Most likely that Charlie Kirk was murdered for his far-right political views.
By Tom Arms | London
The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy. The reaction is a frightening potential disaster.
On a personal level, the violent death of a 31-year-old father of two is heart breaking.
On the political plane it is a calamity. As of this writing we do not know the motive for the shooting. It is, however, most likely that Charlie Kirk was murdered for his far-right political views.
The right of free and open debate is a fundamental principle of democracy. It is one of the key reasons that democracies have prospered and totalitarian states have failed.
That is why most of America’s political figures have been loud in their condemnation of Charlie Kirk’s death, including President Donald Trump who started off on the right note in attacking the murder and the rhetoric which led to that murder.
But Trump being Trump, he couldn’t help himself from sliding into the self-same finger-pointing accusations of the type that he himself said led to Kirk’s death.
After praising Charlie as a “great American” who “loved his country” Trump went on to say: “All Americans, and the media, must confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most despicable way possible.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we are seeing in our country today.”
In Trump’s playbook it is himself and the Republican Party who are the victims. Trump makes no reference to the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; the arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro. The attempted kidnapping of Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat). The murder of the former Democrat speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark or the wounding of Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette (Democrats).
Neither did he mention the eight people who died as a result of the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill or the 1,500 people he pardoned after lauding them as “patriots.”
Trump also failed to reference his own rhetoric which includes describing immigrants as “vermin;” accusing Barack Obama of “treason;” or branding President Biden’s family as “the Biden crime family.” As for the Democrats as a whole, they are, according to Trump, “radical left maniacs trying to destroy our country.”
The rhetoric has led to increased violence across the political spectrum. Since 2017, Trump’s first year in the White House, Threats against members of the US Congress, their staff and families, have increased 300 percent.
The fact is that the politics of Donald Trump—and by extension, the wider Republican Party—are the politics of aggressive, no holds barred, gutter rhetoric.
World View
World ViewQatar has tried to carve out a role as the Switzerland of the Middle East. It is the only Arab country that has maintained good relations with Iran. It plays host to 10,000 American troops. Qatar hosted the World Cup—well. It finances Al Jazeera, the only politically neutral broadcaster in the Arab world.
Qatar hosted the talks between the Taliban and the US which led to American withdrawal from Afghanistan. And, most importantly, it played a key role in brokering talks between Hamas and Israel and was the safe haven for the Hamas leadership—until this week.
On Tuesday Israeli jets conducted a precision strike on Hamas headquarters in Doha. They failed to take out the men trying to negotiate a ceasefire but did kill six others.
The attack is a clear signal from Benjamin Netanyahu that negotiations are over. There will be no ceasefire in Gaza until Israel says so. Hamas cannot seek sanctuary in Qatar or anywhere else. Israel will decide the terms and timing of any ceasefire.
In the past the received wisdom was that only the United States could pressure Israel into making concessions. But this is being called increasingly into question. The attack on Doha—using American-made planes and American-made precision missiles—was carried out without American approval.
America’s “bunker-busting” bomb attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was conducted because Israel dragged Trump into the conflict after making the initial forays. The United States may be the super power, but Israel is calling the shots.
Consider the timing. The Doha raid came just two days after the Trump administration delivered its latest proposals to end the war in Gaza.
On social media, Trump told Hamas that this was a last chance.
“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”
In Doha, Hamas’ senior leadership gathered to consider their response, but Israel didn’t wait to hear it. The attack didn’t just blow up the latest US proposals, it may have wrecked the entire, delicate architecture of Gaza diplomacy, on which the Trump administration was relying heavily.
Debate swirls over how and when the US found out about the Israeli raid and whether it could have done more to stop it. The presence in Qatar of one of the most important US airbases in the world has led many to conclude that it’s inconceivable that Washington didn’t see the Israeli jets approaching.
But if there wasn’t a green light from Washington – and many assume there was – what does this say about Mr Trump’s ability to influence Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions?
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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He is also a regular contributor of “The New World” and the author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain.”
