Greatness in the Middle East? Don’t hold your breath

Greatness in the Middle East? Don't hold your breath Analysis by Ben Wedeman, CNNOctober 1, 2025 at 2:00 AM 1 US President Donald Trump looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks during a joint news conference in the State Dining Room at the White House on September 29, 2...

- - Greatness in the Middle East? Don't hold your breath

Analysis by Ben Wedeman, CNNOctober 1, 2025 at 2:00 AM

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US President Donald Trump looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks during a joint news conference in the State Dining Room at the White House on September 29, 2025. - Win McNamee/Getty Images

The hype was classic Trump.

"We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST," the US president posted in all caps on his Truth Social account Sunday. "ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!"

The next day, he announced that Israel had agreed to a 20-point American proposal to end the war in Gaza, arrange an exchange of Israeli hostages (living and dead) for Palestinian prisoners (living and dead), establish an internationally supervised administration for the battered enclave, and bring about a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and, eventually, vague notions of "a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, with secure, recognized borders."

Going back decades, American leaders have rolled out grand schemes to the conflict, only to see them either collapse in catastrophe or fizzle out in disappointment and recriminations.

Following Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, President Ronald Reagan announced a "fresh start," calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, a freeze on Israeli settlements, and Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and Gaza.

None of that happened.

Eleven years later, on a sunny September day in what was the White House Rose Garden, Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin oversaw the signing of the so-called Oslo Accords, designed to set in motion an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. An emotional President Bill Clinton solemnly declared "For too long, the children of Abraham have turned swords against each other. Today, at last, that changes."

American President Bill Clinton watches as the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the garden of the White House after the signing of the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993. - MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images

No, "that" didn't change.

World leaders have rushed to applaud President Donald Trump's complex Gaza plan. After two years of this brutal war that has been livestreamed instantaneously around the globe, hard would be the heart of whoever does not greet the chance to end the bloodshed with anything but relief.

No doubt Trump is basking in the glow of success.

Not so fast.

Hours after the Israeli delegation left the White House the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported that when asked if he and Trump had "agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu stated unequivocally, "Absolutely not, that is not even written in the agreement.""

Already his coalition partners are snapping at Netanyahu's heels for publicly accepting the plan. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the prime minister's acceptance of the plan as "a resounding diplomatic failure, a willful blindness and a betrayal of all the lessons of the October 7 attack. In my view, it will all end in tears."

Netanyahu may have been the image of confidence while on the grounds of the White House. Promises made in Washington, however, may be hard to keep when he returns to the boxing ring that is Israeli politics.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leave the State Dining Room of the White House after a press conference in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. - Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Hamas has yet to agree to the Trump plan. Israel hasn't officially accepted it either, despite Netanyahu's beaming smile standing next to Trump.

And above and beyond all that, the Trump plan ignores the elephant in the room, which beyond Gaza's fate, is Israel's settlement and occupation of east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Though Trump said on September 25 that Israel will not annex the West Bank, there is nary a mention of the other Palestinian territory in the latest proposal.

Every US administration since 1967 has shied away from pressuring Israel to stop – or reverse – its process of establishing settlements in occupied territory.

For decades, successive administrations have described these settlements as an "obstacle to peace." It was a constant refrain from White House and State Department spokespeople that rang hollow as Israel charged ahead, creating settlements across the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The settler population in those areas has grown from just around 20,000 in the early 1970s to more than 750,000 today.

Trump recently vowed he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank – something Israeli officials threatened to do after several countries recently recognized Palestinian statehood. Yet apart from the legal niceties, Israel has already, for all intents and purposes, taken over the territory. It controls movement within and into the West Bank, operates its own two-tier legal system (one for Israelis, the other for Palestinians) and is the ultimate authority there.

Trump is certainly not going to act to change these facts on the ground.

But it is these very facts that fuel the conflict. Anyone who has been to the West Bank and seen how Israeli security forces and settlers operate and often abuse the Palestinian population will quickly understand why Palestinians are so opposed (and often violently so) to Israel's presence there.

Perhaps Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza will bring an end to the war in Gaza. Perhaps it will signal the demise of Hamas. Perhaps it will enable the Palestinians of Gaza to rebuild their shattered lives. Perhaps it will reunite the Israeli hostages held by Hamas with their loved ones.

Greatness in the Middle East? Don't hold your breath. The best one can cautiously hope for is a pause in the killing in Gaza.

