Trump The Boy Who Called Wolf

Trump has twice threatened Hamas with oblivion should they not release all of the remaining October 7 hostages, initially setting a deadline for January 20, the day of his Presidential inauguration, then a second time he repeated his original threat to release all hell upon Hamas should they not comply with his announced deadline. He said he would not accept handing over hostages in small groups and demanded all be set free with none left behind. Saturday, 15 February, passed, and three male hostages were at liberty once again.

Hamas did not cave into Trump’s bombast and ignored his dire warnings of impending annihilation. Neither Trump nor Netanyahu unleashed fire and brimstone upon the defiant Arabs of Gaza, leading one to believe Trump is risking becoming the ‘Boy who called Wolf.’ This is reminiscent of President Barack Obama’s ”red line” addressing the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war by the Assad regime. Bashar Asaad proceeded to use chemical weapons against his civilian population, and Obama failed to back his words with action, eventually leading to America’s withdrawal and acquiescence to Putin’s Russia, filling the void in 2015.

It may prove more advantageous for the Jewish State to employ the advice from Sun Tzu’s tome, ‘The Art of War,’ than waste time on Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal.’

Israel will do well to keep this in mind when relying on the United States in future dealings with the Islamic Republic of Iran, regardless of unequivocal statements of support by President Donald J Trump.

In the meantime, Israel will have to rethink its military response towards Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon before both become a festering sore in Israel’s body politic.