He blamed “terrorism” nearly exclusively on Iran and, by implication, on the Shia minority in the region, while al-Qaeda notoriously developed in the Sunni heartlands and its beliefs and practises primarily stem from Wahhabism, the sectarian and regressive variant of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia.
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Third, Trump wants to expand the sale of U.S. armaments to Saudi Arabia and in this vein signed a $110 billion arms deal while in the kingdom.
In a letter read out at the event, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said “The the time has come to live – both you and us – in peace, harmony, security and stability”. (You could certainly do it with Trump’s America.) But the Islamic Republic of Iran has never invaded anybody, and it certainly does not support terrorist attacks against either the West or the Arab world.
That is why Trump was silent on Jerusalem, on a Palestinian state, the “occupation”. It is considered that Saudi Arabia and Israel may establish relations in the near future with the aim of moving together against Iran. It is obvious the kingdom is delighted the previous U.S. president Barack Obama has been replaced by a Republican who agrees with Riyadh about energy and Iran.
He should first make a honest review of his trip and announce a serious policy toward the Middle East.
Based on a September 2016 agreement, the USA will be bankrolling Israel’s military spending to the tune of around $38 billion dollars effective from 2019 for the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia alone has seen its foreign reserves decrease from $800 billion to $500 billion in part due to weapons purchases and foreign adventurism.
Waiting patiently on the sidelines as the second destination of Trump’s trip was Israel. But he undoubtedly pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward with confidence-building measures such as improving the economic conditions and social development among Palestinians.
But even with this visit to Israel, it remains unclear how much US policy will shift. Should that be the case, most of the world, especially the Europeans, will still automatically blame Israel for failure to advance the peace negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the U.S. has increased its military aid to Tel Aviv by tens of millions of dollars.
That’s no exaggeration. As David Ben-Gurion, the Zionist leader who became Israel’s first prime minister, asked, “Why should the Arabs make peace?”
What is it that world leaders see in our president that many here in America are unable to grasp?
As Trump arrived in Jerusalem after his meetings in Saudi Arabia, it was clear that he had heeded Saudi Arabia. Trump seems to think the differences between the Israelis and Palestinians are like the differences between two parties in a business negotiation.
Trump is the only American president who makes a Muslim majority nation and Israel his first overseas trip, which indicates his policy of forming a new Middle East coalition by easing conflicts between Israel and the Arab world so as to rally against Iran’s influence in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu and his wife Sara, as well as President Reuven Rivlin and members of the Israeli cabinet, were at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion airport to greet Mr Trump and first lady Melania in a red carpet ceremony after what is believed to have been the first direct flight from Riyadh to Israel.
The result has been a dramatic drop in Trump’s popularity among Israelis, from a high of 79 percent in January to only 56 percent, according to a poll commissioned by The Jerusalem Post. Trump slams Iran, culpabizing it with instability in the Middle East, accusing it of “funding, arming and equipping terrorists and militia that are sowing destruction and chaos in the region”; of destabilizing Syria where “Assad, supported by Iran, has committed crimes for which there are no words”. It will only fan the flames of sectarianism and increase tension between Sunnis and Shiites across the region and spread instability.
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The Sunni Saudi-Shiite Iranian rivalry now manifests itself in both major conflicts in the Middle East – Yemen and Syria – and furthering the divide will only increase conflict.
