Trump is an audacious man. In the run-up to the elections, he was ranting and raving that the Saudis ought really to do the decent thing and give the US free oil for 10 years. And all because the US president feels short changed over the cost of supporting the Saudi kingdom. Yet when it came to alleged Russian atrocities in Syria, Trump swapped mercurial sound bites for the truth. Going so far as to comment that American soldiers have done just as much, or words to that effect. This was an exceptionally dangerous comment for any presidential candidate to make. Fast-forward to this March and King Salman hit Trump town. Soon afterwards, rumours emerged of an arms deal worth billions. Policy watchers have long been speculating on what a Trump foreign policy would look like. The concerns were that his much-touted America First policy would render the US inward looking. Yet there were those who believed that when it comes to Trump what you see is what you get. And that for the business tycoon-turned president everything is on the table and nothing is non-negotiable. Trump has proved the latter right. King Salman spoke to the US president in his own language. For money talks and it is still a rich man’s world. And Trump has demonstrated that US foreign policy is for sale and will always surrender to the highest bidder. Not unlike what happens here, in Pakistan. The main difference being that Trump knows not just how to talk tough — he also knows how to negotiate tough. The deal that was inked went for a cool $3.5 billion dollars. And yet the summit bodes ill for peace in the Middle East. Far worse, in fact, for Iran, Syria and Yemen. While the Saudis and the Israelis — the region’s two real terror-mongers — are back in the political sack with Washington, the rest of the world appears to be left to fend for itself. By virtue of our membership of the Islamic Alliance — Pakistan has fallen foul of Iran. We will have to charter a careful course if we wish to heal this fresh cut as well as the ever-gaping wound with Afghanistan. Or else, our western borders may be as volatile as our eastern, a nightmare threat for any nation. Least of all one like us that lacks the necessary global clout. Simply put, Pakistan doesn’t have the means to purchase either goodwill or foreign policy. Which means that it must learn to talk peace. *