RUTHFULLY YOURS

I am an unabashed supporter of Trumpian policies. However, as a conservative, my allegiance is to the truth so far as I can find it. I have had no problem squaring the two until Trump’s Middle Eastern soiree.Here is a non-exhaustive list of Trumpian policies, which are truly embraceable by those like me with a conservative mindset.

♦ Immigration: namely, closing the southern border, deporting criminal illegal immigrants, opposing birthright citizenship.

♦ Economic: namely, cutting wasteful government expenditure, lowering taxes, reducing regulations, imposing selective tariffs.

♦ Social: namely, ridding America of DEI and transgender activism (or trying to), defunding universities which promote or tolerate anti-Semitic thuggery, preventing social media platforms from censoring free speech.

♦ Foreign: namely, supporting Israel to the hilt, trying to end the slaughter in Ukraine, encouraging NATO members to stump up more for their own defense.

Now, suddenly, unwelcomely, I have my first significant qualms. This is not just to prove Bolt wrong, which he most definitely is, but as a reminder that human failings miss no one, not even Trump in his pomp.

First the plane from Qatar. It is quite silly beyond belief to think that this can take the place of Air Force One or Two and then form part of Trump’s presidential library when his term ends. The timing doesn’t work for a start. Boeing hasn’t delivered on a new plane precisely because of the complications of making a passenger plane into a presidential plane with all its additional features. As for the library part, the mind boggles. Maybe the plane could be converted into a troop carrier. Does the US need a troop carrier from Qatar?

Then there is Qatar itself and its role in supporting Hamas. A word or two of condemnation for this behaviour would not have gone astray. Then there is dropping sanctions on a Syria led by Ahmed al-Shara, who under his nom de guerre of al-Jolani fought infidels for nearly 20 years, including under the banner of ISIS and an Al Qaeda affiliate. In his reformed guise he has swapped his thawb and fatigues for a well-cut Western suit. At question, do clothes re-maketh the man?

Again, it would have been nice if Trump had linked the dropping of sanctions with assurances that the Druze and Christians living in Syria would be free of oppression and protected, and that the Golan Heights would be recognized as Israeli sovereign territory by Syria, as it has been by the United States. And if the latter is a step out of reach, at least that Syria would not engage in or foment any aggressive action towards Israel.

Also, I am confused about the Houthis. Apparently, according to some reports that I have read, the cessation of the US bombing campaign was premature and the assurances obtained in respect of attacks on shipping only applies to US ships, leaving Israel exposed, a shag on a rock. Surely that can’t be the case is my reaction. If it were the case, it would be shameful. 

Potentially, I feel somewhat in the position of spouse whose other half after eight or nine years of blissful marriage has a brief fling, or so go the rumours. Certainly it would be possible to forgive him or her, but would the relationship ever be quite the same?

I would like to end positively as a conservative Trump supporter. He may be playing a clever game. Four-dimensional chess, as Bolt disparagingly refers to it. Taking investment gains where he can while encouraging Arab nations to choose commerce over conflict. And perhaps undertakings have been given regarding Israel which Arab nations, for internal reasons, would prefer to keep under the table. Is this me putting lipstick on a pig, I ask myself? Maybe, maybe not.

Endless conflict in the Middle East doesn’t work and hasn’t worked. Keeping Syria a pariah state, for example, might not make it better behaved. Perhaps Trump’s gambit will bear fruit. My biggest qualm concerns Israel. I don’t really care about the free plane or buttering up to Arab nations. For me any leaving of Israel in the lurch is a make-or-break matter, rather like cheating twice in a marriage. But look, I believe Trump will soon provide concrete reassurances about America’s unwavering support for Israel. And thus back to bliss.