Rod, thanks again for your summary and black pill refutations. In the back of my mind I see all that you’re saying, but the black pillers like Steve Bannon and Eric Bowling(sp?) cloud my view.
I hope enough people see this plan along with the related economic plan to enable a win or at least a hold in the midterms.
And I didn't even cover how all of this relates to Russia, China, our East Asian alliances, NATO, Western Hemispheric security, broader trade policy... They're playing a really deep game here, the best I've seen anyone even attempt since Reagan (and to be fair, Nixon and Kissinger, though I don't agree with every jot and tittle of their approach).
This man plays the fool at times. It's an act. He's one of the most brilliant leaders this country has ever had, and a lot of that brilliance is reflected in his ability to keep people off balance through his act, and the humility that requires. I just marvel.
Great, great analysis and spot on. As a 27 year, retired Naval Aviator (who helped end the Cold War dismantle the USSR), your insight and cogent comments show an understanding I can only wish my leaders had while I was on active duty. Your column is always a breath of fresh air.
I hope you don't mind my sharing this with my political list (leaving in the invitation to join your Substack). I introduced the piece with my comment:
This is a deep dive for your mandatory reading list. It is necessary for understanding the machinations going on in the Middle East. We often say Trump is playing four-dimensional chess: his model in the Middle East is quantum leaps above that, and I’m not sure anyone except Trump truly understands the final goals. I can say we are blessed to have Trump as our President at this pivotal time, someone who has the courage to know the right thing to do and persevere until it is done. The petty sniping that invokes the Midterms would have derailed a lesser man. He is a Man in Full in a sea of midgets. -BZ (Read the red text!! or better, read the entire piece.)
"Yesterday, President Trump announced that Hamas has agreed to be fully disarmed and hand over the government of Gaza to a new body under Trump’s Board of Peace................(Snip)
1.Not My Point. My problem/point is thinking Hamas is gong to disarm. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! I'd say they have most of their weapons hidden away by now. No Hamas disarmament No Board of Peace/Rebuilding. Actually the idea of rebuilding Gaza (ie Mediterranean Singapore) by the Arabs should start with the phrase 'Once Upon A Time. A Long Time Ago'.
2. "no one hates Hamas as much as the Arabs"
Arab Government...Yes Arab People/Street...Different story. Now they may not like the idea of the MB living next door and marrying their sister. They do like the idea of Hamas/MB killing Jews, Over there, away from them. Because...They're Jews.
Arabs always follow the strong horse. Of course they can’t be trusted, you just have to continue being the strong horse. Trump offers something new, American leadership that is good for America.
Refreshing to read your perspective on Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. and reassuring to see how your commentary is so logically connected to facts on the ground. Is it safe to say that the biggest threat to Trump’s strategies for finally ending the jihadist tyranny in Iran and disarming these terrorist groups in the Middle East, would be if the Democrats, now with their Socialist/Islamist alliance, won the midterms? It does seem like the hard-liners and IRGC are holding out for that kind of political change in the U.S. Would the Trump Administration then be derailed by Democrat impeachment proceedings and partisan investigations in Congress? God forbid! As you lay it out, it seems like we’re so close to historic success in the Middle East.
Trump announces the complete disarmament of Hamas, Hamas attaches a Palestinian state to its heavy weapons, Riyadh launches a 14-nation fleet without the UAE, and the oil majors post the war's invoice.
👏👏👏 A tour de force of an article, Dr. Martin! You have officially persuaded me that the Gaza Peace Plan can work! People are being shortsighted and not seeing the whole board as Dr. Martin so eloquently puts it. The facts on the ground are clear. Israel whooped Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in the Gaza War and all three groups are greatly diminished. Their funding has also dried up as Iran is in ruins and Qatar and Turkey date not do anything to upset the United States. The big peace coalition they’re a part of is too lucrative for them to risk losing out on. So no funds are coming from Doha or Ankara either. All three groups will likely disband. A free Iran will soon be a reality. This will be the biggest investment opportunity of the 2030s. Israel and Lebanon just inked a historic peace treaty which includes mutual recognition, Hezbollah being expelled from the country and all Iranian influence to be vanquished from the country. It’s time to make Beirut the Paris of the Middle East again. Lebanon and Syria might just join the Abraham Accords too! The Iraqi government is disarming the Islamist militias who’ve terrorized the country for years. Hamas officially has surrender power to the Gaza Board of Peace and their nineteen year reign of terror is officially over. A new more peaceful Middle East is beginning to take shape. It’s really exciting to see! President Trump is not like Barack Obama or Joe Biden. He didn’t try to make deals with tyrants and terrorists or hold back. He struck hard and fast and used overwhelming force against Iran and their proxies. Obama and Biden didn’t have the guts to take the Iranians on head to head. But Trump is made of sterner stuff. He’s negotiating with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey to build a structure for peace in the region.
