The Trump style of diplomacy

You have to say that one thing Trump does NOT do is pussyfoot around. He says what's in his head, not what his advisers advise him to say. In some ways that's good and in some ways that's bad. In Davos where he and most of the world's leaders are currently engaged in chatting about globalisation and America First and other things, Trump was asked about Israel and Palestine and he just came out with it. He decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv because he wanted to take that element of the impasse between the Israelis and Palestinians out of the peace-settlement equation. In other words, live with it, Palestinians, was his message. As for the Palestinian leader's refusal to countenance the US as a peace negotiator ever again, Trump had this to say: "Don't disrespect the United States!" It was right out of the Godfather movie. Then he said the US had been paying millions of dollars to the Palestinians but had decided to hold back some of the payments because he felt they were giving nothing back in return. You help us, we help you - another Godfather analogy. Then, sitting next to the Israeli Godfather, Bibi Netanyahu, Don Trump questioned whether there could ever be meaningful peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine and it was all the Palestinians' fault. Well, it was when Yasser Arafat, the ultimate peace BLOCKER, was alive and in charge. But somehow I think poor Mahmoud Abbas is probably a good guy who thinks the whole thing is desperately unfair and blames Israel because of its continued occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and the continuing construction of settlements. But Abbas is now in real trouble, especially after he refused to meet with Mike Pence, the US Vice-President, when he was touring the region. "You disrespected my lovely vice-president," Don Trump, or perhaps Don Donald, bellowed. If Abbas is not careful he's going to find the head of a dead racehorse at the end of his bed.