Mideast Peace: Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst

Of course, insisting that Hamas accept a Gaza Peace Plan, as announced by President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, is a most welcome initiative, that includes Gaza releasing all its hostages.

And U.S. President Donald Trump's commitment to back-up Israeli reactions if Hamas refuses to agree will help culminate agreement on the 20-points of that agreement.

This writer is certain that commitment was important to gaining Israel's agreement.

And Gaza's Oct. 3 announced potential agreement is a hopeful sign, as is the fact that Israel is already planning its response to Hamas releasing the hostages . . . but as I learned to say in our negotiations with the Soviet Union, "The devil is in the details" for completing a worthwhile deal.

U.S. Secretary of State (and also currently President Trump's national security adviser) Marco Rubio made abundantly clear during this past Sunday's News Shows that the focus of current negotiations is primarily focused on ending the conflict in Gaza and freeing the hostages . . . and that a "permanent solution" would take substantially longer.

In that context and as these continuing negotiations unfold, we shouldn't forget that Hamas is in effect a puppet of Iran, whose ruling Mullahs have notably chanted for decades, "Death to Israel (the Little Satan)" and "Death to America (the Great Satan)."

Note Secretary Rubio's recent press announcement of additional sanctions on Iran.

And Hezbollah, which so far is not an apparent party to Trump's Peace Plan, is also a potential puppet of Iran and could attack Israel "from its Lebanon homebase."

That Hezbollah threat could be dealt with in continuing negotiations, potentially on the way to reviving the Abraham Accords negotiated in President Trump’s first term.

I hope that Trump, who by this Gaza agreement will chair an associated "Board of Peace" to oversee execution of the agreement (assuming it is reached), will insist on verifiable assurances from the Iranian Mullahs on restraining both Hamas and Hezbollah.

But "hope" is not a strategic plan.

As President Ronald Reagan insisted in negotiations with the former Soviet Union in which yours truly played a close-up, personal role, "trust but, verify!"

Such verification measures are essential, particularly because Iran previously has not kept its word . . . and has well known alliances with Russia, China and others threatening stability around the globe.

And, as we insisted in our negotiations with the Soviet Union, these verification measures must be intrusive to be effective.

As President Reagan used to insist with USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, we should “trust but, verify" in making agreements.

And we obtained verifiable agreement for historic reductions in nuclear forces.

Just so, intrusive verification measures should be agreed, preferable explicitly, with the "powers that be" in making any agreements that involve Iran.

Henry F. Cooper, a Ph.D. engineer, was Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative during the GHW Bush administration and Ambassador and Chief U.S. Negotiator at the Geneva Defense and Space Talks with the Soviet Union during the Reagan administration. Read More of Dr. Cooper's Reports - Here.