Trump Visits Riyadh: Democracy, human rights out of; arms deal, Iranophobia top on agenda

Alwaght-Once anti-Muslim rhetoric permeating his election time campaign, Donald Trump as his first foreign trip is set to visit Saudi Arabia, a country that extremist branch of Islam Wahhabism is its official religion, in a bid to finalize $100 billion Arms deal with the Kingdom.

Abandoning some of the harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric of his presidential campaign, according to a draft of the speech obtained by The Associated Press, slated to be delivered in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, envisions new partnerships with America’s traditional allies in the West Asia. It notably refrains from mentioning democracy and human rights — topics Arab leaders often view as US moralizing.

Trump’s campaign was marked by his anti-Islamic rhetoric and his administration has twice tried to impose a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries. “I think Islam hates us,” he said at one point.

The draft of the speech includes no mention of “radical Islamic terrorism” — a phrase that candidate Trump regularly criticized opponent Hillary Clinton, rather emphasizes that “We are not here to lecture — to tell other peoples how to live, what to do or who to be. We are here instead to offer partnership in building a better future for us all.”

Trump left Washington Friday afternoon for Riyadh, the first stop on his maiden trip overseas trip as president. The marathon trip will also take him to Israel, the Vatican, Belgium and Italy. The trip is a key test of the president’s diplomatic skills and a chance to add substance to a foreign policy he has described broadly as “America First.”

He positions himself as defender of oil-rich Persian Gulf Arab countries against what they call Iran’s growing influence in the west Asian region.

“All nations of conscience in the Middle East must work together to roll back Iran’s destabilizing influence, restore a more stable balance of power in the region, and pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and responsible government they deserve,” the draft reads.

Propagating Iranophobia in the region has helped good quantities of arms to Arab regime and trigger arms race in the region.

Trump who only a week after taking office, signed an executive order to ban immigrants from seven countries  from entering the United States, now tries to position himself a messenger to deliver an olive branch to the Muslim world.

After his first ban was blocked in federal court, Team Trump signed a second one e, which dropped Iraq from the list. It was also blocked in court

Despite the fact that, under pressures of international community who condemned Saudi Arabia’s deadly aggression against neighboring Yemen, the outgoing Obama’s administration relations with Al Saud dynasty became strained, Trump’s decision to begin his trip in Saudi kingdom sends a powerful message: White House aims to build a cosy relationship with the retrogressive Al Saud regime.

Saudi Arabia Launched a bloody war on most impoverished Arab nation, Yemen, late in March 2015 in bid to undermine Ansarullah Resistance movement and restore to power the puppet government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi who resigned as president and fled to Saudi Arabia.

However Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve any of its preset goals during last three years of aggression that has claimed lives of over 12,000 Yemenis and has brought the country on the brink of humanitarian disaster.

In addition to pounding Yemeni cities and the countries infrastructures Saudi regime has imposed an all-out blockade on the nation that altogether has led to sever malnutrition and diseases outbreak among people.

The World Health Organization says the death toll from the outbreak of cholera in Yemen has climbed to at least 242 as nearly 23,500 suspected cases of cholera have been registered in war-ravaged Yemen in the past three weeks.  The UN says 17 million people in Yemen are at imminent risk of famine.

However, unlike the outgoing Obama administration, which in a face-saving measure distanced itself from Saudi rulers, Trump is focusing on deal-making.

A senior White House official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said last week the arms package could end up surpassing more than $300 billion over a decade.

Clarifying what dose “America first” platform means, trump in his speech, according to AP, intends to advocate for the “longest-suffering” people (Iranians) who are subject “to their leaders’ reckless attempts to dominate their neighbors.”

Trump remarks will come only one day after over 40 million Iranians took part at the country’s 12th presidential elections and freely reelected the incumbent Hassan Rouhani as their president, while in Saudi Arabia elections means almost nothing and while women like men has no right to elect their leader, they neither have the right to drive a car or walk out of home ore take medical operations without permission from their male guardians.

Source Article from http://theiranproject.com/blog/2017/05/21/trump-visits-riyadh-democracy-human-rights-arms-deal-iranophobia-top-agenda/

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