Daily Times

Trump Town is back in business — at least for the next three weeks. Now that the Republicans and Democrats have temporality put down, but not buried, their respective hatchets; bringing to an end the three-day government shutdown.

Yet nothing much has been achieved by either side. Though for the unquiet American president there was hope that this latest chapter of instability, orchestrated by a lackadaisical administration, would at least deflect from those troublesome women who took to the streets to protest a year of being Trumped by Donald. But even that proved to be a curveball.

For some, the Democrats have demonstrated that they don’t have the stomach their opponents do. After all, when the Republicans brought the Obama government to a standstill back in 2013 — they didn’t blink once throughout those 16 long days. For others, however, the former have caved. Especially considering what they have secured is nothing more than a non-binding pledge from the other side to hold talks on plans to scrap Obama-era DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). If President Trump really does put the taxpayers’ money where his mouth is — this will pave the way for Washington to deport the 800,000 or so undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. Yet if the Democrats are smart they will push for moves to accord the so-called Dreamers citizenship. And succeed where Obama failed.

But why should we here, in Pakistan, be bothered about the US government shutdown? Well, apart from taking the heat off us temporarily, the international community as a whole should be rather perturbed. For it simply underscores an administration that is veering towards increased chaos with each passing day. And not only at home. After all, the first year of the Trump White House has left the world a much more dangerous place. The US President has openly threatened to destroy the North Korean Rocket Man; done his best to tear up the Iran nuclear deal; sold an obscene amount of arms to Saudi Arabia as the latter continues drop bombs on Yemen while choking Qatar; he has thrown his extreme weight behind the Islamic Military Alliance that likely has Tehran in its sights. And last but by no means least, after presenting himself as the only man big enough to seal the deal on Israeli-Palestinian peace — his unilateral Jerusalem Shuffle saw him kill the idea of a two-state solution stone cold dead. The icing on the cake being that his administration has now stopped all funding to the Palestinians.

If we are honest, we rather hope that the Democrats summon nerves of steel and go for the long haul when this temporary funding bill expires early next month. After all, with mid-terms looming — what’s a little election manipulation between frenemies?  *

Published in Daily Times, January 24^th 2018.