critical minerals that these [07:32] countries have, they didn't really deal [07:33] with it very much. Uh the the Biden [07:36] administration was all about the [07:37] environment and America said that they [07:40] wanted these minerals for electric car [07:42] batteries and solar panels and wind [07:44] turbines and all the things that they [07:46] were promising in their green energy. So [07:48] they saw these minerals or they framed [07:50] it as part of the climate agenda. Um but [07:56] here let me um [08:01] however [08:03] there was also a financial commitment [08:04] that was made at the time. [08:07] Hold on. Let me get back there. [08:10] Wait a second. Excuse me. [08:14] Got to get back to where we are. Here we [08:15] are. Okay. There was a financial [08:17] commitment made at the time. Um, so at [08:21] the end, but it wasn't very much. You'll [08:23] see it on your screen. I'll explain what [08:25] you're looking at. So what came out of [08:27] the four years of the Biden [08:28] administration was not very much. Blink [08:31] had met with the foreign ministers a [08:33] bunch of times. There were summits. [08:35] There were declarations. There were [08:37] working groups. There was dialogue on uh [08:39] on on critical minerals. [08:42] And after his big trip, after Blinken's [08:45] big trip to Kazakhstan in 2023, he [08:48] announced an extra 25 million with an M [08:52] million for a regional economic program. [08:55] Now, that's that's not very much money. [08:57] 25 million is a lot to you and me [08:58] personally, but when you're talking [08:59] about these types of international re [09:02] economic programs, it's nothing. It's [09:04] pennies. $25 million for five countries. [09:08] There were no major investment deals. [09:10] There were no American companies signing [09:12] contracts to dig the minerals or build [09:14] anything. There was lots of talking [09:16] about the relationship, but they didn't [09:17] do very much with it. Now, Trump's [09:20] second term comes along, November 2025, [09:22] and for the first time ever, all five [09:25] Central Asian presidents from all five [09:27] of those countries come to the White [09:29] House and it's the 10th anniversary of [09:31] the whole beginning of this alliance. [09:33] And the whole thing is now about [09:36] business deals. Kazakhstan alone [09:38] reported something like $17 billion. [09:42] That's just one of the countries. $17 [09:45] billion in agreements with American [09:47] companies. See, what the Trump [09:48] administration did was they invite [09:49] American companies into the [09:51] relationship. And instead of it being [09:52] about government grants and aid, they [09:54] make it about joint investment. So this [09:57] included a joint venture on what's said [09:58] to be the biggest undeveloped tungsten [10:01] deposit in the world. in the world, [10:06] you know. So, because again, these [10:08] countries have um have have lots of very [10:12] important natural resources, [10:15] okay? Um because tungsten is used for [10:18] defense. It's used for industry and it's [10:21] also about no longer having these [10:24] countries depend on China. Okay, that's [10:28] also a very important piece of this [10:30] puzzle. So [10:33] you have the same five countries plus [10:35] the United States which started under [10:37] Obama as this gesture towards telling [10:40] them that you know trying to tell them [10:42] that they should feel safe from Russia [10:44] after Crimea was taken. Biden didn't do [10:48] a whole lot with it and now Trump is [10:50] turning it into all these business [10:52] deals. And that's what today's Rubio [10:54] visit is about. Rubio shows up today [10:56] with 200 CEOs of American companies, 200 [11:00] representatives of US companies. And [11:02] when he was asked about it this morning, [11:03] he said something like, "Look, it's a [11:06] competition. We have products. They have [11:08] companies. They make things. We want a [11:10] fair shot. We want we want economic [11:12] deals." That's the whole philosophy of [11:14] the Trump administration in one [11:16] sentence. Now, [11:18] okay. Now, some of you are probably [11:20] wondering, "What about the governments [11:21] of these countries? Are they friendly?" [11:24] Okay, so these countries are not [11:26] democracies. And this is where we're [11:28] getting into the Trump approach to [11:30] foreign policy. So listen