P resident Trump too has heard the sirens’ song. Having watched virtually every recent predecessor (with the exception of George W. Bush) crash and burn while trying to navigate the Scylla and Charybdis of Middle East peacemaking he has nevertheless decided to plunge ahead.
A more modest or intellectually curious man than Trump might have first wondered why those earlier efforts ended in failure before proclaiming the task of Middle East peacemaking to be “not nearly so difficult as everyone seems to think.” But the presidency it would seem does not attract those lacking in self-regard. Perhaps that is why recent presidents have proven so prone to repeating one another’s mistakes.
James Kirchik points out for instance that every post-Cold-War administration has come into power determined to “reset” relations with Russia. Each new president is convinced that all that was lacking heretofore was his unique charm and intelligence or his ability to look into Putin’s eyes and read his soul — at least until Putin handed him his head on a platter.
“The basic parameters of the final deal are well known” is a phrase that comes up repeatedly in Middle East peacemaking. If that were the case one could understand how the author of The Art of the Deal might reasonably feel that his business experience uniquely suits him to finding the right combination of carrots and sticks to bring the parties to that foregone conclusion.
