With the showmanship of a Cecil B De Mille saga, President Donald Trump's state visit to three Arab kingdoms was uniquely paired with pomp and joint business incentives that focused on transforming the narrative from conflict to commerce and cooperation. The visits were set to the spectacular backdrop of casts of thousands, Arabian stallions, and camel cohorts marking the fanfare of the president's four-day trip to the region.
The glitzy Gulf kingdoms offered Mr Trump a positive and comfortable backdrop for his New York-style business pitch for prosperity. US diplomacy was focused on friendships beyond traditional petroleum links. The Middle East chessboard was often viewed as a political zero-sum game against the backdrop of retro-diplomacy, e.g., how to secure vital sea lanes for the free flow of oil. But today's enhanced ties host a triangular game of commerce, diplomacy, and military deterrence in which the US, and not China or Russia, is setting the paradigm for a new Middle East policy.
The president's speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first stop on the trip, charmed even many of his critics. He stated, "Before our eyes a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts of tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together."
Significantly, Mr Trump discarded traditional US narratives, stressing, "It's crucial for the wider world to note this great transformation has not come from Western interventionists … giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs. No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders, neocons, or liberal nonprofits." He offered a clear nationalist mantra: "Peace, prosperity, and progress ultimately came not from a radical rejection of your heritage, but rather from embracing your national traditions and that same heritage that you love so dearly."
Until now, the Saudis and the Gulf Arab states such as Qatar and the UAE have been stereotypically viewed by Americans as ruled by kings, sheikhs and emirs, awash in petro-dollars, glitz, but little else, with super-modern cities on the edge of vast oceans of sand, sea and oil. Yet these countries, beyond having small populations and large foreign workforces, contrast with the "other "Middle East of the poor, the crowded lands of Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Beyond the carefully choreographed style, there was truly substance. A who's who of American business executives reaped a cornucopia of deals and rewards. In Saudi Arabia, there are US$600 billion (19.7 trillion baht) deals in energy, armaments, and Artificial Intelligence. Qatar will purchase at least $243 billion worth of 210 Boeing aircraft. The UAE is purchasing $200 billion in US Boeings and technology. The UAE, moreover, has committed to $1.4 trillion in US investments over the next decade. For a number of years, commercial air flights from the Gulf states to the US has expanded dramatically with prestigious carriers like Emirates, Qatar and Saudia flying to American destinations.
Qatar offered the president a "gift" of a 747 aircraft to serve as an Air Force One. The deal sadly sullies the tone of the summit and sidetracks the otherwise near-flawless narrative of the Trump trip. Accepting this golden "gift" would not be wise, and it offers his critics a powerful symbol.
But beyond commercial mega-deals, the president focused on long-forgotten but simmering political crises following the Syrian civil war. Mr Trump played his cards well. He met with Syria's new Islamist leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, offering a hand of American friendship. This takes cautious optimism, but by lifting punishing economic sanctions on Syria, which dated to the ousted Assad regime, the US positively changed the narrative for a country destroyed by 14 years of civil war. Millions of Syrians fled, millions more were displaced. Mr Trump's gambit was a big victory for neighbouring Turkey, too, which harbours nearly three million Syrian refugees, many of whom are now expected to return home.
Mr Trump called for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and to recognise Israel. He warned the Tehran regime, "Iran can have a much brighter future but we'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack. The choice is theirs to make." No to a nuclear Iran.
Mr Trump has been rebranding the Middle East and resetting US diplomacy. The president said, "We're still just at the dawn of the bright new day that awaits for the people of the Middle East."
John J Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defence issues. He is the author of 'Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China'.