carefully. [11:33] These countries are not democracies. [11:35] Usbekiststan's president is Shavat [11:38] Miroyv. [11:39] And he and the official who greeted [11:42] Rubio, who you saw in that picture that [11:44] I pulled up on the screen here, this [11:45] picture here, that official you see [11:47] there is [11:50] um is Sida Mir Mirva [11:54] who runs the presidential administration [11:57] and that is his daughter. That is the [12:00] leader Shavkat's daughter. So that's the [12:03] kind of country that we're talking about [12:04] here. It's a family business. Turk [12:06] Menistan is one of the most and now and [12:08] then that's Usbekistsan. Turk Menistan [12:10] is one of the most closed countries on [12:12] the planet. None of these places, none [12:14] of these five countries would pass a a [12:17] human rights test. Okay? So these are [12:21] not democracies. Now under previous [12:24] administrations before this Trump [12:25] administration, human rights were on the [12:27] agenda and that was like a stated goal [12:31] of the relationship. Obama talked about [12:32] it even in Trump's first term. They put [12:35] out a strategy document for for Central [12:37] Asia which listed democracy and human [12:39] rights as one of the goals. Biden raised [12:43] the democracy and human rights issues in [12:45] his meetings and Blinken raised them. [12:47] But the Trump administration has set [12:49] that aside. Now, you could look at that [12:52] and say, well, the Trump administration [12:54] is immoral. They're they're unethical. [12:56] They're turning they don't care about [12:58] human rights. They're selling out [12:59] American values for business deals for [13:02] for rare earth minerals. [13:04] But I disagree. [13:06] See, and I want to explain what I mean. [13:09] Um, so let's [13:13] let's recall this important document [13:16] here. [13:19] This document. Here we are. [13:22] This is the national security strategy [13:26] document. Okay. [13:28] The national security strategy [13:34] Um, you've probably seen it before [13:35] because I've talked about it before on [13:37] this channel. This is a document that [13:38] was put out by the Trump administration. [13:40] It was published by the Trump [13:41] administration in November of 2025. [13:45] Um, and it was the same month that Trump [13:48] hosted the the u [13:51] the the presidents of these five [13:53] nations. Now in the national security [13:56] strategy document there are some [13:59] interesting quotes that we should be [14:01] looking at here. So let's start with a [14:03] quote from page nine. Okay, let's go all [14:05] the way to page nine [14:10] and we read as follows. We seek good [14:13] relations and peaceful commercial [14:16] relations with the nations of the world [14:18] without imposing on them democratic or [14:22] other social change that differs widely [14:25] from their traditions and histories. And [14:28] then it goes further. It says there's [14:30] nothing inconsistent or hypocritical [14:32] about having good relations with [14:33] countries whose governments and [14:35] societies are different from ours. Now [14:37] in the Middle East section, it says the [14:39] same thing, but it says it even more [14:41] bluntly. It talks about ending, and I'm [14:44] quoting, ending America's misguided [14:46] experiment with hectoring these nations, [14:49] especially the Gulf monarchies. [14:53] Um, yeah, it's down in there. Anyway, it [14:57] essentially what the Trump [14:58] administration's approach is, accept the [15:00] region and its leaders as they are and [15:02] work together where you share interests. [15:04] And here's the and the strategy also [15:07] says and I love this phrase that America [15:09] should offer partners a suite of [15:12] inducements. Let me find that quote. [15:14] Very interesting quote [15:17] talking about the uh the incentives [15:21] here. Look at this quote. We should [15:23] present partners with a suite of [15:25] inducements. For instance, high techch [15:27] cooperation, defense purchases and [15:29] access to our capital markets that tip [15:32] decisions in our favor. [15:36] Ah, in other words, partners should grow [15:39] through a cooperation [15:41] which ends up tying them to a strategic [15:44] alignment and long-term American [15:47] investment. [15:48] Okay, [15:50] so again, they're talking about managed [15:52] cooperation. [15:54] If you want one sentence