Hamlet in The White House!

By Saleem Ayoub Quna


There must be something very unusual going on in the head of the 47th President of the US, to the degree that it could be detrimental to himself, to his own people and to the rest of the world, as we know it since the end of WWII; a kind of a personalized erratic approach to reality, based exclusively, on the notion of profit and loss, of take not give, especially in monetary terms.

From his younger age, Mr. Trump was not just any ordinary successful business man who would tolerate a ceiling for his ambitions. He was an over-ambitious entrepreneur with multi-branched interests. As a leading real-estate developer, thriving in a culture built on competition and affluence in all aspects of life, sometimes at the expense of choosing between right and wrong, upholding justice, tolerance versus other ethnic groups, and adherence to basic moral standards, as preached by different schools of philosophy and ideology, Trump ventured into all sorts of domains such as wrestling, movies, TV shows,
casinos, resort hotels and so forth. He was an unstoppable adventurer with strongly-rooted instinct to win every bet he made, until a more challenging idea would click in his mind!


Mr. Trump was lured to politics from the early days of 1980s, but he never made a serious move until four decades or so later. There are some reasons for that long hold of course, but one consideration that must have played a decisive role, had to do with his awareness that working in politics would not make him richer!

But as time goes by, one gets older, wiser and less adventurous! Trump reached this stage during the second decade of the 21st century; He felt he is getting older and that made him boring and bored at the
same time! So one night, his nemesis pays him a sudden call and immediately he bows to it. As a result he puts on his new mantel as the Supreme Commander of the free world for one term (2017-2021) which
ends with a historical unprecedented incursion of the Capitol by his supporters, on the grounds that his winning opponent, Joe Biden, rigged the elections!


Four years later it’s the comeback of the wounded warrior! This time Trump has learned many important lessons of how to be a Supreme Commander, while openly tampering with the idea of a third term in
2028! Trump’s first move was to fortify his newly reclaimed fortress with completely obedient entourage, so he could release all his non-depletable genius and energy reserve.


Now it’s time for closing some old accounts; it’s time to play! Within days in office, Trump expresses his wish to welcome Canada to his empire as its 51 st state. Then he changes the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, because it is more beautiful! Later he targets US monuments such as the Kennedy Center, the International Airport in Virginia and Pennsylvania Station for the same purpose!

Another morning he wakes up to tell the world that the US should take over Greenland, one way or the other. While the ‘Venezuela’ over-night expedition was seen by many, including Trump himself, as a clip from an animated action movie, where the good cops with their IA run sophisticated machinery and technology, apprehends a notorious out-of-law gangster and flies him to jail!

Trump’s latest games which was clumsily suspended last year in June, is the same one, unfolding before our eyes these days with Iran. The latest update on this dangerous game was Trump’s devious
attempt to curb the unexpected financial repercussions in the world oil market and their consequent direct impact on his domestic rating versus the Democrats vying for midterm elections this coming
November.

For Trump this would be a red line that no one is allowed to tamper with. This is one of the bet games which he cannot lose: Who will control the House and the Senate next November? It is that kind of
situation that could make him quote Hamlet the Prince of Denmark, the legendary character portrayed by Shakespeare when he shouted; “To be, or not to be, that is the question”!

Hamlet was addressing a ghost!

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    Netanyahu, Mount Hermon and Arab Silense
    • HebaHeba
    • September 13, 2026

    By Awni al-Rajoub

    What is happening? What remains of the dignity of an Arab nation that stands before such a grave scene and then moves on as if nothing has happened?

    For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enter Syrian territory and reach the Mount Hermon area, forcibly and under the protection of occupation forces, without hesitation or shame, is not merely a passing provocation, nor a fleeting political maneuver that can be dismissed as media posturing.

    It is a scene that encapsulates the extent of Israeli arrogance and disregard for all international rules, norms, and conventions.

    What audacity! What kind of arrogance allows the head of the occupation government to enter the territory of a sovereign Arab state as if it were unclaimed land?

    Who gave him the right? Who said that power grants its possessor the right to violate the borders of states? Who said that the occupation can impose its own law on the region, while others are required to abide by international law?

    What is happening can no longer be glossed over or addressed with cold diplomatic language. There is an occupation that acts according to the logic of force, and there is an Arab silence that grows heavier and more painful.

    Netanyahu did not enter Mount Hermon because he doesn’t know it’s Syrian territory. Nor did he cross the border because he misread the map.

    He knows perfectly well where he stands, he knows perfectly well what this move means, and he knows that the message is not just for Syria.

    The message is for the entire region.

    A message that says Israel is ready to advance whenever it finds the way open, to impose a new reality by force, and to test the limits of Arab and international reaction each time.

    And therein lies the tragedy. The problem is not only with the one advancing, but with the one who allows him to advance without paying a real political price. We have reached a point where the question has become more painful than the event itself:

    Is there still an Arab nation?

