In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled “Board of Peace” has come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that nearly half of the countries represented on the board are currently banned from entering the United States under Trump’s own travel restrictions.
The Board of Peace, which Trump has touted as a potential alternative to the United Nations, was launched with great fanfare at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The president welcomed representatives from 18 countries to the stage, including Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
However, a closer examination has shown that at least 8 of these countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan – are subject to the US administration’s indefinite suspension of immigrant visa processing, raising serious questions about the viability and credibility of this new global initiative.
“The board of peace is composed of the top leaders in the world, actually,” Trump claimed during the launch. But the glaring contradiction between the board’s membership and the administration’s own travel restrictions has led many to question the president’s motives and the true purpose of this endeavour.
The Board of Peace is expected to contribute $1 billion and aims to mediate global conflicts, potentially posing an alternative to the United Nations. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has been controversially named as a member of the board, which will be chaired by Trump himself.
Notably absent from the launch event were any representatives from European countries, amid reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to join. This further fuels concerns about the board’s true geopolitical agenda and its alignment with Trump’s broader foreign policy objectives.
The unveiling of the Board of Peace was accompanied by the presentation of CGI-generated images depicting a vision for the transformation of the war-torn Gaza Strip into a “riviera” featuring luxury apartments, a data centre, and coastal tourism facilities. This grandiose proposal, spearheaded by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been met with scepticism and criticism from observers.
As the Trump administration continues to push its “America First” agenda on the global stage, the establishment of the Board of Peace and its questionable composition has raised concerns about the president’s commitment to multilateralism and his ability to effectively mediate international conflicts. The glaring contradictions and controversies surrounding this initiative will undoubtedly continue to be a subject of intense scrutiny and debate in the weeks and months to come.
