Trump strikes Saudi deal, restoring ‘trust between our two nations’ while media offers up ‘fake news’ on Obama
President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he addressed dozens of leaders from Arab and Muslim majority countries, suggested a restoration for American Middle East policy to those in the Bush era.
Trump outlined a conventional U.S. Middle East policy focused on cooperation with traditional regional allies against Iran and terrorism. Even Trump’s Islam speech, which leftists feared would be a declaration of civilizational war, was dominated by conventional American language.
photo/ donkeyhotey
Trump’s strategic concept of renewed partnership with traditional autocratic allies in the service of confrontation with Iran and counterterrorism is a deeply familiar one, shifting away from the pro-Iranian attitudes of President Obama, who also alienated the Saudis from the attacks in Syria and strategies against the Islamic State.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated bluntly in his joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir that the newly signed Strategic Vision Document demonstrated the “trust between our two nations that we are pursuing the same objectives.”
To borrow from Trump’s “fake news” montra would be the propping up of the failed Obama policies: “Obama’s tough bargaining style within the alliance thus produced a fairly even balance sheet, even if it did not produce ostentatious displays of friendship,” as described by The Washington Post. A laughable stance if you read the international papers covering the Saudis over the last few years.
“I think the president clearly was extending a hand, and understanding that only together can we address this threat of terrorism that has befallen all of us,” Tillerson said in a statement as the U.S. press was excluded from the event, which has angered them greatly.
So to summarize the updates on policy:
- The Iran deal has not been torn up, but Trump appears to be using regional pressure to force compliance from Iran.
- Partnering with the Saudis will pit the U.S. against Iran in Yemen, possibly in an escalated fashion.
- The campaign pledge to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem has yet to materialize. Reaching out the Saudis and making the move later in Israel would be counterproductive.
- Fighting Islamic State will just be a continuation of the policy used by Obama, escalated from Bush: more bombings and a deployment of U.S. troops on the ground in Syria.
- Trump is not interested in pandering to the Islamic community on Sharia Law, human rights issues or the release of political prisoners. Obama’s hollow words probably created more strife for the State Department and the Tillerson team will be free from those restricting statements.
Rex Tillerson