People need to be patient! This is not going to happen overnight, it’s gonna take time! All these countries aren’t exactly enamored with each other, but in time they’ll work things out. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will soon become irrelevant to international transportation to oil markets as pipelines that surpass it in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. So Iran can no longer hold the world hostage when it comes to oil and natural gas. Another thing I’d like to see Trump do is to convince the wealthy Gulf States to take in a good portion of these Arab and African migrants and refugees trying to get to Europe. They have the money and space to support them and they are the most culturally adjacent to them. Egypt and Jordan could also take some of them. It would certainly would help relieve the pressure on Europe. Israel is the most secure it has ever been in its history!
Seems Saudi Arabia's MBS and orhers in the Gulf with real skin in the game weren't having it. Too many on the right who keep cheering on escalation against Iran's broader infrastructure, about the only big pure military play left (vs playing chicken w mutual blockades), keep ignoring our problems on the defensive side if the equation and the very real AD element.
What matters is not they can't launch as many missiles and drones at the start, but rather how many can still get thru degraded defenses on our side to critical pieces of infrastructure.
Its not just interceptor stocks low but destroyed THAAD and other high end radars wo which our coverage and response times are hindered.
One of the dogs that did not bark in this whole thing the last few months was that until recently none of the Arab countries went directly on offense against Iran, an indicator they were being careful about not comicaring the aftermath, the more it looked like the regime was going to hold on to power. Given they were dragged into this without consultation, not exactly a strong argument for them having confidence in us being the strong horse, and tor expectation its our mess to clean up givennits been splashing on them.
Finally joining an attack or two as a signal to Iran about escalation isnt exactly a strong indicator they are on board with *us* escalating, inviting retaliation.
Is that why the UAE dumped OPEC while asking Scott Bessent for a permanent currency swap line? Is that why the Saudis came to Washington to ask for a civilian 123 agreement instead of going to China or Russia? Is that why Syria is doing deals with Chevron, and the Lebanese are agreeing to recognize Israeli territorial integrity and sovereignty?
As the title says, you aren't seeing the whole board.
Rod, appreciate the homework you do and then getting it out there. I think you have succinctly outlined the correct geopolitical restructuring happening in the world today but I’ll add, from a secular point of view. The theological one has its own timeline and end game, yes? I appreciate your ability to filter all the above. Keep it up.
It does, and theology underpins everything we do here, because theology is the operating system of existence.
Nevertheless, we are always mindful of the error so many great men have made in trying to set the date of Christ's return. And they were great men, most of them, all certain that World War I, or II, or the re-creation of the State of Israel, or the Six-Day War, set what Hal Lindsey famously called "The Countdown to Armageddon".
Yet here we are.
The Lord will return like a thief in the night. No man knows the day or hour. And yet, the same Lord who tells us that in Matt. 24:36-44 does not stop there. He commands us on how we should therefore live in Matthew 24:45-51, which is to say, the second full half of that passage:
"45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’ 49 And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. 51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The men who told us that Saddam Hussein was the antichrist weren't just wrong theologically. The people who told us the rapture "must" occur in 1981 (which was in many respects a good argument) weren't just wrong about the timeline. Their counsel re-ordered priorities in a way that prevented proper action on Earth in times that called for it: geopolitical actions, evangelistic actions, discipleship, investment (spiritual and financial), and countless other things.
Did they do more good than harm? No. Matthew 24 requires me to be mindful that at any moment the Lord may come in glory, but it also requires me to act wisely and with courage as though He will not return any time that will get me out of my present problems.
So we act on that. I personally learned a lot of lessons from the dispensational pastors of my youth, the men who taught a lot of faithful doctrine and also got a lot of egg on their face for confident predictions not warranted by Scripture. My job is to tell you about the world we live in, from a faithful Christian worldview. I may be able to prophesy about what Trump is up to. I may not rightly claim the gift of prophecy with insight into that which even the angels do not know.
Rod, thanks again for your summary and black pill refutations. In the back of my mind I see all that you’re saying, but the black pillers like Steve Bannon and Eric Bowling(sp?) cloud my view.
I hope enough people see this plan along with the related economic plan to enable a win or at least a hold in the midterms.
And I didn't even cover how all of this relates to Russia, China, our East Asian alliances, NATO, Western Hemispheric security, broader trade policy... They're playing a really deep game here, the best I've seen anyone even attempt since Reagan (and to be fair, Nixon and Kissinger, though I don't agree with every jot and tittle of their approach).
This man plays the fool at times. It's an act. He's one of the most brilliant leaders this country has ever had, and a lot of that brilliance is reflected in his ability to keep people off balance through his act, and the humility that requires. I just marvel.
