Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 13: As he boarded a flight to Egypt for a pivotal peace summit, U.S. President Donald Trump drew a striking comparison between the challenges of brokering peace in the Middle East and resolving the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, saying, "Peace in the Middle East is harder."
Speaking to reporters before departure, Trump remarked, "I think the hardest is this — it's been going on for 3,000 years. The shutdowns have only been for 10 days." He added that while the government impasse is being addressed, it involves cutting “unnecessary Democrat-sponsored programmes that we never wanted.”
Trump labeled the current federal shutdown — which began on October 1 — the “Schumer shutdown,” blaming Democrats for obstructing funding resolutions. This marks the first government shutdown in seven years. The last, under Trump’s first term, became the longest in U.S. history at 35 days.
Despite the shutdown, Trump stressed that his administration is making sure active-duty military personnel continue to receive their pay. Referring to his directive from October 11, Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been authorized to use alternative funds to fulfill troop payments by October 15.
“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to pay our troops,” Trump wrote earlier on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, the shutdown has significantly impacted federal services, including national parks. Approximately two-thirds of the National Park Service workforce has been furloughed, forcing closures or reduced access at prominent sites like Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Petrified Forest in Arizona, and White Sands National Park.
On the international front, Trump’s trip to the Middle East comes amid a major diplomatic breakthrough. The president declared on Monday, “The war is over” in Gaza, following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that led to the release of 20 Israeli hostages by Hamas.
Before heading to the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Trump is expected to make a stop in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and address the Knesset — the latest in a series of high-profile events tied to his 20-point Gaza peace proposal.
The conflict, which erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly cross-border assault into Israel, claimed approximately 1,200 Israeli lives and resulted in the kidnapping of 251 people. As part of ceasefire arrangements, Hamas has already released several hostages in previous prisoner exchange deals. In addition to the 20 hostages freed recently, the group is expected to release the bodies of around 20 individuals who died in captivity.
Trump’s latest diplomatic push is being viewed as a defining moment of his second term, potentially reshaping U.S. involvement in Middle East affairs — and offering a dramatic contrast to the domestic gridlock back home.