Saudi Arabia’s deepening alignment with the U.S. is part of a long-running strategy between the two nations, possibly leading to the Saudis joining the Abraham Accords, retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said on Newsmax Sunday.
“The move to the Saudis being more of a close ally is not new,” Shaffer said on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America Weekend,” noting that cooperation on weapons, security, and regional normalization has been underway for years.
President Donald Trump’s push to integrate Arab partners reflects a consistent U.S. goal, he added.
“I think this is all in line with his philosophy to get people together to negotiate and find a solution,” Shaffer said.
He recalled that on Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel, the Israelis had been expected to sign a major normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, underscoring the momentum behind regional cooperation before the war began.
Turning to Ukraine, Shaffer said the country’s recent drone and missile strike on Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk is unlikely to shift the broader trajectory of the conflict, and he warned that retaliation from both sides is creating a cycle with no clear endpoint.
“I think because of the Russians attacking the power infrastructure, it’s going to be tit for tat, Russia attacking Ukraine, Ukraine attacking Russia,” Shaffer said. “This is just going to extend the war. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight.”
Shaffer also addressed the newly expanded crackdown on narco-terrorist operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, dismissing critics’ arguments that some of the boats hit in Operation Southern Spear were civilian vessels. He said the networks involved have been well-known for decades.
“We’ve been tracking these activities since the 1990s,” he said. “We know what they’re doing. We know why they’re doing it.”
He said the U.S. response represents a return to the Monroe Doctrine by confronting threats in the Western Hemisphere before they reach American shores.
“What we’re doing in the Caribbean against these drug cartels, we’ve done globally against terrorists,” he said. “So why have we not actually done things in our backyard to stop the drugs that come into America to kill Americans?”
Shaffer also rejected the suggestion that the suspected traffickers are entitled to U.S. criminal protection.
“There’s no due process for foreign nationals who are engaged in armed or terrorist conflict against the United States,” he said, describing the cartels as narco-terrorists who pose a more immediate threat than groups that operate overseas.
The administration’s stepped-up operations reflect a renewed willingness to confront hostile networks that destabilize the region and profit from drug routes responsible for thousands of American deaths, he concluded.
GET TODAY :
is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the channel on your cable system –
Sign up for and get , our streaming channel and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch anytime, anywhere!
Start your now:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
