President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza and relocate its 2 million residents could motivate terror groups intent on killing Americans, former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos said on “Morning Joe” Wednesday. (Watch the video below.)
“I think every CIA station chief in the Middle East woke up this morning with a migraine headache, because there’s a potential for a generational counterterrorism nightmare here,” Polymeropoulos said.
Trump’s reported proposal to turn the devastated region into the “Riviera of the Middle East” under U.S. “ownership” has been met with worldwide scorn, in no small part because it could escalate tensions in the region and endanger the chances of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian population.
It could also have immediate dire consequences for Americans, according to Polymeropoulos.
“You have to look at the words that Donald Trump used yesterday,” he said. “Quote, ‘take over Gaza,’ ‘own Gaza.’ These are triggering mechanisms for Islamic extremist groups.”
Citing Osama bin Laden’s terror fueled by resentment of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, Polymeropoulos warned of possible consequences for U.S. citizens.
“This kind of language only is going to galvanize groups that want to kill Americans,” he said. “If I was still in the CIA and the counterterrorism community, I’d be monitoring the Islamic extremist forums, because this is just a tremendous own goal.”
“And I worry that even if these are just words… perhaps part of some strange negotiating gambit, Americans might be less safe now,” he continued. “And I can’t imagine anybody in the CIA or the State Department who would have advocated this approach.”
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Fast-forward to 10:40 for the CIA alum’s ominous message: