The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Mon, 17 Feb 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: Arab nations are turning up the heat on Hamas—just weeks after President Trump floated his controversial plan for Gaza. Some leaders are now openly calling for Hamas to step aside. We’ll unpack what’s behind this shift. A White House team heads to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while European leaders scramble to respond. Western intelligence agencies say Russia has formed a secretive new spy unit, tasked with carrying out sabotage, assassinations, and attacks across Europe. And in today’s Back of the Brief—a deadly knife attack in Austria has been linked to the Islamic State. Authorities say the terrorist threat in Europe isn’t going away anytime soon. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Ramp: Get $250 when you join Ramp. Go to ramp.com/PDB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Why are Arab nations pressuring Hamas?
Es ist Montag, der 17. Februar. Willkommen bei der Präsidenten-Daily-Brief. Ich bin Mike Baker. Eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns briefen. Wir fangen heute mit den arabischen Nationen an, die Heizung auf Hamas aufzunehmen. Nur Wochen nachdem US-Präsident Trump seinen kontroversiellen Plan für Gaza geflogen hat.
Einige Leiter kümmern sich jetzt offensichtlich um Hamas, um sich zu entfernen. Wir werden das, was hinter diesem Schiff liegt, auspacken. Später im Show geht ein White House Team nach Saudi-Arabien für russische-ukrainische Friedensgespräche, während europäische Führer, naja, sie schrecken, um zu reagieren.
Außerdem sagen westliche Intelligenzorganisationen, dass Russland eine neue geheimnisvolle Spion-Unit gegründet hat, die mit der Behandlung von Sabotage, Verbrechen und Angriffen in Europa beteiligt ist. Man wundert sich, ob wir jetzt darüber sprechen, wie geheim es ist. Und in heute's Back of the Brief, a deadly knife attack in Austria has been linked to the Islamic State.
Authorities say the terrorist threat in Europe isn't going away anytime soon. And look at that, we're still in the introduction segment and we've already got a winner for the Statement of the Obvious Award. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. It's been nearly two weeks since President Trump floated the idea of the US taking over Gaza and turning it into a Middle Eastern version of the Riviera.
Chapter 2: What is President Trump's controversial Gaza plan?
And let's just say, well, the reaction has been not overly positive. Um es zu beurteilen, hat Trumps Plan, die Bevölkerung von Gaza, alle 2,3 Millionen von ihnen, außerhalb von Gaza, permanent zu beurteilen, während Washington die Reconstruktion übernehmen würde. Diese Bewertungen sagen, dass es 10 bis 15 Jahre dauern könnte.
Kritiker, insbesondere die meisten Regierungen in der Region, haben es als alles von unrealistisch bis zu ausreichend, Quote, ethnische Reinigung geschlagen. But while much of the world has been busy rejecting Trump's plan, something else has been quietly happening, something arguably, well, more significant.
The Overton window in the Middle East may have just shifted in a way that would have seemed impossible just a few short months ago. Wenn ihr euch nicht mit dem Overton-Window-Konzept verbunden habt, dann ist es im Grunde die Reihe von Ideen, die in einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt in der öffentlichen Debatte sozial akzeptabel sind. Und diese Winde wechselt sich über die Jahre.
Dinge, die früher undenkbar gewesen wären, können plötzlich im Mittelland werden. Und im Mittleren Osten, naja, das wechselt sich normalerweise sehr langsam. The region is built on deep traditions, authoritarian rule and religious influence, factors that tend to resist rapid change.
Chapter 3: How have Arab leaders responded to Trump's Gaza plan?
But today, as Arab leaders scramble to offer an alternative to Trump's plan, some of them are saying something that not long ago would have been completely off the table. And that is, that Hamas needs to go. Nehmen wir zum Beispiel den Generalsekretär der Arab-League. In einem Interview am 11. Februar auf dem Saudi-Arab-Channel hat er den Hamas angerufen, um sich abzuschließen.
Er hat sogar verurteilt, dass Trumps Plan, Arab-Nationen in ihre eigenen Vorschläge zu pressen, geplant war. Und jetzt, am Arab-Summit später dieses Monats, werden die Führer genau das tun. Eine Alternative, die sie sagen, wird an die Palästinenser, Arab-Nationen und die internationale Gemeinschaft akzeptabel sein. And the Arab League official isn't the only one saying that Hamas has to go.
The United Arab Emirates presidential advisor Anwar Gargash also backed the idea, calling it, quote, rational and appropriate.
He said, quote, the interests of the Palestinian people must come before the interests of Hamas, especially in light of the calls to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and the war that resulted from Hamas' decisions that destroyed the Gaza Strip and tore its human and social fabric, end quote.
Dann gibt es Tariq al-Humayad, einen jungen Saudi-Journalisten, der gerade einen Artikel in dem London-basierten Saudi-Daily Al-Shaq Al-Awsat genannt hat, namens Hamas muss Macht verlängern. Sein Argument? Nun, es ist, dass das Entstehen von Hamas eine praktische Alternative zu Trumps Plan ist.
Es würde Ägypten und Jordan von Unstabilität schützen, einen weiteren Krieg auf Gaza mit US-Vorbereitung verhindern und den Weg für Reconstruktion öffnen. So, while there isn't yet a full Arab consensus, it's clear that the conversation has shifted. But as you'd expect, and this will not be a shock, Hamas isn't exactly on board. And by that I mean, they're definitely not on board.
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Chapter 4: What role does Iran play in the Hamas situation?
They're nowhere near the board. And of course it's likely that the Iranian regime, responsible for funding and building and training and resourcing Hamas, well, they won't be on board either. The last thing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, wants... ist, noch mehr Einfluss in die Region zu verlieren.
Over the weekend, top Hamas official Osama Hamdan made it clear that his group has no plans to step aside. In fact, he outright rejected any proposal that excludes Hamas from Palestinian leadership, saying, quote, End quote. Hamdan sagte, wirklich, wir können nicht wegsteigen. Wie sonst werden wir Billionen von Dollar machen? Das ist unser Geld, und wir geben es nicht ab.
Und ja, ich habe das letzte Quote gemacht. Also, was Hamas sagt, ist, wenn eine arabische Koalition versucht, Gaza ohne Hamas zu übernehmen, dann wird Hamas sie als Feind vertreten, so wie sie es mit Israel tun. So what does all this mean? For one, it highlights how Trump's plan, no matter how unlikely, has forced Arab leaders to confront an uncomfortable reality.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of the upcoming Arab League Summit for Hamas?
Hamas' rule in Gaza is a major roadblock to any long-term peace or reconstruction. And while Hamas still has strong support from Iran, the pressure from within the Arab world is growing. We'll be watching closely as the Arab League Summit approaches, because for the first time in a long time, the future of Hamas' grip on Gaza isn't just an Israeli concern, it's an Arab one as well.
Alright, coming up after the break. A White House team heads to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks as European leaders scramble to respond. Plus, Western intelligence services warn of a secret Russian spy unit that's behind sabotage and assassinations across Europe. What will Putin think of next? I'll be right back. Running a business, well, it's not easy. And I know that firsthand.
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Was ist, wenn die Lösung für unsere Probleme dort lauert, wo Menschen normalerweise gar nicht hinkommen? Ein Schatz aus der Tiefsee, Millionen Jahre alt, den es aber wirklich gibt und den manche jetzt heben wollen. Der Kampf um die Tiefsee, der hat längst begonnen. Das ist Enten, Land unter, von Andan und dem Futurium. Ab sofort auf Spotify.
Welcome back to the PDB. The Trump administration is set to dispatch senior officials to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the coming days in an abrupt move that, well, blindsided Kiev. A Ukrainian official speaking to Politico said there are no plans for a Ukrainian delegation to attend, casting immediate doubt on the talks.
Well, yeah, I mean, typically it would be good to have the invaded country at the negotiating table when discussing the fate of the invaded country. Dementsprechend sind die europäischen Alliierten völlig aus den Negotierungen verlassen, die Frustration zwischen NATO-Mitgliedern, die Washington für einen unilateralen Deal über einen koordinierten westlichen Ansatz betrachten, füllen.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the US-Saudi peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict?
The Ukrainian President added, I hope that President Trump will pressure him because I don't trust him, end quote. Die Ungewissheit um Trumps abrupte Gespräche hat europäische Führungskräfte geäußert.
Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron hat am Montag einen Ursprungssummit in Paris gegründet, bei dem europäische Union-Führungskräfte zusammen mit NATO-Sekretär General Jens Stoltenberg verabredet wurden. Trumps Ausstieg von Putin, während er NATO-Alliieren auf der Seite hält, hat das, was eine größtenteils unifizierte westliche Strategie in der Ukraine war, beendet.
While Kellogg sought to reassure European allies in Munich that Kyiv would be part of any final agreement, he made it clear that European governments would not have a seat at the table. The fact that EU institutions and EU countries collectively have allocated some 133 billion dollars to Ukraine assistance since the February 2022 invasion, while the US has allocated some 120 billion dollars,
Well, it would seem to imply that the EU has paid for their seat at the table. The EU has also taken on the lion's share of training Ukrainian soldiers and has taken in vast numbers of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. The point being, well, it's an interesting strategy on the part of the US administration
to imply that European nations shouldn't be fully engaged in the peace process, particularly when US officials stated just last week that they expect the EU to shoulder the responsibility for ensuring that any peace deal is enforced and maintained.
With negotiations set to begin sometime soon in Saudi Arabia, the stage is set for high-stakes diplomacy that could reshape the trajectory of the war, not to mention future relations between NATO, the EU and the US. All right, shifting to Russia. Western intelligence officials uncovered a shadowy unit within Moscow's spy services known as the Department of Special Tasks, or SSD.
And it's clear that they did not spend a long time coming up with a clever name for their department. The unit, formed in 2023 in response to Western military aid to Ukraine, is tasked with carrying out sabotage, assassinations and infiltration operations across Europe and beyond. Überraschend ist, dass die Kremlin, naja, sie verurteilen alles.
Kremlins Sprechleiter Dmitry Peskov hat die Angelegenheiten als, Quote, unsubstanziierte Angelegenheiten verabschiedet. für das 2018-Poisoning von Russischer Doppelagent Sergej Skripal und seiner Tochter Yulia in den USA und dann die 2014-Chekische Ammunition-Depot-Explosion.
Aus der russischen Militär-Intelligenz-Headquarters in Moskau, hat die SSD nun einige der gefährlichsten klandestine Missionen übernommen, die früher von der russischen Federal Security Service und anderen Intelligenz-Branchen behandelt wurden. Und ihr Rekord ist bereits sehr hoch. Die Westen-Intelligenz-Agenzien haben die SSD mit einer Serie von hochprofilen Angriffen verbunden, z.B.
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