Dubai billionaire businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor has slammed US President Donald Trump over war risks. He questioned on what basis the American leader took the “dangerous decision”. His post came after Iran’s attack on US bases in the UAE in retaliation for America and Israel’s strikes on Tehran.
“His Excellency President Donald Trump. A direct question: Who gave you the authority to drag our region into war with #Iran? And on what basis did you take this dangerous decision?” reads a translated tweet shared by Al Habtoor on March 5.
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He continued, “Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself!”
Slamming the leader, he posted, “You have placed the countries of the #GulfCooperationCouncil and the Arab states at the heart of a danger they did not choose. Praise be to God, we are strong and capable of defending ourselves, and we have armies and defences that protect our homelands, but the question remains: Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield?”
“For before the ink has even dried on the #BoardOfPeace initiative you announced in the name of peace and stability, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that puts the entire region at risk. So where did those initiatives go? And what is the fate of the commitments made in the name of peace?” the billionaire continued.
He said that the war puts the American people at risk, too. “More dangerous still is that your decision does not threaten only the peoples of the region, but also reaches the American people whom you promised peace and prosperity.”
In the following lines, he questioned Trump’s orders involving external military interventions and airstrikes.
“True leadership is not measured by decisions of war, but by wisdom, respect for others, and pushing towards achieving peace. And if these initiatives were launched in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability.”
Who is Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor?
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor is a businessman and the chairman of Al Habtoor Group and Dubai National Insurance and Reinsurance Company. He also served as the chairman of the Commercial Bank of Dubai, vice chairman of the Al Jalila Foundation Board of Trustees, and as a member of the UAE Federal National Council, according to his profile on Arab News.
In a separate incident, Brian McGinnis, a Marine Corps veteran and a Green Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina, was forcibly removed from a Senate hearing on Wednesday for his antiwar protests.
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Later, McGinnis posted on social media that the incident left him with a broken arm. “And for the record, I’ve been running long before this, and yes, even after breaking my arm standing up for what I believe in. It’s only made me more determined. Anger is real, and so is resolve. Take care.”