Trump Might Leave Scorched Earth on His Way Out. Netanyahu Is Happy to Lend Him a Lighter
U.S. President Donald Trump has more than a month before he leaves the White House, and on his way out he could set the world on fire. In starting this conflagration, it seems as though he plans to strike every match in the box. Standing beside him, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be more than happy to lend him a lighter.
The Friday assassination of the father of Iran's nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, projects a sense of end-of-season panic in Washington, but this time the last-minute fire sales take on a whole different meaning. Whoever it was who actually pulled the trigger, Trump's frantic tweets afterwards leave no doubt that his administration gave its blessing.
This may also help to explain why Saudi Arabia was so quick to deny reports of a three-way meeting on Sunday between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israel's Netanyahu and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen in the coastal city of Neom, or why Netanyahu's planned visit to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, planned for this week, was abruptly postponed.
But official denials or silence won't change a thing. Iran has already made it clear who it sees as those directly to blame, and at whom revenge will be aimed Israel. In the United States, meanwhile, apart from the not-so-subtle tweets by the outgoing pyromaniac president, intelligence officials have confirmed to the New York Times that Israel is indeed behind the shooting attack outside Tehran.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-trump-might-leave-scorched-earth-on-his-way-out-netanyahu-s-happy-to-lend-a-lighter-1.9332765
Haaretz is a major Israeli newspaper. This is an opinion piece.