Is Trump being courted or manipulated by the Gulf petromonarchies?
The American president arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday, May 13, as part of a four-day tour of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have pledged billions in investments to the United States. In return, they hope to impose their own diplomatic priorities on Washington.
Middle Eastern countries "compete to impress Donald Trump," headlines the British magazine The Economist , which lists the gestures and favors granted by the three Gulf countries included in the American president's regional tour, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, which had already promised to invest $600 billion in the United States , plans to "honor him with a drone show." The Emirates, for their part, have pledged $1.4 billion in investments over the next ten years. And Qatar is considering offering a Boeing 747 as the presidential jet to the White House tenant. A gift "with a taste of corruption," writes The Economist.
But where Donald Trump believes he is being wooed, he is actually being manipulated, according to The Guardian . According to the British daily, this trip will undoubtedly illustrate the fact that "the Gulf countries will dictate the foreign policy" of the United States.
Given the “reckless, inconsistent, and careless” nature of US policy in the Middle East, Gulf leaders are in a position to exert pressure. Donald Trump “depends on them in an unprecedented way, much more than on the Europeans”
Courrier International
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