HUGH HEWITT: The World Doubted, but Trump Delivered: Hostages freed, terror defeated, hope restored

The saying "If grief could be seen, the world would be covered in black" is often attributed to Francis Weller.

Now, after the release of the final 20 living hostages and as a cease-fire hardens, rays of light are emerging from that tortured and tested land - songs of joy rising once more from that nation.

Monday, Oct. 13, will stand as a testament to the courage and endurance of the captives, the fearlessness of soldiers, the resolve of diplomats, the iron will of families, the help of true allies, and the triumph of good over evil.

The obstacles to this vision are ideological - tenets held by religious fanatics. Those extremists have been badly weakened by the battles of the past two years. Their regimes may yet crumble, but the nations that share the vision of the Abraham Accords must act together to suppress the export of terror.

The president is right, of course, and the policies of his first term - now continued in his second - laid the groundwork for the breakthroughs that made peace possible.

When Trump ordered the strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 - when the Iranian mastermind of terror arrived in Iraq with murder in his heart - the Middle East took a decisive turn. The Abraham Accords followed months later. Diplomacy only works when backed by the credible threat of force.

After nearly two years in the Biden-Harris-designed cul-de-sac that followed Oct. 7 - where "escalation" was more feared than the liberation of hostages desired - Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, brought clarity and purpose.

The gap between Israeli and U.S. policy closed instantly. Trump, Netanyahu, and their teams planned and executed a stunning ruse and a devastating attack on Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile factories. This came after Israel destroyed Hezbollah with unprecedented precision and targeted, inescapable force. Syria's Assad regime collapsed soon after.

The United States resumed all weapons shipments to Israel and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish state as it began its offensive into Gaza City.

Difficult work lies ahead. The people of the half of Gaza not yet under IDF protection remain under Hamas' murderous tyranny - terrorists who must be rooted out before any lasting rebuild can occur.

It all happened. It's history now - not up for debate. President Trump did it. And if that truth unsettles you, look inward. That unease isn't reasoned disagreement; it's spiritual exhaustion.