The Middle East’s siren call

In Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful creatures that lured sailors to their doom with hypnotic voices. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, ships were destroyed on jagged reefs following siren song. The pull of the beautiful voices was so strong the hero Odysseus, in order not to succumb, commanded his crew to tie him to the mast of his ship, and not untie him until they were in safe waters.

That’s a lesson American presidents might have learned.

Candidate Donald Trump repeatedly chided President Barack Obama for his Middle East policy, insisting America had nothing to show for it. But last week President Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian air base reportedly used to launch chemical weapons attacks. Some on the right are beating their chests claiming this is a demonstration of leadership. To what end? Does anyone believe that Bashar al-Assad will not continue killing fellow Syrians by other means?

Last week during Trump’s meetings with King Abdullah of Jordan, the New York Post wrote, “a report revealed that the administration wants to host a Mideast summit between Israel and the Palestinians as soon as this summer.” Trump said he and Abdullah would “advance the cause of peace in the Middle East, including peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”

Since Palestinian leaders dating back to Yasser Arafat have vowed never to make peace with Israel, that can only mean one thing: pressure on Israel to hand over more territory to her enemies who will then use that territory to stage more attacks aimed at eradicating the Jewish state.

Only a president with the power God gave Moses to part the Red Sea could do something as miraculous as bring peace to the Middle East.

Every American president since Dwight Eisenhower has tried to bring peace to the region. But peace can only be achieved when people decide not to fight and kill each other anymore. That’s what happened in Northern Ireland, but it’s a long way from happening in the Middle East. That’s especially true when those committed to Israel’s destruction find hope in meetings they use to pressure Israel into, in effect, committing suicide by making pacts with her enemies who think they have a religious mandate to do away with everyone they call “infidels,” starting with Jews.

Only a president with the power God gave Moses to part the Red Sea could do something as miraculous as bring peace to the Middle East. Even a brief review of history proves the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not the cause of instability. Arabs were fighting Arabs before 1948, and conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims have nothing to do with Israel.

If Trump thinks he can be the ultimate peacemaker, he’s listening to siren song, and heading for the reef.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on the April 11 edition of The World and Everything in It.