Friedman: A US retreat from world stage could doom Abraham Accords

• Published date: 12 October 2021
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"This won't work if America retreats from the world stage and fails to project its values in the region," said Friedman as he spoke with the paper's senior contributing editor and diplomatic correspondent Lahav Harkov at Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance.

He spoke of the deal brokered by the former Trump administration under whose rubric Israel normalized ties with four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

As a Trump administration envoy in the region, Friedman was a part of the process from its infancy. On Monday, he launched the Friedman Center for Peace through

Strength to help continue to advance the accords. He has just completed a documentary on the process and is authoring a book on the initiative.

The accords, he said, were possible because they were backed by a strong US that guided and encourages ties between Arab nations and Israel, offering political, economic and security support.

Friedman never mentioned the US President Joe Biden's withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, but he appeared to reference it when he said that the Biden administration needs to convince Arab states that it can be depended on as a strong regional ally.

Countries that signed the Abraham Accords and those that could join the deal are asking, "Is America going to be a reliable partner going into the future? All these countries depend on a strong America," Friedman said.

He also spoke to the Biden administration's attempt to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The plan, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, was

designed to limit Iran's nuclear capacity and was signed between Tehran and six world powers.

The former Trump administration...