Great, great analysis and spot on. As a 27 year, retired Naval Aviator (who helped end the Cold War dismantle the USSR), your insight and cogent comments show an understanding I can only wish my leaders had while I was on active duty. Your column is always a breath of fresh air.
Ken Clements
Captain, US Navy (ret)
Thank you for your service. Our younger friends have no idea what you guys did, or how close we came to subjugation or destruction back then.
I hope you don't mind my sharing this with my political list (leaving in the invitation to join your Substack). I introduced the piece with my comment:
This is a deep dive for your mandatory reading list. It is necessary for understanding the machinations going on in the Middle East. We often say Trump is playing four-dimensional chess: his model in the Middle East is quantum leaps above that, and I’m not sure anyone except Trump truly understands the final goals. I can say we are blessed to have Trump as our President at this pivotal time, someone who has the courage to know the right thing to do and persevere until it is done. The petty sniping that invokes the Midterms would have derailed a lesser man. He is a Man in Full in a sea of midgets. -BZ (Read the red text!! or better, read the entire piece.)
Thank you!
"Yesterday, President Trump announced that Hamas has agreed to be fully disarmed and hand over the government of Gaza to a new body under Trump’s Board of Peace................(Snip)
1.Not My Point. My problem/point is thinking Hamas is gong to disarm. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! I'd say they have most of their weapons hidden away by now. No Hamas disarmament No Board of Peace/Rebuilding. Actually the idea of rebuilding Gaza (ie Mediterranean Singapore) by the Arabs should start with the phrase 'Once Upon A Time. A Long Time Ago'.
2. "no one hates Hamas as much as the Arabs"
Arab Government...Yes Arab People/Street...Different story. Now they may not like the idea of the MB living next door and marrying their sister. They do like the idea of Hamas/MB killing Jews, Over there, away from them. Because...They're Jews.
Times they are a'changing....
Arabs always follow the strong horse. Of course they can’t be trusted, you just have to continue being the strong horse. Trump offers something new, American leadership that is good for America.
Refreshing to read your perspective on Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. and reassuring to see how your commentary is so logically connected to facts on the ground. Is it safe to say that the biggest threat to Trump’s strategies for finally ending the jihadist tyranny in Iran and disarming these terrorist groups in the Middle East, would be if the Democrats, now with their Socialist/Islamist alliance, won the midterms? It does seem like the hard-liners and IRGC are holding out for that kind of political change in the U.S. Would the Trump Administration then be derailed by Democrat impeachment proceedings and partisan investigations in Congress? God forbid! As you lay it out, it seems like we’re so close to historic success in the Middle East.
In my lifetime, the Democrats have never yet failed to enable whoever hates America the most.
Gaza Disarmament? Read The Small Print
Trump announces the complete disarmament of Hamas, Hamas attaches a Palestinian state to its heavy weapons, Riyadh launches a 14-nation fleet without the UAE, and the oil majors post the war's invoice.
Gregg Roman
Jul 31, 2026
https://mefinsider.meforum.org/p/issue-034-the-small-print
(Snip)
In this brief:
The signature and the small print: what Hamas agreed to, and what it attached
Project spotlight: Islamist Watch, the Forum project behind the summer’s federal-funding fires
The fleet without the Emirates: Riyadh’s 14-nation coalition and what its roster says
The invoice: the majors’ record quarter, and the Senate’s 50-49 shrug
The deflection: Tehran cries false flag at Damietta; Cairo answers with wreckage
From the Forum: the week’s uncovered shelf, seven pieces; The Number: 350
(Snip)
Give peace a chance, they said. And when they break the peace, kill the rest of them. Trump provides opportunity to do the right thing.
Indeed.
👏👏👏 A tour de force of an article, Dr. Martin! You have officially persuaded me that the Gaza Peace Plan can work! People are being shortsighted and not seeing the whole board as Dr. Martin so eloquently puts it. The facts on the ground are clear. Israel whooped Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in the Gaza War and all three groups are greatly diminished. Their funding has also dried up as Iran is in ruins and Qatar and Turkey date not do anything to upset the United States. The big peace coalition they’re a part of is too lucrative for them to risk losing out on. So no funds are coming from Doha or Ankara either. All three groups will likely disband. A free Iran will soon be a reality. This will be the biggest investment opportunity of the 2030s. Israel and Lebanon just inked a historic peace treaty which includes mutual recognition, Hezbollah being expelled from the country and all Iranian influence to be vanquished from the country. It’s time to make Beirut the Paris of the Middle East again. Lebanon and Syria might just join the Abraham Accords too! The Iraqi government is disarming the Islamist militias who’ve terrorized the country for years. Hamas officially has surrender power to the Gaza Board of Peace and their nineteen year reign of terror is officially over. A new more peaceful Middle East is beginning to take shape. It’s really exciting to see! President Trump is not like Barack Obama or Joe Biden. He didn’t try to make deals with tyrants and terrorists or hold back. He struck hard and fast and used overwhelming force against Iran and their proxies. Obama and Biden didn’t have the guts to take the Iranians on head to head. But Trump is made of sterner stuff. He’s negotiating with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey to build a structure for peace in the region.
