He’s larger than life and the very antithesis of America’s current strategy-challenged Ditherer-in-Chief. On the plus side, he’s wealthy enough not to jump into lobbyists’ pockets. He insists he always gets what he wants and what he wants is to make America great again, which translates in the minds of his nationalistic base as projecting US power around the world. Been there, done that and as Dr Phil might say, ‘How did that work for you?’
Trouble is Mr Trump knows little to nothing about the world beyond his own country’s borders. His grasp of the Arab World, both in terms of culture and politics, is laughable. For instance, he supports women wearing the burka. They prefer it, he said, because they don’t have to wear make-up.
His views on Islam and the Middle East are no laughing matter, however. They’re not only uninformed but deeply concerning, beginning with his take on the Quran which he says gives him “a very negative vibe.”
Moreover, he admits he’s not good on Arab names. Astonishingly, he has no idea who America’s enemies are. He’s never heard the name Ayman Al Zawahiri who heads Al Qaida or Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the self-ascribed caliph of Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). No matter, he says. There’s time to swat-up.
Worse, he can’t tell the difference between Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Al Qods Force and the Kurds and he’s unable to distinguish between Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian resistance Hamas.
When quizzed following one of the Republican televised debates, he accused the moderator from reading them off a sheet as a ‘gotcha’ question. “Name after name . . . Arab name, Arab name . . . there are few people anywhere that would have known those names,” he said. True enough, but generally not applicable to those applying for the post of Leader of the Free World!
“Of course I don’t know them. I’ve never met them . . . but if they’re still there, I will know them better than I know you,” he protested when pressed by a conservative talk show host.
His opinions fluctuate like the Great British weather. In 2011, he cheered on the toppling of Egypt’s former leader President Hosni Mubarak—“He lives in tremendous estates all over the world. Supposedly, he’s taken $50 to $70 billion (Dh183.6 billion to Dh257.11 billion). Is this the kind of a leader they want? I don’t’ think so.”
Then a year later, he tweeted “Egypt is in a total mess. We should have backed Mubarak instead of dropping him like a dog.”
He’s attacked George W. Bush for invading Iraq but is now keen to order a re-invasion He says the US should take down Daesh by bombing Iraq’s oil fields and use ground troops to sequester the country’s oil. “You should take away their wealth, that you go and knock the hell out of the oil, take back the oil,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press, adding, “We are going to have so much money.”
Asked about Saudi Arabia, he says he’s “definitely not a big fan.” Describing the kingdom as “fat and milky” he’s complained that “Saudi officials have been using the United States to keep their ridiculous strategies going and to add to their endless wealth, but they’ve absolutely done nothing positive for us in return.”
Whereas Barack Obama is a notorious flip-flopper, at least there are spaces between them. Less than 24-hours after Trump welcomed Syrian refugees into America due to the “unbelievable humanitarian problem” on Fox News’ O’Reilly show, he announced to a crowd on Capitol Hill that if he were elected, he would send them all back because they may constitute Daesh’s ‘Trojan Horse.’
Although he needs an urgent course in Middle East 101, to be fair he did say something many in the region would agree with. Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper whether or not the world would be better off if Saddam Hussain and Muammar Gaddafi were still running Iraq and Libya, he responded “One hundred percent.”
Saddam was a horrible guy but he “would kill the terrorists immediately,” he said, dubbing Iraq today as “the Harvard of terrorism.” “Frankly, there is no Iraq and there is no Libya. It’s all broken up,” he concluded. He forgot that he was once gung-ho to assist Libyan rebels in return for 50 percent of Libyan oil over 25 years.
It’s a stretch to picture President Trump and his glamorous female entourage touring the Middle East to meet with regional heads of state. He’d have quite a bit of explaining to do. But the way things are going, the chances of that are slim. His poll numbers are slipping in favour of out-and-out Islamophobe Dr Ben Carson, indicating Mr Trump is likely hair today, gone tomorrow, leaving America’s political scene that much duller and, possibly, darker.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.