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October 01, 2025

Greatness in the Middle East? Don’t hold your breath

Greatness in the Middle East? Don't hold your breath Analysis by Ben Wedeman, CNNOctober 1, 2025 at 2:00 AM 1 US...

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Japan is arming a warship with US missiles that can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away as Pacific arms race heats up

Japan is arming a warship with US missiles that can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away as Pacific arms race heats up Brad Lendon, CNNOctober 1, 2025 at 2:51 AM 0 Crews in Japan practice loading a dummy Tomahawk munition aboard the Japan Maritime SelfDefense Force destroyer JS Chokai at Yokosuka Nava...

- - Japan is arming a warship with US missiles that can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away as Pacific arms race heats up

Brad Lendon, CNNOctober 1, 2025 at 2:51 AM

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Crews in Japan practice loading a dummy Tomahawk munition aboard the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Chokai at Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo last week. - JMSDF

A Japanese warship is on the way to the United States to be fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the latest move by Washington and its Asian allies to beef up firepower as adversaries like China and North Korea expand theirs.

The JS Chokai, an Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer, is steaming to the US for a year-long deployment during which the ship will undergo modifications – and crew training – to enable it to launch the Tomahawks, maneuverable cruise missiles with a range of about 1,000 miles.

That would put targets deep inside China or North Korea well within range of the Japanese warship.

Japan in early 2024 signed a deal with the US to acquire 400 Tomahawks as part of Tokyo's plans to increase defense spending to counter regional threats in what Defense Minister Gen Nakatani has called the "most severe and complex security environment" since World War II.

China's military activities present "the greatest strategic challenge" to Japan, the Defense Ministry's annual white paper, released in July, said.

A Tomahawk cruise missile conducts a controlled flight test over off Southern California in this file photo. - US Navy/AFP/Getty Images

Beijing is "rapidly enhancing its military capability" while "intensifying" activities around the region, Nakatani said in introducing that white paper, specifically mentioning the Senkaku Islands, a chain in the East China Sea that Tokyo controls but which is also claimed by Beijing, which calls them the Diaoyus.

China showed off some of that new capability – including powerful anti-ship missiles, during a military parade in Beijing on September 3.

On the viewing stand with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that day was Kim Jong Un, who days later was inspecting new North Korean missile engines, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, who recently signed a defense treaty with Kim.

In announcing the dispatch of the destroyer to the US, the Defense Ministry said Japan's Self-Defense Forces are "strengthening their stand-off defense capabilities in order to intercept and eliminate invading forces against Japan at a rapid pace and at long range."

Though Tokyo cites the Tomahawk's "defense capabilities," the missiles are regarded as offensive weapons.

In fact, a US Navy fact sheet on the missiles says they are "used for deep land-attack warfare" and the full name of the weapon is the "Tomahawk Land Attack Missile," or TLAM.

When Japan asked to buy the Tomahawks in 2023, China bristled at the move, calling out Tokyo for breaching its post-World War II "pacifist constitution," which restricted the Japanese military – the Japan Self-Defense Forces – to a strictly defensive role.

"The moves by the US and Japan exacerbate the momentum of an arms race, affect peace and stability in the region, seriously disrupt global strategic balance and stability and undermine the international order," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at the time.

Tomahawks are one of the most proven weapons in the US arsenal.

According to manufacturer Raytheon, the cruise missiles "can strike targets precisely from 1,000 miles away, even in heavily defended airspace."

Besides naval surface ships, the Tomahawks can also be fired from submarines and land platforms.

They've been used in combat well over 2,000 times, according to Raytheon, including in June when submarine-launched Tomahawks were used in the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In a statement, the Japanese Defense Ministry said it planned to have the Chokai ready for "actual missions" by next summer through a process that would include live-fire testing.

First steps in that process occurred last week, when the Chokai practiced loading dummy Tomahawk munitions into its vertical launch cells.

The 528-foot-long, 9,500-ton Chokai has 90 of the vertical launch cells, which it can also use to launch surface-to-air missiles, anti-ballistic missiles, air defense missiles and anti-submarine rockets.

It's similar in size and armament to the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Beside the US Navy, Britain's Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy have demonstrated Tomahawk launch capability.

Australia joined that group last December, with the successful firing of a Tomahawk by the destroyer HMAS Brisbane off the US West Coast.

Canberra plans to buy 200 Tomahawks, which the Australian Defense Ministry said will allow its naval vessels to "perform long-range precision strike against land targets."

CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.

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Japan is arming a warship with US missiles that can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away as Pacific arms race heats up

Japan is arming a warship with US missiles that can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away as Pacific arms race heats up...