that describes [15:56] what Rubio is doing in Usuzbekiststan [15:59] right now, that's what it is. He's [16:00] bringing 200 CEOs with him and he's [16:04] trying to create a whole bunch of [16:06] business deals. Now, a couple weeks ago, [16:08] I did a video on Rubio waving the human [16:12] rights conditions on military aid to [16:14] Egypt. You might remember that video if [16:16] you watch this channel. [16:18] Hold on. Let me just pull this down. We [16:20] don't need this up here right now. [16:23] Uh, so yeah, so I did a video about that [16:25] and I said then that the logic actually [16:30] makes sense even though it looks like [16:31] we're throwing human rights under the [16:33] bus. What I basically here's what I [16:34] argued there. Listen carefully because [16:36] this is this is key to understanding [16:38] what the what what Rubio is doing now, [16:39] what Trump is doing now with this [16:41] region. Okay, [16:45] Egypt is a terrible abuser of human [16:47] rights. The Trump administration is [16:50] supposed to withhold a certain amount of [16:52] aid unless they do better on human [16:54] rights. But the reason that Rubio waved [16:58] that and gave the aid anyway [17:01] is that you don't get a freer Egypt by [17:04] cutting off the money right now in the [17:06] current environment. You get the same [17:08] Egypt just as repressive, but they're [17:11] just going to be more in the hands of [17:13] the Chinese. It's the same thing here, [17:16] only more so. These countries aren't [17:18] officially aligned with anybody. If [17:21] America shows up in Tashkent [17:24] or in Samar Khan and lectures these [17:26] countries about human rights, [17:29] they'll just turn more to China and [17:30] Russia, which they're already somewhat [17:33] influenced by. China will show up the [17:35] next day with a check and won't lecture [17:37] them about human rights. Russia will [17:39] show up with pipelines and and and [17:43] intimidation and [17:46] won't lecture them about human rights. [17:51] And no one in Usuzbekiststan or Tashkant [17:53] becomes any freer. The Usuzbcks have [17:56] been very honest about this. By the way, [17:58] Rubio himself said today that [17:59] Usuzbekiststan wants to be friends with [18:01] everybody. They're not choosing America [18:03] over Russia and China. They're keeping [18:05] their options open. So that says a lot. [18:09] The question for America isn't will [18:11] these nations become democracies. The [18:14] question is when they have to choose who [18:16] they're aligned with, which which powers [18:19] will they choose to align themselves [18:20] with? So the only way to win that is to [18:23] give them a reason to give them [18:24] incentive, investment, technology, [18:27] business partners stick around. You see, [18:30] an American policy that's based on just [18:32] like giving aid handouts and demanding [18:34] human rights reforms, it's not going to [18:36] get you anywhere. But if you start [18:38] having business relationships that [18:40] embeds [18:41] economic relationships into the whole [18:43] thing, that really gives incentives to [18:45] tether these nations to American [18:47] interest and to the American orbit. Is [18:50] that cynical? I don't think it's [18:51] cynical. I think it's a realistic [18:53] reading of the world as it is, not as we [18:56] wish it were. [18:59] Look, and the strategy doesn't drop [19:01] human rights entirely. It says that [19:02] America will push countries that share [19:04] our values to live up to those values. [19:07] But it stops short of pretending that we [19:09] can lecture a central Asian Islamic uh [19:14] nation strongman into becoming uh you [19:17] know Thomas Jefferson. [19:19] Okay. Now, what does all this have to do [19:21] with Israel? Before we get to that, let [19:24] me just remind you about this exciting [19:25] webinar we have on Sunday. Sunday, 2:00 [19:27] p.m. Eastern time, 8:00 p.m. in Israel. [19:30] There'll be a 6-h hour time difference. [19:32] Israel's changing their clocks. America [19:33] is not. We're having this amazing [19:35] webinar about the upcoming elections. [19:37] Two elections, two nations, one critical [19:39] moment. How the Israeli and American [19:40] elections could reshape the Middle East. [19:43] And our panelists are unbelievable. We [19:45] have Dr. Gotti Ta, [19:47] one of the most prominent public [19:49] intellectuals in Israel today. Uh [19:51] fantastic uh uh fantastic thinker. He's [19:54] going to be with us. He's a lecturer at [19:56] Hebrew University. Mark Zel, chairman of [19:58] the GOP in Israel. Jonathan Shanzer, [20:01] executive director of the Foundation for [20:02] Defense of Democracies. Will Chamberlain [20:04] from he's the senior council of the [20:06] Article 3 Project. And Dr. AJ Noly, [20:09] professor at the Robertson School of [20:11] Government at Regent University. Sign up [20:13] for the webinar. It's at 2 p.m. on [20:14] Sunday. But even if you can't make it, [20:16] it does not matter because if you [20:18] register, you will get an email with a [20:20] link to watch the entire webinar on your [20:22] own time as you wish. So, click the link [20:25] in the description of this video. So, [20:28] what does all this have to do with [20:29] Israel? So, here's where it gets [20:30] interesting. There are at least three [20:32] connections to Israel. First of all, we [20:34] have the Abraham Accords. [20:38] Okay, the Abraham Accords. So, at the [20:40] White House, that White House summit [20:42] last November, I mentioned that Trump [20:44] had all the leaders of these nations [20:45] come to the White House. So, the biggest [20:47] single headline was that Kazakhstan [20:50] announced that there was joining the [20:51] Abraham Accords. Now, Kazakhstan and [20:53] Israel had already had diplomatic [20:55] relations since the early 1990s. So, you [20:58] could say that it's just symbolic, but [21:00] think about what it means. Before [21:02] Kazakhstan, the Abraham Accords had the [21:04] Abraham Accords had not added a single [21:06] new country since Sudan in January 2021 [21:10] at the tail end of Trump's first term. [21:13] It's almost 5 years ago. [21:16] I mean it's five years I'm sorry it was [21:18] five it was almost five years until [21:20] Kazakhstan joined in November 2025. [21:23] So [21:26] you know through October 7th and the war [21:28] in Gaza and the whole wave of hatred [21:30] towards Israel no one was joining the [21:32] Abraham Accords. And then in November [21:34] 2025 a Muslim majority country of 20 [21:36] million people the largest in Central [21:38] Asia the first non-Arab member joins the [21:42] Abraham Accords. Why? Well, a lot of [21:45] analysts said it pretty straightforward. [21:48] It was a way to get Washington's [21:49] attention and attract American [21:51] investment. Okay, which ends up bringing [21:53] them into the Israel orbit as well. And [21:55] that's exactly my point. The Abraham [21:57] Accords spread when joining the Abraham [21:59] Accords is good for business and it's [22:02] good for your relationship with America. [22:04] And the deals are the the business [22:06] deals, the economic growth that they [22:08] that they bring with them is the engine [22:11] is the inducement to get a country like [22:14] Kazakhstan. So Kazakhstan actually sat [22:16] in their first official meeting of the [22:17] Abraham Accords countries just last [22:19] month in New York, meaning they're going [22:20] to start benefiting from the Abraham [22:22] Accords relationships. And it may not [22:25] stop there. Baijan which already has a [22:27] very uh good working relationship with [22:29] Israel and borders Iran is considered [22:32] next in line to join the Abraham [22:33] Accords. Usbekiststan has been mentioned [22:36] and uh and and Kazakhstan, Usbekistan [22:40] and Azarbaian have all joined President [22:42] Trump's board of peace for Gaza. Okay. [22:45] So these are these are Muslim majority [22:48] countries in Central Asia who are who [22:50] are you know cooperating. They're on [22:52] board. Now the second implication for [22:54] Israel is Iran. We are of course in a [22:56] war with Iran that started in February. [23:00] And uh hold on let me just uh pull this [23:05] up here [23:07] this slide. So take a look at this. [23:11] Um [23:15] right. So this is this is a map of uh of [23:18] the region. But what I'm showing you is, [23:23] you know, you for decades if you wanted [23:24] to move goods or energy out of Central [23:28] Asia, you went north through Russia as [23:31] you see on the map or you went south [23:34] through Iran or you went east through [23:36] China. [23:38] These are landlocked countries. Every [23:40] route ran through an adversary of the [23:43] United States, [23:46] right? So that was the that was the [23:49] issue. [23:51] But [23:53] there's