Siddique Malik

Opinion contributor

How President Donald Trump is behaving on the matter of Saudi-ruling gangsters’ cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi is not realpolitik but a preservation of self-interest — Trump’s personal interests, to be exact. And America will pay the price for this naked abuse of power.

Trump’s sycophant admirers are playing with words to make his behavior look like a tactic for the sake of a cogent strategy. They must have their own selfish reasons for suspending their commitment to facts and logic — if they ever did hold it.

It is probably beneficial for their stature, business and politics to support the diablerie of a goon president who sides with dictators over America’s intelligence agencies — America’s long tradition of upholding freedom, democracy and human rights be dammed. Even some members of Congress look the other way, as Trump does his dirty deeds with his fellow tyrants.

Background:Trump says US will stand by Saudis despite Khashoggi murder

Americans as a people do not feel the pinch of their president’s tyrannical proclivity, because unlike the countries controlled by his fellow tyrants, America is run by a well-entrenched, accountable system of government that even Trump cannot dent. Since there are no midnight knocks at the doors, Trump’s transgressions seem nothing more than verbal diarrhea to Americans. So the ugly show goes on.

However, even a Senate with a number of power-hungry, unprincipled, longtime members, to whom generally nothing is important and worthy of their attention unless it is related to political donations and enhancing their arrogance is poised to conflict with Trump over his dereliction on the Khashoggi affair. Democracy does check abuse of power.

But let us hope that this movement in the Senate is not the standard smokescreen to hide Trump’s bad behavior, which has become a hallmark of the Republican-controlled Congress. The fact that Democrats are set to control the House will hopefully encourage the Republicans to think of America and humanity over Trump’s personal insecurities.

What other reason besides self-interest is prompting Trump to ignore the Saudi government’s conspiracy to lure Khashoggi — a legal resident of the United States — into Saudi consulate in Istanbul and murder him? Khashoggi was a Muslim.

Of course, American agencies don’t practice such discrimination. The CIA has found that the goon in charge of the Saudi government personally ordered Khashoggi’s murder. But Trump overruled CIA’s findings. On that basis did he do that? Would have he done it, had the victim been a Christian, a Jew or a Hindu?

Read more:CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s killing

Perhaps, he still would have done it. His need to preserve his self-interest transcends all other considerations. But perhaps, it would have been less easy for him to do it. For one, his gnathonic supporters’ pontification would probably have been muted in his support. Putting Muslims down is Trump’s modus operandi and gnathonicism is known for its obduracy.

Trump’s conduct does not pass the realpolitik muster, even by the laxest standard. Realpolitik requires a governmental machinery to behave as a unit. The head of a government or state would not undermine the findings of his own intelligence agencies against a tyrant.

Likening Trump’s recklessness on the Khashoggi matter to President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce his red line against the Syrian thug smacks of ignorance. What Obama did was cowardly and came back to haunt humanity. It gave Russia an entrance into the Middle East that it had been seeking for long. At a partisan level, I think it was one of the reasons Hillary Clinton lost, especially considering the fact that she decided not to distance her campaign from the image of inertia that Obama presidency bore and that the red line had highlighted.

But Obama did not do this because he or his family were deep in the mud with the Syrian tyrant. His reason was not to involve America in another war against a Muslim country. Totally, stupid reason; nonetheless, a policy matter!

See also:Max Boot, Scott Jennings go after each other on Don Lemon CNN panel

True, Obama was being a coward. But he was being so for America. Trump is a dangerous coward. He doesn’t want to endanger his personal wealth that is dependent upon his subjugating himself — and practically, America — to the whims of Saudi thugs.



Even if you look at the situation from the policy angle, America does not need Saudis to contain Iran. They need America more than America needs them. So no need to sacrifice American values at the altar of business.

Today, if Trump and his minions are claiming he is practicing realpolitik with Saudi Arabia, they sound abysmally hopeless and illogical — to say the least. When tyrants can harm humanity with impunity, it harms America’s long-term interests.

Siddique Malik is an observer of politics.