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Activists from Sudan, Myanmar, Pacific Islands, and Taiwan receive human rights award

Activists from Sudan, Myanmar, Pacific Islands, and Taiwan receive human rights award October 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM 0 1 / 2SwedenRight Livelihood AwardFILE Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang speaks during an interview with The in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 10, 2020.

- - Activists from Sudan, Myanmar, Pacific Islands, and Taiwan receive human rights award

October 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM

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1 / 2Sweden-Right Livelihood AwardFILE -Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang speaks during an interview with The in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Right Livelihood Award was awarded Wednesday to activists from Sudan and Myanmar, where military and political violence devastates communities, to the Pacific Islands, where climate disaster threatens entire nations, and to Taiwan, which is the frequent target of threats and disinformation.

"As authoritarianism and division rise globally, the 2025 Right Livelihood Laureates are charting a different course: one rooted in collective action, resilience and democracy to create a livable future for all," the Stockholm-based foundation said about the winners. It considered 159 nominees from 67 countries this year.

The youth-led organization Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change and Julian Aguon were awarded the prize "for carrying the call for climate justice to the world's highest court, turning survival into a matter of rights and climate action into a legal responsibility."

Justice for Myanmar was awarded "for their courage and their pioneering investigative methods in exposing and eroding the international support to Myanmar's corrupt military." The covert group of activists is working to expose the financial architecture and global corporate complicity sustaining the military government, Right Livelihood said.

Audrey Tang from Taiwan won the prize "for advancing the social use of digital technology to empower citizens, renew democracy and heal divides." Tang is a "civic hacker and technologist who rewires systems for the public good," the organization said.

In Sudan, the Emergency Response Rooms network was awarded for "for building a resilient model of mutual aid amid war and state collapse that sustains millions of people with dignity." The Sudanese community-led network has become the backbone of the country's humanitarian response amid war, displacement and state collapse. They helps includes health care, food assistance, and education, where many international aid organizations cannot reach, according to the foundation.

Created in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Award honors efforts that the prize founder, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt were being ignored by the Nobel Prizes.

"At a time when violence, polarization and climate disasters are tearing communities apart, the 2025 Right Livelihood Laureates remind us that joining hands in collective action is humanity's most powerful response," said Ole von Uexkull, the nephew of the prize founder and the organization's executive director.

"Their courage and vision create a tapestry of hope and show that a more just and livable future is possible," he added.

Previous winners include Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matviichuk, Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Matviichuk and Mukwege received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and 2018, respectively.

The Right Livelihood Award comes just a week before the Nobel Prizes. The 2025 laureates will be given their awards on Dec. 2 in Stockholm. The size of the prize amount was not announced.

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Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 10-5 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener

Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 105 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener BETH HARRIS October 1, 2025 at 1:29 AM 0 1 / 5Reds Dodgers BaseballLos Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene (21) during the first inni...

- - Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 10-5 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener

BETH HARRIS October 1, 2025 at 1:29 AM

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1 / 5Reds Dodgers BaseballLos Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene (21) during the first inning in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández hit two home runs apiece, Blake Snell struck out nine over seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 in their NL Wild Card Series opener Tuesday night.

Tommy Edman also went deep for the Dodgers, who tied a franchise postseason record with five homers and pounded out 15 hits as they opened their bid to become the first back-to-back World Series winners in 25 years.

Ohtani, who had a career-high 55 homers in the regular season, homered leading off the first. His 117.7 mph drive off a 100.4 mph fastball from Reds ace Hunter Greene was the fastest pitch Ohtani has homered on in his major league career.

"It was a really hard pitch to hit, but I felt like I reacted pretty well," Ohtani said through a translator. "I was happy I was able to help the team score early."

The two-way superstar from Japan added a 454-foot, two-run shot off Connor Phillips with two outs in the sixth. Ohtani also struck out three times.

The only hit Snell allowed through six innings was Matt McClain's double down the third base line that eluded a diving Max Muncy with two outs in the third. The Reds scored two runs in the seventh on Elly De La Cruz's groundout and Tyler Stephenson's double.

Snell retired his initial eight batters in his first playoff start since 2022, when the two-time Cy Young Award winner was with the San Diego Padres. He matched his postseason high for strikeouts in the longest postseason start of his career.

"I felt really in control, could read swings and just kind of navigate through the lineup the way I wanted to," Snell said.

The cheers turned to boos for a shaky Dodgers bullpen in the eighth when Cincinnati batted around. Los Angeles relievers Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and Jack Dreyer combined to issue four walks as the Reds scored three runs and pulled to 10-5. The trio needed 59 pitches to get three outs.