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Arabs should shudder at the thought of President Donald Trump
Posted on November 4, 2015 by Linda S. Heard
He’s larger than life and the very antithesis of America’s current strategy-challenged Ditherer-in-Chief. On the plus side, he’s wealthy enough not to jump into lobbyists’ pockets. He insists he always gets what he wants and what he wants is to make America great again, which translates in the minds of his nationalistic base as projecting US power around the world. Been there, done that and as Dr Phil might say, ‘How did that work for you?’
Trouble is Mr Trump knows little to nothing about the world beyond his own country’s borders. His grasp of the Arab World, both in terms of culture and politics, is laughable. For instance, he supports women wearing the burka. They prefer it, he said, because they don’t have to wear make-up.
His views on Islam and the Middle East are no laughing matter, however. They’re not only uninformed but deeply concerning, beginning with his take on the Quran which he says gives him “a very negative vibe.”
Moreover, he admits he’s not good on Arab names. Astonishingly, he has no idea who America’s enemies are. He’s never heard the name Ayman Al Zawahiri who heads Al Qaida or Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the self-ascribed caliph of Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). No matter, he says. There’s time to swat-up.
Worse, he can’t tell the difference between Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Al Qods Force and the Kurds and he’s unable to distinguish between Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian resistance Hamas.
When quizzed following one of the Republican televised debates, he accused the moderator from reading them off a sheet as a ‘gotcha’ question. “Name after name . . . Arab name, Arab name . . . there are few people anywhere that would have known those names,” he said. True enough, but generally not applicable to those applying for the post of Leader of the Free World!
“Of course I don’t know them. I’ve never met them . . . but if they’re still there, I will know them better than I know you,” he protested when pressed by a conservative talk show host.
His opinions fluctuate like the Great British weather. In 2011, he cheered on the toppling of Egypt’s former leader President Hosni Mubarak—“He lives in tremendous estates all over the world. Supposedly, he’s taken $50 to $70 billion (Dh183.6 billion to Dh257.11 billion). Is this the kind of a leader they want? I don’t’ think so.”
Then a year later, he tweeted “Egypt is in a total mess. We should have backed Mubarak instead of dropping him like a dog.”
He’s attacked George W. Bush for invading Iraq but is now keen to order a re-invasion He says the US should take down Daesh by bombing Iraq’s oil fields and use ground troops to sequester the country’s oil. “You should take away their wealth, that you go and knock the hell out of the oil, take back the oil,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press, adding, “We are going to have so much money.”
Asked about Saudi Arabia, he says he’s “definitely not a big fan.” Describing the kingdom as “fat and milky” he’s complained that “Saudi officials have been using the United States to keep their ridiculous strategies going and to add to their endless wealth, but they’ve absolutely done nothing positive for us in return.”
Whereas Barack Obama is a notorious flip-flopper, at least there are spaces between them. Less than 24-hours after Trump welcomed Syrian refugees into America due to the “unbelievable humanitarian problem” on Fox News’ O’Reilly show, he announced to a crowd on Capitol Hill that if he were elected, he would send them all back because they may constitute Daesh’s ‘Trojan Horse.’
Although he needs an urgent course in Middle East 101, to be fair he did say something many in the region would agree with. Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper whether or not the world would be better off if Saddam Hussain and Muammar Gaddafi were still running Iraq and Libya, he responded “One hundred percent.”
Saddam was a horrible guy but he “would kill the terrorists immediately,” he said, dubbing Iraq today as “the Harvard of terrorism.” “Frankly, there is no Iraq and there is no Libya. It’s all broken up,” he concluded. He forgot that he was once gung-ho to assist Libyan rebels in return for 50 percent of Libyan oil over 25 years.
It’s a stretch to picture President Trump and his glamorous female entourage touring the Middle East to meet with regional heads of state. He’d have quite a bit of explaining to do. But the way things are going, the chances of that are slim. His poll numbers are slipping in favour of out-and-out Islamophobe Dr Ben Carson, indicating Mr Trump is likely hair today, gone tomorrow, leaving America’s political scene that much duller and, possibly, darker.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.