Issues Under Fire: Could Trump's Need to Recognize Jerusalem NOW Be Just Another Distraction?

Issues Under Fire: Could Trump's Need to Recognize Jerusalem NOW Be Just Another Distraction?

Triggering a day of rage and the threat of another intifada, Donald Trump, in his limited wisdom, decided to do what no previous U.S. president has done in the past. Trump has just announced the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. What this means for the future of Palestine is clear. There will be no future Palestine. Ignoring warnings from Western allies and regional partners, Donald Trump is risking setting the Middle East on fire for no visible gain other than diverting the world's attention from his sinking poll numbers, the Mueller investigation and resurfacing accusations of sexual misconduct. 

With the FBI's Special Council issuing a subpoena to Deutsche Bank to hand over Trump's personal banking records, and Michael Flynn's guilty plea for lying to the FBI, "45" needed to change the subject. With Paul Manafort being returned to home lockdown for ghostwriting an op-Ed about his political work in Ukraine and a defamation lawsuit that could bring allegations of his sexual harassment back to the head lines, Trump needed to change the head lines. And nothing could do that faster than instigating an intifada. With the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persistently simmering just below the boiling point, it wouldn't take more than a match to set the conflict ablaze. Trump is using a flamethrower.

While no mention has been made when the new proposed U.S. embassy's construction will be completed, U.S. government employees and their families are quickly banned from visiting Jerusalem's Old City and the West Bank. U.S. citizens are being told to avoid crowed areas where there's a heavy military and police presence. Israeli troops have been placed on high alert. The U.S. State Department is told to prepare for a violent backlash. Hamas is no doubt seething and planning in Gaza and suddenly the world's got another full blown crisis to deal with. And all this avoidable chaos literally came out of nowhere. 

Sure, recognizing Jerusalem was a Trump campaign promise, but nobody with even a thimble's sized knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict expected that naive and ill-advised promise to be honored. While every recent incoming president has promised due consideration to the concept, after they fully understood the national security risk and the unrelenting regional tensions, all passed on the idea. Besides, doing so would send the undeniable message to the Arab world that the U.S. was not the impartial arbiter to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the decades old conflict.

Bottom line: Since it became apparent that goading Kim Jong-un into a nuclear exchange wasn't enough to keep the head lines from reporting Trump's ongoing political and legal troubles, reasonable minds can call this latest madness for what it really is. Donald Trump is scared, running out of options and desperate. But, if he can shift the world's attention for even two or three 24 hour news cycles, in his twisted mind, the world will forget the daily revelations plaguing him and his administration. Unfortunately for Donald Trump, the world is watching and watching closely. And it won't be distracted by a dangerous stunt like this. Podcast below.