Wednesday, May 17, 2017

What could possibly go wrong?

The New York Times on Trump's upcoming trip to Israel:
“He’s in real danger of blowing up Jerusalem as an issue that divides rather than unites two of the Abrahamic religions,” said Martin S. Indyk, an American ambassador to Israel under Mr. Clinton. “That part of the visit needs to be handled with extreme care.”
First, in what sense has the issue of Jerusalem "unite[d] two of the Abrahamic religions" even before Trump came long?

Second, is there anyone on the planet who believes that Trump will be capable of handing any middle eastern issues "with extreme care"? This is a conflict where the wrong turn of phrase can cause chaos. So we are sending in our loudmouthed President, who knows nothing about the region, its issues, or its history, has surrounded himself with extremists, and who regularly blurts out completely inaccurate ignorant comments about any issue he encounters.

So what will be the biggest debacle of Trump's Middle Eastern trip? His bull in a china shop approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or when our country's most powerful anti-Muslim bigot gives a speech about Islam in Saudi Arabia?