Slate "The Selfish Motive Behind Trumps Jerusalem Decision"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2017/12/trump_s_selfish_reason_for_recognizing_jerusalem_as_israel_s_capital.html

He has imperiled a chance at peace, and endangered lives, for a very dumb reason.

By Ilan Goldenberg

President Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital reflects two of the worst aspects of this administration’s policymaking: the president’s selfish focus on his domestic politics and an incompetence that only made things worse.

Trump’s decision was all about placating his base. There is no other strategic rationale for taking this step now, which is why the president’s advisers have struggled in background briefings to explain how it is in the United States’ security interest. And even the domestic politics for Trump are not very compelling: Sure, he promised to move the embassy during the campaign, but this was not a central tenet of his platform.

Prioritizing this minor point on his agenda could have grave repercussions for so many others. For Palestinian President Abbas, the consequences are profound. The final status of Jerusalem is perhaps the most sensitive issue in Palestinian politics. Palestinians insist that any two-state agreement must have East Jerusalem as their capital, and they view President Trump’s declaration as biasing that outcome. The president tried to hedge by stating that the final status of Jerusalem is still up for negotiation. But the reality is that his statement gives the Israelis a huge political victory and gives the Palestinians nothing.

Some of our most important Arab partners, whose advice Trump chose to disregard, now have significant problems on their hands. This is especially true of Jordan, a reliable partner of the United States: The Jordanian population is 70 percent Palestinian, and this step likely could cause instability.


snip - more at the link above.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Wet kiss to Sheldon Adelson.

[Jarqui]

2. Russian plan:

Jerusalem as Israel’s capital destabilizes the region ... and who will be on the hook to spend trillions more in military costs when it starts to unravel more ....

Trump is so stupid.

[smirkymonkey]

3. I know this is an ignorant question, but why is this so important to his base?

Just to piss off the Palestinians? What do they really hope to gain from this move? I don't really have a good grasp on Middle Eastern politics and would appreciate some insight into the motivation here.

[mopinko]

4. they want to bring on the rapture.