Signs of Decency?

Donald Trump gave a speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week that blows U.S. government foreign policy out of the water. Rejoice, rejoice! But wait.

Trump traveled to the Middle East without visiting “our greatest ally” (haha), Israel. He made a shocking speech in Riyadh.

He said:

• New generations of the Middle East are shedding “... tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; … where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together - not bombing each other out of existence.”

• “This great transformation has not come from Western interventionists… giving you lectures on how to govern your own affairs. No, the gleaming marvels of Ryadh and AbuDhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders, neo-cons, or liberal non-profits… Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the people of the region themselves” 

• “In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built - and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.”

• “In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice… My job is to defend America and to promote the fundamental interests of stability, prosperity, and peace.” 

But then he goes on to claim that we defeated the Houthis in Yemen (The neo-con controlled press would have called them “Iran backed” Houthis. Where’s the “U.S. backed” Israel Defense Force?). He falsely claims the Houthis attacked American ships. Basically he had us blow a whole bunch of cash and murder a bunch of people for nothing.

He continues:

• “In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace.”

Note that the new Syrian government is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa was once with the al-Nusra Front which broke ties with al-Qaeda in 2016. Trump haters point out Sharaa’s al-Qaeda ties trying to show Trump as aligned with al-Qaeda in much the same way as they do with Vladamir Putin.
I doubt that the neo-cons are shaking in their boots, as we have been down this road before. George W. Bush said, in criticizing Bill Clinton, “If we don’t stop extending our troops all over the world in nation-building missions,then we’re going to have a serious problem down the road, and I’m going to prevent that.”

Well, guess what. G.W. went on to Invade Iraq. Oops. He stayed home and played golf while 4,500 U.S. servicemen died for the lie he claimed to disavow. The hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians slaughtered there are assumed to have the same social status here as unborn babies.

Trump gets a lot right in this speech. But 185 Boeing F-47s have already been ordered for the Air Force at a cost of $300 million each.  

I would feel blessed if any reader gave me some feedback on this column through a letter to the editor or directly to me at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com.