In a report on the National Interest website, Michael Robin observed what he considered to be the worst five things US President Donald Trump said about the Middle East.
The writer pointed out that in the past, presidents employed a group of specialists to write their speeches correctly, as they realized that allies and enemies alike would focus on speeches to fully understand American policy. Of course, Trump was completely different from the other presidents in delivering speeches as he did not believe in elusive diplomatic words and did not care about helpers so they would not stand between him and his supporters.
He added that Trump broke the stereotype of political speeches, and although his approach does have some advantages, it has caused permanent damage to diplomacy.
* "Obama is the founder of the Islamic State"
Speaking at a rally in Florida at the height of his campaign in August 2016, Trump announced that former President Barack Obama had founded the organization of the state, and that former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was the participating institution.
The writer commented that what Trump has done is to provide a "false recognition" of American guilt, especially given Iran and Turkey as the other "enemies" of the United States, and that it is positive evidence that Washington intentionally planted terrorism to kill Muslims and engage itself militarily in the Middle East.
"Silly Wars Are Over"
Trump surprised the Ministry of Defense (the Pentagon) and its forces in Syria and the Syrian Kurdish allies, when the White House issued a short statement last fall announcing the end of operations in Syria and the abandonment of the Kurdish allies.
Leaders recognize that partnerships have a major impact that ultimately requires the need for wider and more costly deployment. But for the United States, the alliance with the Syrian Kurds brought great benefits and was inexpensive.
* "Iran Dos What It Wishes"
When he first raised the idea of withdrawing from Syria, Trump commented that this had an impact on boosting Iran's ambitions in the region, saying, "Frankly, Iran can do whatever it likes there."
However, America's commitment to Israel remains strong, and if Iran dares to launch aggressive attacks in Syria, it will find itself involved in an American or Israeli military revenge, the author said.
"I will take oil from them"
During his campaign, Trump announced that his main strategy to fight the Islamic State was to extract oil.
The writer said that Trump's statements about oil will continuously pursue him, weaken the reality of intentions to fight "terrorism" and other security partnerships, and will stir popular anger against any attempts to bring American forces to the region.
* " Iran will be damaged immediately if it targets any American."
After the American attack on the Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, Trump tweeted that he had not crossed the red lines, and that the strike was a warning to Iran so that it would not target any American or American resources as Trump targeted 52 Iranian sites, in reference to 52 American hostages held by Iran several years ago.
But some goals, according to the author, were sites of critical importance to Iranian culture and civilization, which prompted the press and the political opposition to acknowledge this threat.