The Illusion of Stabilization: Extremist Networks Threaten the New Mideast Order
By Ahmed Charai
Monday, 15 December 2025 01:46 PM EST
The Middle East is closer to genuine peace than at any time in modern history.
This breakthrough occurred because President Donald J. Trump acted as the peacemaker, shattering decades of failed assumptions, and because Jared Kushner served as the builder who turned vision into reality. Together, they created the most significant diplomatic achievement in a generation, proving that what was once unthinkable could become real when leadership replaced illusion.
The Abraham Accords demonstrated not only the possibility of peace but also the potential for a new Mideast.
Today, this progress faces an immediate threat from a dangerous illusion: the belief that Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, or even Sudan can be stabilized while armed extremist networks that dominate them remain intact. Some policymakers argue an International Stabilization Force could enter Gaza without direct confrontation with Hamas. But recent developments reveal a more realistic path forward.
President Trump’s decision to place a seasoned U.S. general at the head of the American component of this mission signals a disciplined and strategic approach—one recognizing that stabilization succeeds only when it strengthens, rather than restrains, responsible actors on the ground.
Rather than replacing or limiting Israeli forces, a U.S.-led effort under clear American command can guide, coordinate, and reinforce operations to ensure Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled with maximum precision and minimal civilian casualties. Its purpose is not to shield Hamas but to create the professional, controlled environment needed for responsible progress. Under strong American leadership, this mission becomes a partner in ensuring Gaza’s future does not fall into the hands of those who destroyed it and vow openly to repeat October 7, 2023 whenever possible.
This principle applies across the region. Hezbollah’s grip over Lebanon has hollowed out state institutions. The Houthis threaten global trade routes in the Red Sea. Across Africa—from Sudan to the Sahel—Islamist networks aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran embed themselves within state structures, ignite wars, and sabotage democratic transitions.
These groups form a single ideological ecosystem built on chaos manipulation, sovereignty erosion, and political destruction. Sudan offers the clearest warning: behind the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces lies decades of work by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Sudanese branch to seize control of military institutions, intelligence services, and key state apparatuses since 1989. Islamist loyalists purged more than 13,000 professional officers, monopolized military academies, and built parallel security structures operating above the law. Even after Bashir al-Assad’s fall, this network remained embedded—waiting to act.
When the current Sudanese conflict erupted in 2023, it was not spontaneous. Multiple credible military and intelligence sources confirm Islamist actors inside armed forces pushed the country into war to block military reform and prevent civilian rule. These networks now dominate strategic decision-making and resist humanitarian ceasefires because peace threatens their path to power.
Sudan is not an isolated case. It mirrors the model Hamas imposed on Gaza, Hezbollah on Lebanon, and the Houthis on Yemen as this extremist network expands across Africa.
The success of the Abraham Accords proved that peace can move faster than pessimism. Arab societies seek opportunity, prosperity, and dignity—not endless conflict orchestrated by militias claiming to speak in their name. The Accords showed Arabs and Israelis can cooperate when leadership ignores outdated dogmas for shared interests.
But safeguarding this achievement requires confronting reality with the same clarity that produced it. Disarmament is not optional; it is foundational to any meaningful stabilization effort. A force unable to neutralize Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and similar groups cannot be a stabilization mission—it is political anesthesia. Gazans were not born into Hamas; they were trapped by it. Sudanese civilians did not choose Islamist domination; it was imposed through fear and coercion. Lebanese citizens never voted for an Iranian militia. These networks do not defend Muslims—they exploit them.
Yet there remains reason for hope. The region has already witnessed a transformation experts once deemed impossible. The Abraham Accords proved that when illusions are discarded, progress is attainable. This must inspire confidence—and urgency. Achievements of this magnitude are fragile; they must be defended. To protect the new Mideast, the region must unite against extremist networks with discipline, purpose, and moral clarity. Ego, rivalry, and small calculations must be set aside. The forces of chaos work tirelessly to undo progress; therefore, we must act even harder to preserve it.
The choice before us is clear: defend the new Mideast that Trump envisioned and Kushner helped build—or watch extremist networks dismantle it piece by piece.
