SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to bring peace to the Middle East. How he plans to do that is still not clear. Arab voters like Camille Bsaibes are hoping for the best.
"Do you feel that change might be beneficial?"
"I hope so. Especially that his daughter is married to a Lebanese might influence him a little bit to have some peace," Bsaibes said.
Bsaibes owns Aladdin and other Lebanese restaurants in San Diego. He has family abroad and is optimistic Trump will work to protect them.
"I wish he will fulfill his promises toward Lebanon. He said at the end the Lebanese will be very happy," Bsaibes said.
But there's a lot of room for speculation on the president-elect's foreign policy. Political promises made before election day, don't always become reality.
"He was intentionally and deliberately vague because he's making conflicting promises to two different constituencies," said Benjamin Radd, an Iranian senior fellow at UCLA's International Institute.
Radd expects Trump to form his foreign policy in coalition with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he did in 2016. He says Trump will try to create ties between Israel and Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia.
"How would that impact his approach to Palestine and Lebanon?"
"Trump might approach the Palestinian conflict differently from the Lebanese conflict simply because he understands that a pathway to a broader regional peace and agreement with Israel and Arab states involves a solution with regard to Palestine," Radd said. "There's no such barrier when it comes to the conflict in Lebanon."
Radd believes Trump will take a more aggressive stance toward Iran, potentially through sanctions or targeted strikes on Iranian leaders. This could heighten regional tensions, but Bsaibes believes the situation in Lebanon can only get better.
"I assure you, we can't lose anything more than we've lost already," Bsaibes said.
