Friday, June 15

Why does Donald Trump want al Qaeda running Syria?

[scratching her head] Darned if I know. I haven't gotten that far yet in my correspondence course on how to strike it rich in real estate. Taking the course is my way of trying to comprehend President Trump's philosophy of foreign relations.  

It was easy to figure out why President Obama wanted the Muslim Brotherhood in charge in Syria but -- Trump and al Qaeda? 

At least I think I can guess why the Saudis have wanted al Qaeda to run Syria. It would never do to allow a genuinely secular government to flourish in the Middle East. Even so, I can't see how that would translate to President Trump wanting what the Saudi rulers want for Syria. 

It must have something to do with real estate or the building trades. But what? [standing on her head] Oh I see. Maybe with AQ in charge in Syria, the Binladin Group would get all the reconstruction contracts the present Syrian government has awarded the Chinese.

Look, I'll have to get back to you on the question.

As an afterthought, you might want to read The Saudi-UAE Alliance is the Most Dangerous Force in the Middle East Today by Doug Bandow writing for The American Conservative. However, I myself haven't gotten past the following paragraph, which I find very upsetting given the U.S. involvement with those two regimes -- especially because the Saudi-UAE alliance could never have made so much trouble without American assistance:
The Saudi-Emirati alliance is the most dangerous force in the Middle East today. Sometimes acting alone, but usually in tandem, the two dictatorships have promoted intolerant Wahhabism around the world, backed brutal tyranny in Egypt and Bahrain, supported radical jihadists while helping tear apart Libya and Syria, threatened to attack Qatar while attempting to turn it into a puppet state, and kidnapped the Lebanese premier in an effort to unsettle that nation’s fragile political equilibrium. Worst of all, however, is their ongoing invasion of Yemen.
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