But in office, Trump instead strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia, signing a pact to work together in both Syria (Clinton's "safe zones") and Yemen. After a friendly White House meeting with Trump and Steve Bannon (the architect of Trump's Muslim ban), Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman hailed Trump as "his Excellency," describing him as a "true friend of Muslims who will serve the Muslim world in an unimaginable manner, opposite to the negative portrait of his Excellency that some have tried to promote." The only real agreement with the Saudis is the obsession to attack Iran, a pact made in hell.
Historical parallels abound here. Just as Putin was understandably supportive of Trump's campaign for the presidency, Soviet Russia in its time very much wanted to be friends with Hitler, the ultimate 'pact made in hell'. A good idea given the times; the problem was that Hitler had other priorities, and the Russian desire for peace and friendship did not fit in. Things today have reached a head, not quite Hitler's Operation Barbarossa against Russia, although the economic sanctions against Russia are warfare by another name.
The current airstrike, which could have killed Russians, is more like the Cuban missile crisis. But there is no JFK (who was assassinated for his desire for peace with the Soviet Union). What should have been a diplomatic triumph--the unfolding of peace with Russia and an end to the Syrian tragedy--has turned into renewed US support for ISIS and confrontation with Russia, both of which could spin out of control. Russian military personnel and aircraft are embedded with Syria's, and Iranian troops and paramilitary forces are also on the ground helping Assad fight the array of opposition groups hoping to topple him. And then there's Ukraine.
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