No Trump card for an end to Middle East war

There is little hope for any dramatic improvement. The incoming United States administration is unlikely to demand an early ceasefire or read chapter and verse of humanitarian law to Israel

- Navtej Sarna

Once the confetti of the inaugural balls has been cleared away, it is possible that Donald Trump may give his attention to the Middle East. Possible, but not certain, because Washington, D.C. can be a very self-absorbed place — and perhaps never more so than under a Trump presidency. There could be distractions — a meeting with Vladimir Putin, mass deportations, sweeping tariffs, and so on. But it is possible that Susie Wiles, the competent chief of staff, may slip Trump a memo on the Middle East. She would only be doing her job, which includes telling the president what he doesn't want to hear — that the United States (US) cannot wish away its responsibilities in the region. The presidential mind would struggle with contradictions — the need to live up to being the Deal Maker, the man who ends wars; the need to please Christian evangelicals, Jewish mega donors, the Messianic Israeli Right-wing, the powerful Jewish organizations; the need to silence the bleeding-heart chatter about 43,000 dead Palestinians; the need to pulverize Iran with maximum pressure but not get into a regional war; the need to please the Saudis without displeasing the Israelis. These contradictions make it difficult to say what the famously unpredictable president will do. But there are signposts that could indicate his broad approach.