a route that the Trump [23:55] administration is pushing called the [23:57] middle corridor. It's from Central Asia. [24:00] It goes across the Caspian Sea through [24:03] Azarbaian through the South Caucuses and [24:06] on to Europe. [24:09] Okay. [24:11] And [24:13] then we have this [24:16] What are we looking at? So that that [24:20] trade route now we're zooming in. It [24:22] connects to something that Trump [24:24] negotiated last year between Armenia and [24:26] Aaraijan. [24:28] A short strip of road through Armenia [24:30] that they called the Trump route for [24:33] international peace and prosperity or [24:36] trip. At the White House summit in [24:39] November, the C5 plus1 countries, these [24:43] five countries we've been talking about, [24:44] agreed to connect to the middle to [24:48] connect the middle corridor to trip. So [24:51] you see what that does. It's a trade [24:53] route from Central Asia to the west that [24:56] goes around Russia and around Iran. It [25:00] takes leverage away from Tehran and it [25:03] puts Azarbaian, Israel's closest friend [25:06] in the Muslim world and Iran's nervous [25:08] neighbor. It puts them right in the [25:10] middle of this trade route. Now, [25:12] according to Bloomberg, Azarbaani [25:14] officials are taking part in today's [25:16] meetings in Samarand, too. They're part [25:18] of this. It's not just a meeting with [25:20] Usbekistsan. So, while everyone's [25:22] watching the military side of the Iran [25:24] war, there's an economic side that's [25:26] being built up as well. So, it's not [25:29] just about the blockade and everything. [25:30] It's also about building all these [25:32] alternate routes that take away [25:34] long-term future leverage that Iran has [25:37] in the region. Third implication for [25:39] Israel, and this is the one that I find [25:41] most interesting, [25:43] is this. Now, what are we looking at [25:46] now? We're not looking at that region. [25:47] So, many of you know about this. It's [25:49] the Eastern Mediterranean, and there's a [25:51] partnership called the 3+1. Ah, notice [25:55] the similarity. Greece, Cyprus, and [25:57] Israel, plus the United States. Right? [25:59] C5 plus one is the one we've been [26:01] talking about, and this is the 3+ 1. [26:03] It's the same idea. It's a group of [26:05] regional countries tied together with [26:08] America as the plus one, as the [26:10] convenor, as the sponsor. The 3+1 [26:13] started in Trump's first term in 2019. [26:16] And what does it run on? Energy, gas [26:18] fields off Israel and Cyprus, pipelines, [26:21] and power cables into Europe. Last [26:24] November in Athens, the 3+1 energy [26:27] ministers again, Israel, Greece, [26:29] Cypress, plus United States put the [26:31] Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline back [26:33] on the agenda. Israel's energy minister [26:36] said that America was ready to play a [26:38] bigger role. And this past June, they [26:40] set up a permanent Eastern Mediterranean [26:43] energy center at Rice University in [26:46] Houston. Okay, it's this is so this is a [26:49] this is a very active alliance that's [26:52] going on. Now, here's what jumped out at [26:54] me. The National Security Strategy [26:57] document that I was quoting from before [26:59] covers five regions. The Western [27:01] Hemisphere, Asia, Europe, the Middle [27:03] East, and Africa. It does not mention [27:05] Central Asia even once. It doesn't [27:07] mention the Eastern Mediterranean or the [27:09] 3+ 1, by the way. Also, [27:13] now that that's what makes it so [27:15] interesting because if the [27:16] administration were only doing what its [27:18] document lists that then the document is [27:21] just a to-do list, but that document is [27:23] actually laying out a doctrine, [27:26] right? What they're saying is that this [27:27] is how this is their approach to foreign [27:30] policy, [27:32] right? It's the same model in the Middle [27:34] East. The strategy talks about because [27:36] the the strategy document the national [27:40] security strategy talks about burden [27:42] sharing and building networks with the [27:45] US government as a convenor as a [27:47] supporter. It talks about regional [27:50] partners who can carry the load in their [27:53] own neighborhood and tie them to America [27:56] through trade and technology and defense [27:59] deals. Not aid but trade. And Israel is [28:03] the anchor of