Visit aims to buoy allies
Draft of Mideast speech keys on terror fight
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will use his first visit to the Middle East to call for unity in the fight against radicalism in the Muslim world.
According to a draft of his speech, he will cast the challenge as a “battle between good and evil” and urge Arab leaders to “drive out the terrorists from your places of worship.”
Abandoning some of the harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric of his presidential campaign, the draft of the speech, scheduled to be delivered Sunday in Saudi Arabia, envisions new partnerships with America’s traditional allies in the Middle East. It notably refrains from mentioning democracy and human rights — topics Arab leaders often view as U.S. moralizing — in favor of the more limited goals of peace and stability.
“We are not here to lecture — to tell other peoples how
to live, what to do or who to be. We are here instead to offer partnership in building a better future for us all,” the document said.
Trump left Washington on Friday afternoon for Riyadh, the first stop on his maiden trip overseas trip as president. The marathon trip also will take him to Israel, the Vatican, Belgium and Italy.
Two different sources provided copies of the draft of his remarks, billed as a marquee speech of the trip. One version, obtained late Thursday, included edits with comments from an administration official, indicating it was still a work in progress.
The White House confirmed the draft was authentic, but cautioned the president had not yet signed off on the final product.
“The president has not seen this draft,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. “This is one of five drafts that have been written by various people. He continues to take input and is writing a final version.”
The draft of the speech includes no mention of “radical Islamic terrorism” — a phrase that candidate Trump regularly criticized opponent Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama for shying away from. His speech calls terrorism a widespread problem plaguing everyone who loves peace.
He positions himself as an “emissary for the American people, to deliver a message of friendship and hope,” according to the draft.
“This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilizations. This is a battle between those who seek to obliterate human life and those who seek to protect it,” the text reads. “This is a battle between good and evil.”
His Saudi speech is aimed at the nations represented at an Arab and Muslim leaders’ summit.
Trump intends to condemn Syria’s President Bashar Assad for committing “unspeakable crimes against humanity” and Iran for contributing to spiraling violence in Syria.
“All nations of conscience in the Middle East must work together to roll back Iran’s destabilizing influence, restore a more stable balance of power in the region, and pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and responsible government they deserve,” the draft reads.
Iran and Syria were not invited to the summit, and they are not part of a regional military alliance that Saudi Arabia is establishing to fight terrorism. The kingdom backs efforts to topple the Syrian government, which counts Iran and Russia as its closest allies.
In conjunction with the trip, the Trump administration imposed its first terrorism sanctions jointly with Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The State Department announced sanctions on senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine and Muhammad al-Isawi, a leader of the Islamic State group’s operations on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
Saudi Arabia joined the U.S. in targeting Safieddine, who is said to oversee the financial empire of the Lebanon-based party.
“As a result, any of his assets held in Saudi Arabia are frozen, and transfers through the kingdom’s financial sector are prohibited,” the State Department said in a statement.
Hezbollah is close to Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival for power in the region, and has played a key role in boosting the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. The Saudis also accuse Iran and Hezbollah of fanning the war in Yemen by supporting the Houthi rebels.
Hezbollah, which has members in Lebanon’s parliament and Cabinet, is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
ISRAEL TENSIONS
In addition to the summit in Saudi Arabia, Trump’s tour will take him to Israel, where he’ll meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, looking to smooth over fresh tensions.
Israel was in an uproar earlier this week after U.S. officials confirmed Trump shared highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State group with senior Russian officials visiting the White House. The information, about an Islamic State threat related to the use of laptops on aircraft, came from Israel and there were concerns a valuable Israeli asset could be in danger, a U.S. official said, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive material.
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster added to the alarm by refusing to declare the Western Wall a part of Israel. U.S. policy holds that ownership of the holiest site where Jews can pray, as with the rest of Jerusalem, is subject to Israeli-Palestinian negotiation.
In Rome, the president will call upon Pope Francis, the popular, liberal-minded pontiff. Trump denounced Francis during the campaign, calling him “disgraceful” for questioning his faith.
In Brussels, Trump will attend a meeting of NATO, the World War II-era alliance which Trump has mused about abandoning because member states weren’t paying their fair share. He recently has shifted to reassure wary allies that he remains committed to the pact.
And in Sicily, the president will meet with the other leaders of the Group of Seven, a gathering of Western economic powers. Key parts of the group are unsettled by Trump’s unpredictability and his willingness to cheer on nationalist sentiment.
Trump’s itinerary is heavy with religious symbolism. He’ll visit the birthplace of Islam, the Jewish homeland and the Vatican. Officials say the message is “unity.”
“He strongly believes that it is the strength of the faith of people in these religions that will stand up and ultimately be victorious over these forces of terrorism,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.
Though most foreign governments closely monitor U.S. politics, Tillerson told reporters the controversy surrounding Trump, such as his firing of FBI Director James Comey and the investigation of his campaign’s ties to Russia, isn’t likely to affect his dealings abroad.
“The people in the rest of the world do not have the time to pay attention to what’s happening domestically here,” Tillerson said.
Trump’s trip is also a key test for his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, whom Trump has entrusted with much of his Mideast portfolio and the trip’s planning.
Kushner has been developing the itinerary since November. Saudi Arabia won the first stop, a senior administration official said, after promising large U.S. investments — including purchases of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment in the next decade and investments of as much as $40 billion from its sovereign wealth fund.
Trump’s wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka will accompany him for portions of the trip. Tillerson will join him for most of the trip. Defense Secretary James Mattis will join Trump at the NATO conference. Information for this article was contributed by Vivian Salama, Jonathan Lemire, Matthew Lee and staff members of The Associated Press and by Margaret Talev, Jennifer Jacobs and Nick Wadhams of Bloomberg News.