"When you're on the attack, those guys are on their heels with the lead we have," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "When you start being too fine and getting behind, you start giving them free bases. That's how you can build innings and get momentum, so that's what I saw in that inning there, for sure."

Game 2 in the best-of-three series is Wednesday night. The winner advances to a best-of-five Division Series against Philadelphia.

Greene was knocked out after just three innings, a disappointing postseason debut in his hometown. He gave up five runs, including three homers, and six hits on 65 pitches. The right-hander, whose favorite team growing up was the Dodgers, struck out four and walked three.

"He didn't locate," Reds manager Terry Francona said, "and when he didn't locate he really paid a price for that."

Greene walked Freddie Freeman and Muncy back-to-back in the third. They moved up on a wild pitch before Hernández's three-run homer to the left-field pavilion. Edman followed with a solo shot, extending the lead to 5-0.

"From the outset we had a really good game plan against Hunter," Roberts said, "and we just didn't miss pitches when he made mistakes."

Hernández greeted Phillips with a two-strike homer that made it 6-0 in the fifth.

Up next

Reds RHP Zack Littell (10-8, 3.81 ERA) starts Wednesday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8, 2.49).

___

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October 01, 2025

Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 10-5 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener

Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 105 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener BETH HARRIS October 1...

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High-powered offenses clash as No. 21 Notre Dame faces Boise State

Highpowered offenses clash as No. 21 Notre Dame faces Boise State Field Level MediaOctober 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM 0 Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr (13) sing the alma mater after beating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre ...

- - High-powered offenses clash as No. 21 Notre Dame faces Boise State

Field Level MediaOctober 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM

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Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr (13) sing the alma mater after beating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images (Michael Caterina-Imagn Images)

Boise State coach Spencer Danielson knows his team might need some time to absorb its first trip to Notre Dame Stadium.

Danielson feels the same way as his players. That is why he is going to lead a tour of the stadium one day before Boise State (3-1) kicks off against No. 21 Notre Dame (2-2) on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

"As a football fan, which we all are, and even me growing up in Southern California, Notre Dame's a team that you watch consistently year in and year out," Danielson said. "I mean, from 'Rudy' to South Bend to Touchdown Jesus, there's so much amazing history tied to Notre Dame. And I've never been there. I'm fired up as a coach. ...

"And so, we're going to be able to see the stadium the day before and go through it. Because I want, by the time we get to kickoff, it's time to go play football. They've got really good players. I believe in our players, too."

The Broncos will look for the upset win after tallying three wins in a row against Eastern Washington, Air Force and Appalachian State. Boise State's lone loss so far this season was on Aug. 28 at South Florida.

Notre Dame is seeking its third win in a row after knocking off Purdue and Arkansas in back-to-back weeks. The Fighting Irish scored 56 points in each of the past two games.

A big reason for the offensive surge is the performance of redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr. He has passed for 1,091 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions through his first four starts.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman praised Carr for playing so well so early in his career.

"It's rare to be a second-year college football player playing in your fifth (career) game and performing at a level he's performing at," Freeman said. "It's rare. But I think CJ Carr is rare.

"He has this unique trait that very few people have. He is ... a competitive, selfless individual. It's not about CJ Carr. He's not so competitive that, 'I want to be able to throw for this amount.' It's like, 'Whatever we've got to do to win.'"

Carr is helped by the potent one-two rushing attack of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Love has rushed for 341 yards and five touchdowns, and Price has produced 273 yards and six TDs on the ground.

Boise State also has thrived on offense, as it has scored 47-plus points in its last three games.

Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen has passed for 1,129 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. His top receiver, Latrell Caples, has 240 receiving yards and two scores.

Boise State also leans heavily on the run. Three players have figured prominently into the rushing attack, including Dylan Riley (360 yards, 5 TDs), Sire Gaines (245 yards, 1 TD) and Malik Sherrod (198 yards, 2 TDs).

Freeman acknowledged it will be a challenge to slow Boise State's ground game.

"They're going to keep fresh guys in there and make you stop the run," he said. "We have to understand that. ... We've got to be aggressive, and we've got to tackle well because those running backs, if you miss them, they'll go the distance."

--Field Level Media

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High-powered offenses clash as No. 21 Notre Dame faces Boise State

Highpowered offenses clash as No. 21 Notre Dame faces Boise State Field Level MediaOctober 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM 0 Sep ...

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