by Rebecca Bynum
Fox News has re-hired Dr. Walid Phares for his tenth year with the network as its “National Security and Foreign Policy Expert” after having served as a foreign policy advisor to President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.
In March 2016, Fox News Terrorism and Middle East Analyst and Congressional advisor, Dr. Phares was named by Presidential candidate Donald Trump as one of his foreign policy advisors along with another five distinguished experts. Since then, Phares assumed two missions:
One task performed by Dr. Phares over the previous year was to meet with diplomats, ambassadors, ministers and foreign dignitaries from many countries around the world to explain the Trump foreign policy agenda, in particular on salient issues such as Russian relations, the Iran Deal, North Korea, NATO, and the evolution of the wars in the Middle East. Dr. Phares engaged diplomats and foreign officials and responded to their many questions regarding the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen as well as the alternative plans to defeat ISIS. During his tenure as a foreign policy advisor, Phares also met with politicians and leaders in Europe and the Middle East, including with government officials and spiritual leaders in Egypt and the UAE.
In Europe, Dr. Phares met with leaders from countries from Eastern, Central and Western Europe as well as the leaders of the European Parliament. Before the meeting between candidate Trump and Egyptian President Sisi, Phares met with Egypt’s top Islamic leaders, and later on, with 21 Egyptian lawmakers to exchange views on the future of US-Egyptian and Arab relations. He met with the head of state for the United Arab Emirates and his foreign minister as well as with the foreign ministers of Argentina, Tunisia and other countries. After the election, Phares met with a very large number of foreign officials and ambassadors from around the world, at their request, to explain the agenda of the incoming Administration.
Among the most important issues discussed by Dr. Phares were the strategies to defeat ISIS, the policies towards mass migrants, the crises in North Africa, solutions to the wars in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and here at home, the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando. During the campaign, Phares elaborated on three important policy issues:
1. Safe zones in Syria
2. Regional coalitions
3. Vetting immigrants and refugees
A second task performed by Dr. Phares over the past year, was to meet and be interviewed by the foreign press, including European, Russian, Asian, Latin American, African and Arab media outlets. Knowing that a majority of the media worldwide had an unfavorable attitude toward candidate Trump, Phares engaged a large multitude of correspondents, journalists and television crews from around the world in order to clarify Trump’s platform and policy speeches. Phares’ interviews were published and aired from Brazil to Tokyo and from Egypt to Germany. His media interventions in the Arab world helped to diffuse many negative notions such as the so-called “Muslim ban” and “Islamophobia.”
Dr. Phares also assisted in a third task, that of guiding the largest coalition of Americans from Middle East, East African and North African backgrounds in support of Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Phares and members of the American Mideast Coalition for Trump met with numerous community leaders from across the country and discussed the foundations of US policy toward the Greater Middle East.
As a foreign policy advisor, Dr. Phares also participated in briefings with senior campaign officials and provided insights and advice regarding President Trump’s speeches on national security and foreign policy during the campaign.
After the Inauguration, Dr. Phares signed a new contract to begin his tenth year with Fox News which includes a wider scope for covering the assessment of conflicts worldwide. It should be noted that the former Foreign Policy Advisor was said to have been considered for a position in the Administration, but only by media accounts. As a citizen, Phares is always ready to serve the President if called upon, but as one of the leading experts in the nation, his knowledge and analytical ability are also badly needed by the public, as debates on national security are raging.
Every day is an important day in the public conversation and Walid Phares is a vital player in the national security debate. His role at Fox News is needed now more than ever.
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One Response
Those interested in foreign relations are cordially invited to tell us what happened to the "art of the deal." What we see in connection with North Korea, Russia and China is confrontation, not negotiation. Mr. Bannon says casually that we're going to war with China "in five to ten years." Ho hum, just another day. And over what? Scraps of sand in the South China Sea. And who appointed the United States the sheriff of the South China Sea? What gives the US the right to build military bases in Asia and deny to China any sphere of influence? We have over 800 military bases around the globe, but China can't build one in its own backyard. What allies are on board for this grotesque misadventure? The sad irony is that Mr. Trump campaigned on a peace-through-negotiation platform and condemned Clintonesque war mongering. Will a Trump nuclear conflagration be any cozier than a Clinton nuclear confrontation? Remember that China has defense pacts with Russia, North Korea and Iran. Sounds like something to really look forward to, doesn't it? Just call it the "art of the deal," a raw deal for everyone.