Trump and Bin Salman: birds of a feather flock together
Written by Nasser Kandil,
The first meeting which brought together the US President Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was the real “Deal of the Century” for both of them; five billion dollars given to Trump for the US business sector in exchange for getting rid of the royal family in Saudi Arabia in favor of Bin Salman, crowing him as a king, and disciplining his Qatari neighbor. Before the second meeting the anticipated dreams were to gain achievements that give suitable timing to the political deal of the century which starts with a compromise for the Palestinian cause entitled Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, followed by an announced US-Israeli-Saudi alliance against Iran, diplomatic political military escalation in Syria and Yemen that achieves change in balances, bombing the strife in Lebanon in a way that besieges the resistance, and sponsoring the secession of Iraqi Kurdistan that makes Iran under targeting.
The second meeting is held, but the coup of the former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh who was implicated by Bin Salman and led to his death failed, the project of a Kurdish state in Iraq fell, the bets of sabotaging the stability in Iran ended, the detention of the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri with a scandal without achieving the desired strife failed, and the escalating campaigns in Syria have culminated with the loss of the most important military sites in favor of the Syrian army and with the support of its allies, while the deal of the century which targeted the Palestinian cause and started with Trump’s announcement of Jerusalem as a capital of Israel has collided with the Palestinian people who prevented the acceptance of the deal by any Palestinian partner. On the contrary, these defeats have culminated with the dazzling victory of the Russian President Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections that turned into a popular democratic celebration with a wide participation and beyond-expectations votes.
The second meeting is held while the Congress votes for the stopping of the American intervention in the war of Yemen. The American administration is preoccupied in preparing the negotiation files with North Korea and the requirements of improving the relationships with Russia and China. In Lebanon and Iraq, the opportunities of the resistance option to win in the parliamentary elections are increasing supported by alliances that ensure fortifying the options of power and unity and preventing any strife, while the Palestinian-Israeli situation is getting more complicated. Syria is towards achieving its victory, while the two main allies in Syria; the Turks and the Kurds are towards their war.
Trump is trying to convince Bin Salman to reconcile with Qatar despite the Gulf celebration that showed the dismissal of the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as a response to Bin Salman’s demand due to his support of the reconciliation with Qatar. Bin Salman is trying to convince Trump to exert pressures to prevent the Congress law from stopping the supplying of the Saudi aircraft with spare parts, and the needed ammunition for the war of Yemen. They discuss together how to behave towards the Palestinian-Israeli relationships and how to avoid further losses, and hypothesis of postponing the transferring the US Embassy to the Jerusalem to next May and how to deal first and foremost with the impasse of the incapability towards the axis of the resistance in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, under Russian support that getting stronger and Chinese support that getting more present.
Trump got money, while Trump got the throne theoretically, but the failure is surrounding them from everywhere.
Translated by Lina Shehadeh,