U.S. to Recognize Jerusalem as Israels Capital, Trump Says, Alarming Middle East Leaders

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American Embassy there, upending nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and potentially destroying his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. Trump’s decision, a high-risk foray into the thicket of the Middle East, was driven not by diplomatic calculations but by a campaign promise. He appealed to evangelicals and ardently pro-Israel American Jews in 2016 by vowing to move the embassy, and advisers said on Tuesday he was determined to make good on his word.

But the president, faced with a deadline of this past Monday to make that decision, still plans to sign a national security waiver to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv for an additional six months, even as he set in motion a plan to move it to Jerusalem. Officials said the process would take several years.

More significantly, Mr. Trump is to announce his formal recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in a formal speech at the White House on Wednesday, when he will become the first American president to take that step since the founding of Israel in 1948.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/world/middleeast/american-embassy-israel-trump-move.html?_r=0

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Trump must be wondering what does it take to provoke a war?

[still_one]

1. Thank-you Comey for helping create a madman in the WH, and thank-you Jill f**king Stein, for your

deception and LIES to impressionable people who believed you that there was no difference between republicans and Democrats

[dubyadiprecession]

2. Move it to bethlehem for all I care.

Should anyone really care about this?

[still_one]

3. It is the very real potential for a major war in the middle east. Other than that..................

might be a good time to buy oil futures




It is not beyond the realm of reality that the occupant in the WH wouldn't mind creating a powder keg, with the intent that it would remove the focus on the investigation

[stevenleser]

5. Yep, and the very least it will torpedo any attempt at peace between Israel and the Palestinians

for the next 2-4 years and make all leaders in the Middle East reluctant to listen to the current administration on any issue. That includes Netanyahu. He knows Trump is willing to kowtow to him so he can do what he wants now.

[still_one]

14. When Bill Clinton left office he was in the middle of a dialog between Israel and the Palestinians.

That dialog did not continue when George W Bush took office. A bipartisan report funded by the Clinton administration, the Hart/Rudman Commission on national security was completely ignored by the bush administration:

"Before the White House decided to go in its own direction, Congress seemed to be taking the commission's suggestions seriously, according to Hart and Rudman. “Frankly, the White House shut it down,” Hart says. “The president said 'Please wait, we're going to turn this over to the vice president. We believe FEMA is competent to coordinate this effort.' And so Congress moved on to other things, like tax cuts and the issue of the day.”

http://baltimorechronicle.com/media2_oct01.html

The same pattern was followed by trump when President Obama left the office. In fact, it is far more extreme than what the bush administration did

While with Erdoğan, relations between Turkey and Israel have not been great to say the least, Turkey has already threatened that if this step is taken, relations between Turkey and Israel would be jeopardized

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-usa-turkey/turkey-could-break-off-ties-with-israel-over-jerusalem-erdogan-idUSKBN1DZ13R

The complications that this would add to the whole middle east situation will now be amplified 100 fold

[regnaD kciN]

10. Forget just the middle east...

Any hardline group worth its salt is going to declare this a U.S. declaration of war against Islam. If you don't think there's a good chance this will lead to another 9/11 or similar series of attacks on American soil, you're dreaming. I'll go further: if you don't think Mad King Donald might be hoping for such an event, which would rally the public around him just as it did around Dubya, you're dreaming. In fact, I'm thinking that would be a perfect time for MKD to declare a "temporary" (never to end) state of emergency, suspend civil liberties, and impose martial law.

[still_one]

15. Those hardline groups already have that mindset. What concerns me is that this action will be a

catalyst to cause less extreme parties to go against us.

Turkey has already threatened to break off ties with Israel because of this:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-usa-turkey/turkey-could-break-off-ties-with-israel-over-jerusalem-erdogan-idUSKBN1DZ13R

In fact, this might just be what it would take to unite Shia and Sunni against Israel and the United States

President Obama undid the damage the the bush administration created all over the world, but especially in the Middle East. The recklessness of this administration has the potential to have far worse consequences because it wouldn't be localized but global

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-leaders-react-trump-jerusalem_us_5a27b12ae4b044d16725dd3e?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[stevenleser]

4. If you dont know why you should ask. Saying you dont care without understanding

the issues involved is a peculiar way to get educated.

[herding cats]

6. It will add to destabilization in the region.

It opens the door for more wars and I'm personally concerned for all those involved.

Geopolitically speaking, it's a very big deal.

[FarCenter]

7. Why'd it take several years to move a plaque from the Tel Aviv embassy to the Jerusalem consulate?

[bluestarone]

8. i know he doesn't care but

the blood will be on his hands

[MadDAsHell]

9. it ain't like the Middle East is a hotbed of peace; does this really matter?

Not defending the action, but sincerely asking: what are people so afraid of? That Arabs and Jews now won't get along?

[oberliner]

11. The US recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 1995

https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ45/PLAW-104publ45.pdf

[leftynyc]

13. That's why I don't understand why

THIS is such a big deal. I can see where actually moving the embassy would be a big deal but the US has considered Jerusalem the capital for a couple of decades already. Is he just trying to stir up his moronic base who probably doesn't know better?

[FarCenter]

12. It usefully clarifies that Jerusalem is under permanent Israeli control & the US is no honest broker