that in the Middle East. [28:05] The Gulf States are also a part of it. [28:06] The Abraham Accords are part of it. And [28:08] now that same type of framework is being [28:11] used in Central Asia. [28:14] Now I want to be fair because this [28:17] approach has its real limits and you [28:19] have to hear the arguments against it. [28:21] First of all, geography does not care [28:23] about deals. Let me go back to the [28:25] original map here so you see them again, [28:28] right? Because you know the geography is [28:31] very important. These these countries [28:32] are surrounded by Russia and China and [28:34] China is already their biggest trading [28:36] partner in many cases. Russia still has [28:39] security ties to these countries and the [28:42] and that puts limits on the engagement [28:45] even though no matter how many CEOs [28:47] Rubio brings. Um [28:51] and we could also criticize this by [28:53] saying that you know the administration [28:55] is mostly dealing with the two biggest [28:57] players here Kazakhstan and [28:59] Usbekiststan. [29:01] Um, and so they're not really dealing [29:03] with with the smaller nations as much. [29:06] All right, that's a criticism. [29:08] Um, [29:10] also, you know, the the middle corridor, [29:13] which I was talking about before, let's [29:14] go find that slide. That middle [29:16] corridor, although it's very nice that [29:18] it sidesteps Iran and it sidesteps [29:21] Russia, that's that's all fine and good, [29:24] but it actually runs through Turkey. And [29:26] you know how I feel about Erdogan's [29:28] Turkey. So there, you know, there there [29:31] are some flies in the ointment here, as [29:33] it were. And then of course there's the [29:35] human rights critique that we were [29:37] talking about. Some people argue that uh [29:40] these authoritarian regimes, you never [29:43] know when they're going to fall and uh [29:46] whatever that's and they're [29:47] authoritarian. So let me pull this whole [29:49] thing together. When Marco Rubio [29:52] walked into Usuzbekiststan today with [29:54] 200 US executives behind him, this was [29:58] the Trump foreign policy in its purest [30:00] form. Let me sum it up this way [30:04] here. [30:07] It's a five-step formula. [30:10] Find the regions that matter. [30:13] Organize the countries there into into a [30:15] group that America with America as the [30:17] plus one. Don't lecture them about how [30:20] to run their countries. Give them a [30:22] material reason to lean towards the [30:25] United States [30:28] using investment, technology, markets, [30:30] minerals, energy, and then make the [30:33] deals, the business deals that you make [30:35] into the glue of the relationship. [30:37] Right? That's what we're seeing in the [30:38] in the C5+1. That's what you're seeing [30:40] in the 3+ 1. That's what the Abraham [30:43] Accords is all about. It's not about [30:45] giving people aid. It's about building [30:47] business relationships and regional [30:49] alliances that can shoulder the burden [30:52] in their own areas. Right? So for those [30:55] of us who care about Israel, that's the [30:56] takeaway. Israel is one of the anchors [31:00] of this approach. Every time this model [31:02] works, whether it's in the Gulf, in the [31:04] Mediterranean, now Central Asia, the [31:08] circle of countries with a stake in [31:10] their relationship with America, and [31:11] therefore also by proxy having a [31:13] relationship with Israel, as we're [31:15] seeing, America keeps bringing Israel [31:16] into these deals, it gets bigger. That [31:19] circle gets bigger and it pulls those [31:21] countries away from the influence of [31:23] China and Russia. And that's why I made [31:26] this video. So, let me know what you [31:28] think of this. Um, let me know what you [31:30] think uh about this whole topic. I know [31:32] it's a again it's a little bit different [31:34] than what I usually talk about, but I [31:36] felt it was uh it was important to give [31:39] us a broader understanding of the Trump [31:41] foreign policy in general. I know this [31:43] one went a little long, but I hope you [31:44] found it interesting. Please drop a [31:45] comment. Let me know what you thought of [31:47] this video. And if the slides that I put [31:49] together for it a little different than [31:50] what I usually do, let me know what you [31:51] thought of them if they made sense. God [31:53] bless.
