This morning’s front page of the New York Times offered the world a sobering glimpse behind the glittering façade of the Abraham Accords. The story, titled “Sheikh at Top of Soccer World Is Stealthily Arming Warlords,” details how Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan—one of the richest men in the Middle East and a key UAE figure in the Abraham Accords—is simultaneously aiding Sudanese warlords responsible for some of the worst atrocities in recent history.
While the UAE has been praised as a partner of peace and modernization, the reality exposed by this article is deeply troubling: Sheikh Mansour hosted Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, commander of Sudan’s feared paramilitary forces, in his private palace just weeks before Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023. These meetings followed earlier interactions at arms fairs in the Emirates, where the Sudanese warlord was shown drones and missile systems.
This is not an isolated issue of character. It’s a case study of how the moral contradictions at the heart of the Abraham Accords are not only unsustainable—they are dangerous.
The Accords have been touted as diplomatic achievements. But agreements built on economic expediency rather than shared values create space for quiet, unchecked alliances that fuel instability. As the article reveals, the UAE is simultaneously normalizing with Israel while backing armed actors who destabilize neighboring states and fuel violence in the region.
The article also reminds us of a hard truth: normalization with regimes that continue to arm militia groups, profit from black markets, and manipulate diplomatic platforms is not true peace. It’s leverage.
And it confirms what many of us warned in 2020: the Abraham Accords are being used not as a pathway to long-term peace, but as a strategic mask—one that allows state actors to win Western legitimacy while advancing regional ambitions unchecked.
This is not a call to abandon diplomacy. But it is a call to wake up. The Accords should never have been used as cover for global influence campaigns or weapons diplomacy. And Israel should not be asked to make territorial or moral concessions in exchange for hollow partnerships.
This morning’s New York Times front page is not just another headline—it’s Exhibit A.
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