Indirect Collusion:Trump and Putin in the Middle East

I was glad to see Trump move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, home to three of the world's major religions. Other presidents had always been afraid of the Arab response. I was glad to see Trump provide more robust military support for Israel including the long-range refueling air tankers that Obama had denied. Obama had done this to prevent Israel from having the capability in conducting an attack on Iran to destroy their nuclear ambitions.

However, Trump's support is waning when it comes to having good relations with Russia. Trump's Russian collusion investigation has yielded some illegalities by those beneath him and suspicion remains high as to what Trump really knows and pretends not to know. That aside, just recently, not reported by American media, there is evidence of indirect collusion between Trump and Putin. By indirectly, I mean, Trump's action or inaction that benefits Putin and Russia, which reflects Trump's strong desire to appease Putin, who he admires.

A week or so ago, as Assad's Syrian army, Hezbollah, and Iranian soldiers gathered their forces for their final offensive towards Daraa, near the Israeli and Jordanian border, President Trump issued a stark warning to Putin that Russian air support should not provide support for the ground forces attacking the Free Syrian Army trained and supported by America and others in the Daraa area. If Putin allowed this, Russia would then face "serious consequences" for this and betraying promises to Israel to not provide support.

On June 23rd, Putin ordered the airstrikes to support the new Syrian offensive. The rebel forces are ill-equipped to oppose for long the Syrian-Iranian attack and Daraa will soon be in Assad's control. What did Trump order the American embassy to say in its public statement: "You (rebels) should not base your decision to fight on the assumption or expectation of military intervention by American forces." In essence, the American embassy was saying, " You are on your own".

Why did Trump reverse his position? The reason is that Trump and Putin will be meeting together soon and Trump does not want to start on the wrong foot by retaliation. Trump already wants to appease Putin for some perverted reason, after all, he nearly had a Trump Tower in Moscow back in 2013 before the deal collapsed for political reasons. Trump is thinking when he is NOT the president. At that time, he still will have his fortune in real estate, still be looking for great deals, like his recently completed Trump Tower in the Philippines.

To deny that Trump, while he is the U.S. President, is not thinking strategically of a time when he is not in the White House, is just being naive. His political and business aspirations are in bed with each other to his personal benefit. If it happens to help American interests also, then, that is just a perk.

There has been no direct collusion with Russian yet, but there has been indirect collusion, which is not criminal or illegal. What else would explain why Trump would first sternly warn Russia not to provide air support in the Syrian offensive and just days later, after Putin ignores Trump, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan issued a statement saying that the rebels (which were supported by America and others) were "on their own, if they fight". And, looming in the near future is a summit with just Trump and Putin?

Putin certainly seems to have the upper hand already because Trump wants to appease. Putin will play Trump because Trump is too eager to appease for future personal gain when he is no longer in office. A Trump Tower in Moscow?