The developing and serious crisis of legitimacy confronting the presidency of Donald Trump could have significant implications for American Middle East policy. But Washington's allies need a clear understanding of what is, and is not, at stake.
Mr Trump created a political catastrophe through shocking comments following the deadly white supremacist mêlée in Charlottesville, Virginia, that equated neo-Nazis with Americans opposing racism.
He's now being treated as a pariah, including by natural allies like major corporate leaders, and a wide range of mainstream political and social figures, including key Republicans. Many former supporters have clearly given up on him.
Many are stepping forward to try to fill the void of national leadership without the authority of the presidency but sensing that Mr Trump is unwilling or unable to play that role.
He appears to have completely lost the respect of much of the Republican senate majority, without which his ability to govern will be effectively crippled.
Mr Trump now looks like a lame duck president after only eight months in office.
This crisis of legitimacy could have profound repercussions for the global US role.
One of the brighter spots of Mr Trump's presidency thus far is the renewed commitment to engage with the Middle East in general, and traditional US regional allies, including Gulf Arab countries, in particular.
Among the important initiatives Mr Trump and his administration have been pursuing are Israeli-Palestinian peace, resolving the standoff between the Arab quartet and Qatar, coordinating the battle against ISIL, stepping up the US role in Yemen, searching for a more effective approach in Afghanistan and seeking to contain and roll back Iran.
Some of these important initiatives may be significantly undermined by Mr Trump's dysfunctional administration.
Internally, the White House is in chaos. Mr Trump is haemorrhaging senior staff, most recently dismissing his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. This is in addition to a chief of staff, national security adviser, press secretary, two communications directors, and several other senior officials, who have all come and gone in mere months.
Hopefully this upheaval, including Mr Bannon's removal, will prove necessary housecleaning by retired Gen John Kelly, Mr Trump's new chief of staff. Mr Kelly has vowed to end factional infighting and impose discipline on the administration's functioning. Mr Bannon took pleasure in backbiting, most recently his vicious campaign to unseat national security adviser HR McMaster by casting him as anti-Israeli.
However, under the overall circumstances, and given Mr Trump's statements regarding the Charlottesville rally, it's hard to imagine that even if Mr Kelly can control White House staff, there is much he can do to manage Mr Trump, who has decisively emerged as his administration's own worst enemy.
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Nonetheless, removing Mr Bannon should help lift the lingering aroma of Islamophobia from the Trump election campaign, given that Mr Bannon's website, Breitbart.com, is a leading forum for anti-Muslim bigotry. Hopefully remaining Breitbart fanatics will also be shortly discharged.
Such overdue changes should help to clear the air between this administration and many Muslims.
Moreover, Mr Bannon's version of nationalism, which he casts as "economic nationalism" but more closely resembles "white nationalism", has a dangerously neo-isolationist bent. He strongly opposed many crucial American international commitments, and was agitating against deeper engagements in Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.
Therefore, if Mr Trump's version of an "America first" foreign policy is to, in practice, avoid becoming a further retreat by Washington from the international and Middle Eastern scenes, Mr Bannon's removal can only be a good thing.
However, it will now be very difficult for Mr Trump to lead the kind of bold and energetic new initiatives that could significantly repair some of the drift and misdirection that has crept into American Middle East policy since the second term of Barack Obama.
More proactive, dynamic and intelligently assertive American approaches to resolving the conflict in Syria, rolling back Iran's growing regional dominance, defeating terrorist groups like ISIL and Al Qaeda and effectively combating their ideology, and taking advantage of an important an unexpected historical opportunity to simultaneously advance Israeli-Palestinian peace and create a new strategic framework in the Middle East would all require and effective foreign policy team working under the guidance and political leadership of a strong and relatively popular president.
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They would necessarily involve difficult choices that would have to overcome significant opposition. This can't be done by an administration in chaos, and certainly not by a president enduring a virtually unprecedented crisis of confidence and legitimacy.
Yet there is no reason to despair. Most American policies in the Middle East, such as core support for traditional allies, reflect a Washington consensus. Military-to-military relations, arms sales and technology transfers, intelligence and cybersecurity cooperation, trade and so forth will continue with Washington's partners regardless of the crisis besetting the Trump administration.
So, the good news for America's Arab allies is that, despite this genuinely significant political crisis, everything will go on more or less as usual. And the bad news is that, because of it, everything will go on more or less as usual.
Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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SECRET%20INVASION
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
