The World Stage

As I sit and write this post, Donald Trump is in Israel giving the most supportive, pro-Israeli speech I have ever heard uttered by an American President. His talk is being presented only hours after a horrific Islamic terror attack in Manchester, England. The cowardly bomb attack killed 22 (many young children and teenagers) and injured over 50. Trump noted the attack as he expressed support for a strong Israel. As important, he identified Hamas and Hezballah for what they are—terror groups under the thrall of Iran. Trump talked peace, but expressed a realistic understanding of the neighborhood. It was impressive and after eight long years of passive-aggressive behavior toward Israel, long past due.

Two days earlier in Saudi Arabia, Trump emphasized that the battle between the West and groups like al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas and Hezballah is a battle of good vs. evil. The West experienced another installment of evil last night. It will not be the last that originates in a warped expression of Islam.

With the backdrop of yet another Islamic terror attack, the trained hamsters in the main stream media have cover as they ignore the rather significant success that Trump has already achieved in his first international trip. They'll cover the trip (they have no choice) but try to bury it amid the anguish of the aftermath in Manchester.

Rather than recounting the elements of Trump's success in both Saudi Arabia and Israel, it's worth considering the broader picture. James Freeman of the Wall Street Journal Opinion blog comments:

President Donald Trump’s Sunday address in Saudi Arabia was bound to inspire comparisons to the speech Barack Obama delivered in Cairo, Egypt at a similar point in his young presidency. And just like his predecessor, Mr. Trump expressed gratitude and respect for his hosts. But the 45th U.S. President quickly made clear that he did not fly to the Middle East on his first overseas trip in order to explain what’s wrong with America.

It would be a crude overstatement to say that the message has gone from America worst to America first in one presidency. Mr. Obama did speak favorably of his country several times during his Cairo address. But the difference between Barack Obama’s speech in 2009 and the Trump remarks on Sunday in Riyadh is striking.

In 2009, Barack Obama noted all of the reasons why Muslims might distrust Americans. His travels through the Middle East (he did not visit Israel) was aptly labeled the "apology tour."

Donald Trump was Obama's polar opposite—and I mean that as a complement. Again from Freeman:

In Riyadh on Sunday, President Trump spent no time blaming America or making excuses for our adversaries. But he did note the possibilities available to a Middle East that rejects terror:

The potential of this region has never been greater. 65 percent of its population is under the age of 30. Like all young men and women, they seek great futures to build, great national projects to join, and a place for their families to call home.

But this untapped potential, this tremendous cause for optimism, is held at bay by bloodshed and terror. There can be no coexistence with this violence.

There can be no tolerating it, no accepting it, no excusing it, and no ignoring it.

Mr. Trump added that “no discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete” without mentioning the government that gives terrorists “safe harbor, financial backing, and the social standing needed for recruitment. It is a regime that is responsible for so much instability in the region. I am speaking of course of Iran.” And he left no ambiguity about who was responsible:

The Iranian regime’s longest-suffering victims are its own people. Iran has a rich history and culture, but the people of Iran have endured hardship and despair under their leaders’ reckless pursuit of conflict and terror. Until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace, all nations of conscience must work together to isolate Iran, deny it funding for terrorism, and pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and righteous government they deserve.

If I'm not mistaken, that would be the same Iran that Obama and his Democratic supporters rewarded with over 150 billion dollars in sanctions relief in a pathetic effort to establish "a nuclear non-proliferation deal" that will accomplish nothing in the long term.

In his speech this morning, Donald trump expressed admiration for the State of Israel and its leader, Bibi Netanyahu. That would be the same Israeli prime minister that Barack Obama repeatedly dissed. The same politician who Obama tried to defeat by funneling money and expertise to help Bibi's electoral opponents.

It was both amusing and fitting that Obama, who presiding over historic loses for his political party and whose legacy was rejected by American voters, is now a private citizen/"activist" lecturing us all on his view of "American values" while Bibi remains a force on the word stage. While Obama fades into the back pages of history books, it is Bibi Netayahu and Donald Trump who are the strongest, clearest voices against the Islamist atrocities perpetrated last night in Manchester.