It began with the display of building-sized portraits of Trump in the capital city of Riyahd, followed by lavish banquets, and fly-over jets in formation. Then there was the signing of the $110 million military equipment contract and other business deals.
In contrast, when Trump met with accumulated allies at the NATO and G-7 meetings, his reception was polite and chilly at best. Trump contributed his share of provocations, preaching about others not paying their share of NATO and calling Germany "bad" for the trade imbalance on autos.
So, as we've seen before with his courting of Russia and Egypt, Trump seems to enjoy the autocratic rulers of the world, while insulting our allies. Fareed Zakaria's article focuses on how the Saudis "played" Trump by catering to his relishing of attention and praise.
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"How Saudi Arabia Played Donald Trump"
"This week’s bombing in Manchester, England, was another gruesome
reminder that the threat from radical Islamist terrorism is ongoing. And
President Trump's journey to the Middle East illustrated yet again
how the country central to the spread of this terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has
managed to evade and deflect any responsibility for it. In fact, Trump has
given Saudi Arabia a free pass and a free hand in the region.
"The facts are well-known. For five decades, Saudi
Arabia has spread its narrow, puritanical and intolerant version of Islam —
originally practiced almost nowhere else — across the Muslim world. Osama bin
Laden was Saudi, as were 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists.
"And we know, via a leaked email from former secretary of
state Hillary Clinton, in recent years the Saudi government, along with Qatar,
has been “providing clandestine financial and logistic support to [the Islamic
State] and other radical Sunni groups in the region.” Saudi nationals make up
the second-largest group of foreign fighters in the Islamic
State and, by some accounts, the largest in the terrorist group’s Iraqi
operations. The kingdom is in a tacit alliance with al-Qaeda in Yemen.
"The Islamic State draws its beliefs
from Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islam. As the former imam of the
kingdom’s Grand Mosque said last year, the Islamic State 'exploited our own principles, that can be found in our
books. . . . We follow the same thought but apply it in a refined way.' Until the Islamic State could write its own textbooks for its schools, it
adopted the Saudi curriculum as its own.
"Saudi money is now transforming European Islam. Leaked
German intelligence reports show that charities 'closely connected with
government offices' of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are funding mosques,
schools and imams to disseminate a fundamentalist, intolerant version of Islam throughout Germany.
"In Kosovo, the New York Times' Carlotta Gall describes the process by which a 500-year-old tradition of moderate Islam is being destroyed. 'From their bases, the Saudi-trained imams propagated Wahhabism’s tenets: the supremacy of Shariah law as well as ideas of violent jihad and takfirism, which authorizes the killing of Muslims considered heretics for not following its interpretation of Islam. . . . '
"In Kosovo, the New York Times' Carlotta Gall describes the process by which a 500-year-old tradition of moderate Islam is being destroyed. 'From their bases, the Saudi-trained imams propagated Wahhabism’s tenets: the supremacy of Shariah law as well as ideas of violent jihad and takfirism, which authorizes the killing of Muslims considered heretics for not following its interpretation of Islam. . . . '
"Saudi Arabia’s government has begun to slow many of its
most egregious practices. It is now being run, de facto, by a young,
intelligent reformer, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who appears
to be refreshingly pragmatic, in the style of Dubai’s visionary leader, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. But so far the Saudi reforms have mostly
translated into better economic policy for the kingdom, not a break with its
powerful religious establishment.
"Trump's speech on Islam was nuanced and showed empathy for the Muslim victims of jihadist terrorism (who make up as much as 95 percent of the total, by one estimate.) He seemed to zero in on the problem when he said, 'No discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists . . . safe harbor, financial backing and the social standing needed for recruitment.'
"But Trump was talking not of his host, Saudi Arabia, but rather of Iran. Now, to be clear, Iran is a destabilizing force in the Middle East and supports some very bad actors. But it is wildly inaccurate to describe it as the source of jihadist terror. According to an analysis of the Global Terrorism Database by Leif Wenar of King’s College London, more than 94 percent of deaths caused by Islamic terrorism since 2001 were perpetrated by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Sunni jihadists. Iran is fighting those groups, not fueling them. Almost every terrorist attack in the West has had some connection to Saudi Arabia. Virtually none has been linked to Iran.
"Trump's speech on Islam was nuanced and showed empathy for the Muslim victims of jihadist terrorism (who make up as much as 95 percent of the total, by one estimate.) He seemed to zero in on the problem when he said, 'No discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists . . . safe harbor, financial backing and the social standing needed for recruitment.'
"But Trump was talking not of his host, Saudi Arabia, but rather of Iran. Now, to be clear, Iran is a destabilizing force in the Middle East and supports some very bad actors. But it is wildly inaccurate to describe it as the source of jihadist terror. According to an analysis of the Global Terrorism Database by Leif Wenar of King’s College London, more than 94 percent of deaths caused by Islamic terrorism since 2001 were perpetrated by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Sunni jihadists. Iran is fighting those groups, not fueling them. Almost every terrorist attack in the West has had some connection to Saudi Arabia. Virtually none has been linked to Iran.
"Trump has adopted the Saudi line on terrorism, which
deflects any blame from the kingdom and redirects it toward Iran. The Saudis
showered Trump’s inexperienced negotiators with attention, arms deals and donations to a World Bank fund that Ivanka Trump is championing. (Candidate Trump wrote in a Facebook post in 2016, 'Saudi Arabia and
many of the countries that gave vast amounts of money to the Clinton Foundation
want women as slaves and to kill gays. Hillary must return all money from such
countries!') In short, the Saudis played Trump. . . .
"The United States has now signed up for Saudi Arabia’s foreign
policy — a relentless series of battles against Shiites and their allies
throughout the Middle East. That will enmesh Washington in a never-ending
sectarian struggle, fuel regional instability and complicate its ties with
countries such as Iraq that want good relations with both sides. But most
important, it will do nothing to address the direct and ongoing threat to
Americans — jihadist terrorism. I thought that Trump’s foreign policy was going
to put America first, not Saudi Arabia."
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I am not an expert on Islam and cannot independently say whether Zakaria's view is correct, or whether there may be experts who see a different balance. We know that President Obama tried to maintain a negotiable position with both Sunni and Shiia, rather than taking sides. But I have no reason not to believe Zakaria's interpretation. We know that Trump is easily swayed by those who flatter him, who let him think he's getting the better of a bargain, who know how to "play" him.
Even Trump's own staff has reportedly begun to learn how to "manage" him a little bit, such as inserting his name wherever possible in briefings because he's more likely to read a paragraph that contains his name. Kellyanne Conway did an interview with Rachel Maddow shortly after she took the job as Trump's campaign manager. She told Rachel how she uses flattery and positive comments to get him to listen to advice from her. Seems the Saudis used the same tactics.
But, folks, this is serious. We're talking about the future of the world.
Ralph
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