I recently read that President Donald Trump tweeted a cheeky farewell for the Kurds in Syria: “I hope they all do great, we are 7,000 miles away!” Assuming this is a true report, as it was quoted in a reliable source, The Economist, and that the president’s objective is to disentangle America from Middle Eastern conflicts, possibly to gain popular support for the 2020 election, can we now expect more tax money to be spent at home?
Perhaps securing aging infrastructure, health care programs, supporting education, homeless solutions, public services and a myriad of other urgent U.S. needs could become a priority? An Anchorage bumper sticker read, “Israel, you are not alone.” Certainly not: Israel is 7,000 miles away and already has all those services plus military backing, greatly provided by American tax money, mega-donations, religious support and legal breaks.
One could wonder, just to be fair, if the 7,000-mile-away Middle East disentanglement strategy will stretch to trimming Israel’s umbilical cord as well?
— Ken Green
Cooper Landing
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