People need to be patient! This is not going to happen overnight, it’s gonna take time! All these countries aren’t exactly enamored with each other, but in time they’ll work things out. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will soon become irrelevant to international transportation to oil markets as pipelines that surpass it in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. So Iran can no longer hold the world hostage when it comes to oil and natural gas. Another thing I’d like to see Trump do is to convince the wealthy Gulf States to take in a good portion of these Arab and African migrants and refugees trying to get to Europe. They have the money and space to support them and they are the most culturally adjacent to them. Egypt and Jordan could also take some of them. It would certainly would help relieve the pressure on Europe. Israel is the most secure it has ever been in its history!
Lol this didnt age we'll. Trump just climbed down again.
Wisely IMO but thats a different story.
Well that's a really dumb comment. Re-read the paragraph that starts with "Tenth".
Seems Saudi Arabia's MBS and orhers in the Gulf with real skin in the game weren't having it. Too many on the right who keep cheering on escalation against Iran's broader infrastructure, about the only big pure military play left (vs playing chicken w mutual blockades), keep ignoring our problems on the defensive side if the equation and the very real AD element.
What matters is not they can't launch as many missiles and drones at the start, but rather how many can still get thru degraded defenses on our side to critical pieces of infrastructure.
Its not just interceptor stocks low but destroyed THAAD and other high end radars wo which our coverage and response times are hindered.
Seems like Saudi Arabia did a joint strike with us against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq just days ago.
Perhaps there's more here to be seen.
One of the dogs that did not bark in this whole thing the last few months was that until recently none of the Arab countries went directly on offense against Iran, an indicator they were being careful about not comicaring the aftermath, the more it looked like the regime was going to hold on to power. Given they were dragged into this without consultation, not exactly a strong argument for them having confidence in us being the strong horse, and tor expectation its our mess to clean up givennits been splashing on them.
Finally joining an attack or two as a signal to Iran about escalation isnt exactly a strong indicator they are on board with *us* escalating, inviting retaliation.
TBD of course.
Is that why the UAE dumped OPEC while asking Scott Bessent for a permanent currency swap line? Is that why the Saudis came to Washington to ask for a civilian 123 agreement instead of going to China or Russia? Is that why Syria is doing deals with Chevron, and the Lebanese are agreeing to recognize Israeli territorial integrity and sovereignty?
As the title says, you aren't seeing the whole board.
Rod, appreciate the homework you do and then getting it out there. I think you have succinctly outlined the correct geopolitical restructuring happening in the world today but I’ll add, from a secular point of view. The theological one has its own timeline and end game, yes? I appreciate your ability to filter all the above. Keep it up.
It does, and theology underpins everything we do here, because theology is the operating system of existence.
Nevertheless, we are always mindful of the error so many great men have made in trying to set the date of Christ's return. And they were great men, most of them, all certain that World War I, or II, or the re-creation of the State of Israel, or the Six-Day War, set what Hal Lindsey famously called "The Countdown to Armageddon".
Yet here we are.
The Lord will return like a thief in the night. No man knows the day or hour. And yet, the same Lord who tells us that in Matt. 24:36-44 does not stop there. He commands us on how we should therefore live in Matthew 24:45-51, which is to say, the second full half of that passage:
"45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’ 49 And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. 51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The men who told us that Saddam Hussein was the antichrist weren't just wrong theologically. The people who told us the rapture "must" occur in 1981 (which was in many respects a good argument) weren't just wrong about the timeline. Their counsel re-ordered priorities in a way that prevented proper action on Earth in times that called for it: geopolitical actions, evangelistic actions, discipleship, investment (spiritual and financial), and countless other things.
Did they do more good than harm? No. Matthew 24 requires me to be mindful that at any moment the Lord may come in glory, but it also requires me to act wisely and with courage as though He will not return any time that will get me out of my present problems.
So we act on that. I personally learned a lot of lessons from the dispensational pastors of my youth, the men who taught a lot of faithful doctrine and also got a lot of egg on their face for confident predictions not warranted by Scripture. My job is to tell you about the world we live in, from a faithful Christian worldview. I may be able to prophesy about what Trump is up to. I may not rightly claim the gift of prophecy with insight into that which even the angels do not know.
That is the balance.
Yes, and this articulation is why I follow you. Thanks and Maranatha.
Thank you!