A ROUTE TO A PEACE PRIZE [A GUEST ARTICLE BY RYAN L. DUDLEY]
JULY 21, 2026
According to rumors, President Trump is hoping to receive a Peace Prize. Unfortunately, his actions are counter-productive. He is bogged down in both the Ukraine War and the Iran War, without a clear end in sight for either of them. However, there is a very slight chance that one or more obscure options might succeed in bringing the two quagmires to a close. One such extremely speculative option is as follows:
ONE–PREPARATION
Trump, his staff, and all the federal agencies involved in war and peace go silent for several days. This means no speeches, no tweets, no press briefings, no new documents, and taking no questions, except for one spokesperson at the White House. Everyone else in the affected agencies would refer questions and comments to the spokesperson. That person would announce that the government was conducting a complete bottom to top review of the nation’s military, diplomatic, and economic policies in light of the changing world situation. During this time, the US would cease active military actions and, as much as possible, put everything into a holding pattern. The various facets of hybrid warfare would cease. Diplomatic negotiations would be going on all over the world behind closed doors.
TWO—PEACE OFFENSIVE
At the end of the review, the President would read a brief announcement that peace had broken out all over the world and 1) that peace would put an end to the death and destruction, 2) that most of the US military equipment and the military heroes would be coming home, as their work was done, 3) that the sanctions would be dropped, as they were counter-productive, and 4) that the budget would be adjusted to fit the new situation. He would also mention that some of the military would be moved to Israel as a temporary measure in light of the special protective relationship with that country.
THREE—NARRATIVE
Following the President’s announcement, 1) the military would continue to keep silent on geopolitical issues, avoid discussion of any foreign military, and confine public discussion to notices of returning units/ships to their home bases/ports. Celebrations would be arranged for each homecoming that emphasized the military role in achieving peace and the valor of the service personnel. 2) the diplomats would talk about the ramifications that peace would bring to the world, the impact on international organizations, and the prospect of various treaties aligned with the new situation. 3) the economic side of government would explain why sanctions did not work and why the money spent on wars was needed to fix domestic problems, 4) overall, there would be no mention of winning or losing, just talk about peace and the required adjustments to promote and continue a peaceful world.
A usual advice suggested for a country when its conflicts are going badly is to use a ‘declare victory and go home’ narrative. However, the US objectives, demands, and goals in Ukraine and Iran have not been achieved, so to claim victory would simply make the US even more of a laughingstock in world opinion. Whereas declaring peace could be easily confirmed if the shooting, bombing and hybrid forms of war stopped. Trump could declare peace without fear of being contradicted, since without US support, the fighting would fizzle out. The narrative would omit and sidestep any mention of the US role in instigating and promoting the wars. All of Trump’s previous bombast, bluster, and threats would be flushed down the memory hole like a bad dream.
A special narrative would be addressed to supporters of Israel in the US. It would emphasize that the current regime in Israel has failed to protect the country and that it is going in the wrong direction on most counts, from the ICC to world opinion, to censoring information about what is happening in the country. The US would send reporters to Israel to uncover the facts and report them. The narrative would be to save Israel from itself, or at least from the current administration there, whose policies are wrecking the country. As a corollary to this, the US would quietly ensure that the Palestinians received a fair shake.
FOUR—A SLIM CHANCE
As mentioned above, there is an extremely low probability that the Trump Administration would even try to implement such a peace plan, and another extremely low probability that it would actually work. On the other hand, there is an extremely low probability that the current course will actually succeed in the end. However, at some point in the near future, a desperate Administration might make a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to prevent the final curtain closing. At least, this alternative option might get Trump his Peace Prize.
A ROUTE TO A PEACE PRIZE [A GUEST ARTICLE BY RYAN L DUDLEY]
Aggregated summary from an independent source. Read the original at Sonar21.