If you are confused about what happened in the past 96 hours, that’s understandable.

Cliff notes. The Occam’s Razor was always accurate. President Trump didn’t want to escalate with Iran. Netanyahu forced President Trump into a supportive box with attacks against Iran. President Trump responded with a public hug to Bibi and eventually a U.S. bombing of the Iran nuclear sites. Israel was big happy. However, Trump’s emissary Steve Witkoff never stopped communicating with Iran on peace approach, and negotiated/coordinated a face-saving Iranian retaliation via a happy to oblige Qatar.

Iran retaliated against the USA support for Israel with a pre-planned attack on a U.S. base in Qatar, which was easily managed. Iran saves face against evil Trump. Meanwhile, loyal friend to Israel, Trump has facilitated the request of Bibi. Diplomacy now returns sans operational nuclear sites.  No regime change. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli lobbyist Mark Levin are furious.

All the pro-war Israel-First pundits who sold a narrative of Trump duping the Iranians were wrong.  Trump never wanted the conflict escalation, nor did Trump pre-plan with Netanyahu to pretend diplomacy.  Pure fantasy speculation. The prior diplomatic efforts between the USA and Iran were genuine from the Trump administration, despite the duplicity from the Iranian side.

In a weakened state the Iranian regime and the Israeli government are now directed to engage in “peace and harmony,” against the new backdrop of the nuclear sites out of commission. Trump’s out. We’re done.

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President Trump has responded with a “thank you” to Iran for their forewarned retaliation; noting he will “enthusiastically encourage” Israel to seek peace now.  Via Truth Social:

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered. There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was “set free,” because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their “system,” and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” (source)

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “I’d like to thank the Highly Respected Emir of Qatar for all that he has done in seeking Peace for the Region. Regarding the attack today at the American Base in Qatar, I am pleased to report that, in addition to no Americans being killed or wounded, very importantly, there have also been no Qataris killed or wounded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” (source)

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A few surface points. The time of day, just after 8pm local reflects an “attack” intended to be intercepted, reviewed and assessed. The target U.S. base in Qatar, an intermediary and friendly geopolitical ally to Iran, reflects coordination to give optics of retaliation in name only. No doubt Iran coordinated this retaliatory strike with Qatar. The scale, 6 easily intercepted missiles.

In summary, a response from Iran intended for domestic consumption to give/save regional face for Persians.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in an official statement:

In response to the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, we carried out a powerful and devastating missile strike against a strategic asset – the largest American airbase in the Middle East. Any repetition of U.S. aggression will accelerate the collapse of the American military establishment in the region.

Qatar condemns the puff-n-bluster ballistic missile attack by Iran on U.S. Al Udeid Air Base, adding that all of the missiles were intercepted and that there are no reported injuries so far.  If Iran does it again, they will be met with a more strongly worded letter.

In return Iran’s top security body tells Qatar: “THIS ACTION DOES NOT POSE ANY THREAT TO ‘OUR FRIENDLY AND BROTHERLY’ NEIGHBOUR QATAR”

Iran’s military claimed it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. military base in Doha, but Qatar said the missiles were intercepted. Qatari officials said the nation reserves the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law after Iran tried to strike the base.

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There are many critical interviews today that will be highlighted.  We are at an important geopolitical inflection point with multiple consequences amid each chosen path.

The bombing of Iran has united the neocon pro-war groups within the Senate and legislative branch (pro-Ukraine, Pro-Israel) which may assist President Trump’s primary objective to get the Big Beautiful Bill over the finish line. That can be a big short-term strategic benefit, if the operational strikes on Iran do not escalate into a regional conflict.

That said, Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio is the principal person to watch as President Trump’s geopolitical agenda is carried out.  Here he is talking to CFR Maria Bartiromo in his first comments after the strike took place.  “No regime change” but the era of “playing games” is over. WATCH:

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Put this into two files. (1) The confirmation file that it’s “always about the money;” and (2) The ‘things that make other things’ suddenly make sense file.  Also, I wouldn’t suggest doing much with this, other than making a mental note for y’all deep weeds walkers; after all, we are not much fun at partisan parties when we don’t pretend the corruption gig is one-sided.

Readers here will know well that since the beginning of this year I have asked what’s going on with conservative media and this sudden pro-Qatar stuff they’ve been pushing. [Tucker example and more here]

Well, apparently long before the White House announced a historic ‘first ever’ trip to Qatar, the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani began telling their lobbyists in DC to reach out to conservative media influencers with lucrative payments to shape a favorable pro-Qatar narrative.

[STORY HERE] “Tucker Carlson was far from Qatar’s only target in its quest to influence conservative media. Established right-of-center outlets like Fox News Digital, Just The News, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, and the Washington Examiner were all targeted to varying degrees by Qatari foreign agents in the months following Trump’s election, records show.”

Things certainly make a lot more sense now.   As the saying goes, “it tracks.”

That said, if Qatar had a media strategy to enhance a foreign policy agenda with the Trump administration, well, that wouldn’t be a surprise; it’s just how things are done.  However, in the background of the puzzling question about how those decades of conservatives correctly calling out Qatar for corruption, and then suddenly overnight changing direction, well, it appears the Qataris just paid them to change.

THEM: ‘Right’ is whatever I’m paid to support.  ‘Wrong” is whatever makes me the most money.

CTH: Right is right even if nobody does it, and wrong is wrong even if everybody does it.

Capiche?

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President Donald Trump sits down with Bret Baier to discuss the results of his trip to the middle east.  President Trump discusses investments in America, trade negotiations, the ongoing discussions with Iran and plans to solve the conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

President Trump outlines Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “angry man,” albeit rightly angered by the attack on Israel on October 7th. President Trump’s remarks about Iran come as the Iranian regime is beginning to indicate a willingness to concede to Trump’s requirements.  It’s all about the economics of the thing, the Trump Doctrine.  WATCH:

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THE TRUMP DOCTRINE – What you will notice from President Trump’s responses to questions during foreign leader engagements is the unique nature of his honesty.   In the most consequential of ways, President Trump is the most consequential foreign policy leader in generations.   We forget that during Trump’s first term in office, the headlines about North and South Korea were not about conflict, but rather about the possibility of unification on the Korean peninsula.

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Dealmaker and Peacemaker. President Trump participates in a signing ceremony with the emir of Qatar. Their mutual friendship was on full display as they signed several agreements.

The first agreement was an “agreement of buying aircraft from Boeing,” which was signed by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg for the United States. There were no additional details disclosed; however, President Trump later touted it as Qatar’s largest order in Boeing jet history and congratulated Kelly.

Next, each country’s defense secretary signed a number of agreements between Qatar and the United States, one of which was a deal for Qatar to purchase new MQ-9B drones. The U.S. gave initial approval for that purchase in March (let’s hope those drones don’t end up in Ukraine flying into Moscow). Lastly, the president and emir signed a joint declaration of cooperation between Qatar and the U.S.  WATCH:

After the signing ceremony, President Trump remarked that it had been an “interesting couple of hours” in which they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran, expressing gratitude for Qatar’s “great help.” President Trump is hopeful the meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin in Turkey will result in a ceasefire. President Trump has dispatched Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with emissaries Steven Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to play good cop-bad cop.

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President Trump meets with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar.

For many deep weed researchers and geopolitical followers, Qatar remains an ¹enigma. However, notice the linguistics, the English-speaking pattern of Emir al Thani. This is a man who speaks fluent ‘American’, spends a great deal of time around Americans and is completely comfortable expressing the speech patterns of his familiarity. MUST WATCH:

¹The only perspective that reconciles all of the perplexing dynamics that surround Qatar:

…what Antifa represents to the FBI, Qatar represents to the CIA.

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Departing Saudi Arabia, President Trump holds a press briefing aboard Air Force One while on route to Qatar the second stop in the trip.

President Trump was asked about his meeting with Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Trump told reporters he found the country’s new leader to be “very good,” adding that he’s a “young, attractive guy.”  “He’s got a real shot at pulling it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who I’m very friendly with. He feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn-up country,” Trump added.

President Trump said that he thought that Syria would join the Abraham Accords after Syria “gets themselves straightened out,” but he added that the nation has “a lot of work to do.” When asked whether he’d consulted Israel before lifting the sanctions on Syria, President Trump said his administration simply told Israel they would do it. “The reason I did it is because I spoke with the President Erdogan and I spoke to Mohammed, as you know, and they thought it was very important to do, it gives … them a much better chance of survival as a country,” Trump said.  WATCH:

President Trump also said that Russia President Putin wanted Trump to attend the talks in Turkey, though Trump remained noncommittal on attending, citing his schedule and foreign trip obligations. “He would like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that,” Trump said.

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Yesterday, Sunday night, the U.S technical delegation met with representatives from Ukraine to get deeper into specifics of what Ukraine wants for a ceasefire.  The meetings are taking place in Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.  Heorhii Tykhyi, foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Friday the Ukrainian and American sides were due “to clarify the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope”.

Following the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation who, together with elements of the CIA/EU and NATO – visibly appear to hold a desire to continue the war (and funding therein), the U.S delegation is scheduled to meet with their Russian counterparts today (Monday).

SAUDI ARABIA – […] Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were “somewhat under control”. The U.S. hopes to reach a broad ceasefire within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.

Russian and U.S. experts meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday are due to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, the Kremlin has said.

Despite all the diplomatic activity, Russia and Ukraine have both reported continued strikes, while Russian forces have also continued to advance slowly in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.  (read more)

As soon as details can be worked out, hopefully sooner rather than later, President Trump can then schedule a face-to-face meeting with the unelected leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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