They Pay Cash

Foreword:

As an African, I don't want to hear from Western politicians or media about corruption in Africa as if we invented it or have the monopoly on it. The raison d'etre of the Trump administration is mega-corruption on steroids - unparalleled in its breadth, scope, hubris, conceit and machinations. My article was previously published by OpEdNews on September 24, 2019, under the title of 'Prepare for war: They pay cash'.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) known as the Iran nuclear deal was agreed to between Iran, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union. The agreement lifted sanctions on Iran, requiring the nation to adhere to stipulations that curtailed their ability to establish a nuclear weapons programme. Iran also agreed to a monitoring regime by the International Atomic Agency (IAEA) to verify compliance. The ensuing status-quo proved satisfactory and allayed fears of a nuclear-armed, rogue Iran running amok.

The former Persian Empire now a hodgepodge nation of theocratic and democratic rule, did not stray from the four corners of the JCPOA during the U.S. presidential tenure of Obama, who signed the Agreement into U.S. law. All parties to the Agreement validly expected that Obama's successor would honour its terms. Donald Trump assumed the mantle of U.S. Presidential leadership after Obama, whose top-drawer brilliance was never in short supply.

Trump is severely handicapped by his pathological envy and hatred of Obama and thus far, his sole, concrete mission is to undo all Obama's accomplishments and thereby leave him bereft of a legacy. Trump's reckless and headlong pursuit to spite Obama overrides and submerges legitimate leadership visions and goals he may have - if any. Having rendered the JCPOA toilet paper, Trump has nothing to offer in its place. To further complicate matters he has alienated the Iranian leadership with his bellicose rhetoric and the situation is now at an impasse, as it spirals downwards rapidly. Trump is desperately hunting for a pathway to emerge strong and victorious from his manufactured crisis. Hence, the more successful he is in vilifying Iran, at every turn, the better it is for him.

The United Nations has called the four-year Yemen conflict, "the worst man-made humanitarian crisis of our time''. The recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil installations, for which the Iranian- supported Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility and which were carried out as an act of war against Saudi Arabia, backers of the Yemeni government, has elicited a bizarre and ominous response from Trump who stated inter alia, "They pay cash".

Trump's first official overseas visit as President was to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was considered to be a departure from the modus operandi of previous U.S. Presidents, who would seek to fortify ties with traditional allies with their maiden foreign trip. The barbaric assassination and dismemberment of the American-based Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Kashoggi, in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018, did nothing to dampen Trump's ardour for the regime. The Kingdom is ruled by crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who has been implicated in the savage killing. The gruesome systemic human rights abuses meted out by his government are unceasing and of horrific proportions, not even sparing women or children.

On the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign trail,Trump seemingly basking in the limitless oil wealth of the desert nation, proudly boasted that his businesses derive vast financial benefits from the Saudis. He also let it be known that because they are big spenders, they are in his good graces. Following Trump's presidential inauguration, the noisome clink and clank of Saudi hard cash hitting the money-chests of his business holdings has continued unabated. Apart from their lavish spending at his properties in the U.S., presently the subject-matter of a law suit in a Washington DC court, recent U.S. media revelations have brought to light, Saudi patronage of his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.

Any conjured-up pretext to further destabilize the Middle-East will not pass muster. There is no existing military defense agreement between the U.S and Saudi Arabia, such as exists between the U.S. and its NATO allies, which is a testimony to shared values based on the promotion of democratic governance. Furthermore, according to a 2018 Bloomberg news article, America turned into a net oil exporter in 2018. Therefore, obviating the need to protect Saudi oil production in order to safeguard domestic energy supplies.

It should also be recalled that fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens whose actions caused the loss of 3000 lives on American soil. Finally, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution in December 2018 to withdraw support for the Saudi intervention in the Yemeni conflict. It is perhaps in human nature to question God when reprehensible acts occur, which lead to untold human suffering on a large scale. In the case of warlike hostilities launched by the U.S. against Iran at the command and direction of Saudi Arabia, which would likely prompt a commensurate Iranian response, the genesis and causative factors of ensuing human tragedy would not be clearer, namely idolatory and avarice. After all the Saudis pay cash.

It is shocking and par for the course, that Trump has not deferred to the U.S. Congress concerning options to contain this latest flare-up between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In fact he has completely side-stepped Congress, a co-equal branch of government, on which the U.S. Constitution confers war-making powers. Monetizing and using the U.S. military for less than noble reasons is unconscionable for any number of reasons. Members of the military who do not end up as casualty statistics, often return home as empty husks and disheveled souls for life. The wretchedness wrought by war trauma also impacts entire families and affects communities. So much for"making America great again''.

The fact that Trump is so transparent in his motivation does not make his actions less insidious or malevolent; it simply highlights his megalomania and lack of self restraint. Lest we forget Trump's first order of business was to issue the Moslem ban, following his campaign pledge to ban all Moslems from entering into the U.S. The state religion of Saudi Arabia is Islam and the Kingdom is called the "home of Islam". Trump's initial response to the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities was to immediately point the finger at Iran. He issued a statement putting the whole world on notice that the U.S. is ''locked and loaded'' and ready to respond to the attacks. He further stated that the U.S. is "waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!''. In essence Trump has relegated the status of the U.S. to that of a vassal state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In his own words; "They pay cash." The self-dealing hypocrisy is epic.