    A nation that sees the land of an Arab state violated, the borders of an Arab state transgressed, and the sovereignty of an Arab state trampled upon, and then finds nothing in the face of this scene but silence, statements, and positions that change nothing on the ground?

    We don’t want random wars, military adventures, or empty slogans. But we do want at least one thing:

    For the Arabs to take a stance commensurate with the magnitude of the danger.

    A genuine political stance. A genuine diplomatic stance. A stance that makes the occupation understand that every transgression has a price, that the region is not without will, and that the Arabs are not so powerless.

    What is happening today in Syria should not be viewed as an internal Syrian matter or an isolated incident.

    It is a matter of Arab sovereignty.

    If violating the borders of an Arab state becomes something that can be overlooked with silence, what prevents it from happening again elsewhere?

    Today it’s Mount Hermon.

    And tomorrow, what?

    Where will this project end?

    The most dangerous thing facing the nation is not only the strength of the enemy, but the nation’s habituation to retreating before it. For occupation to become commonplace. For raids to become routine. For incursions to become routine. That violations of sovereignty become mere news items that pass through the news bulletins and are then forgotten.

    This is the true catastrophe. Nations are not only defeated when they lose their battles, but also when they lose sight of the gravity of what is happening to them.

    Netanyahu’s incursion into Syrian territory in this manner should awaken a profound question within us:

    What do we want for the future? Do we accept that the map of the region be drawn by force?

    Do we accept that Arab borders become subject to change whenever one party possesses military power?

    Do we accept that sovereignty becomes a mere word in statements, while facts on the ground are imposed by force?

    And will we continue to stand idly by as this saga of Israeli arrogance unfolds before our very eyes?

    For how long? It is time to state it clearly:

    Israel does not act with such arrogance in a vacuum. It does so because it senses that the cost of defiance is low, that reactions are limited, that the Arab world is mired in its crises and disputes, and that every country is preoccupied with its internal affairs.

    And here we must pause. Arab disputes must not be allowed to become an open opportunity for others. Nor must Arab divisions be a bridge for occupation to cross into more Arab lands. We are facing a moment that demands we ask ourselves honestly:

    Where is the Arab decision? Where is the Arab will? Where is the ability to transform anger into action? Where is the capacity to utilize politics, diplomacy, law, economics, and all available means of pressure?

    No one is asking the impossible. No one is asking the Arabs to go to war. But what is required is that the nation not remain a mere spectator. For prolonged silence in the face of arrogance ultimately becomes a green light.

    And here I fear that a day will come when the question will no longer be:

    Why did Netanyahu enter Mount Hermon?

    But rather:

    Why did we let him go even further?

    The Arab nation’s brow is not only stained when its land is occupied, but also when it witnesses repeated aggression and lacks the will to stop it.

    And the shame lies not in the nation’s weakness at any point in its history; Weakness can afflict nations.

    But the true shame is for a nation to become accustomed to its weakness, and to treat humiliation as an unchangeable fate.

    It is high time the Arab nation regained its self-confidence. To understand that the respect others have for it begins with its respect for its sovereignty. And to realize that Arab national security is not a slogan to be raised on special occasions, but a historical responsibility.

    As for Netanyahu, he must understand that the region does not belong to him, that history will not grant him a deed to possess land that does not belong to him, and that military power, however great, cannot grant occupation perpetual legitimacy.

    Mount Hermon is not just a mountain.

    It is a symbol of land, sovereignty, borders, and dignity.

    Therefore, what happened should not be treated as just another news item.

    It must remain an open question for every Arab:

    What is happening?

    And what remains of our nation?

    This opinion, written by Awni al-Rajoub, was published by the Arabic website Jo24 and reprinted in English in crossfirearabia.com

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    Trumpaplooza! View from Amman

    By Saleem Ayoub Quna

    Once again President Trump managed to highjack the spotlight as he delivered his keynote speech at the unconventional midterm Republican National Convention in Dallas last week, or at what some media outlets, appropriately, dubbed as the Trumpaplooza!

    These media organizations named some candidates who said they preferred Trump to stay out of their own local campaigns, because they thought his interference would not be to their advantage! Other candidates deleted Trump’s name and/or picture from their previous campaign posts for the same reason! And some republican personalities abstained from going to the convention altogether!

    Nevertheless, in his nearly two-hour long monologue, Trump came up with more than few original ideas and suggestions for his supporters which he thought would help the GOP candidates, to be elected or reelected, to the Senate and the House next November.

    In a rare unheard of tactic to convince his supporters to vote for their candidates, he begged them to imagine that his name was on the ballot they would cast! What this actually meant that their names and identities are less important than that of his own! In other words, President Trump was really saying those candidates would be worth nothing were they not running on behalf of the Republican Party, which he controls and are one of his own many intellectual properties! It must feel awkward for some candidates who fall under this category!

    Then comes the big bombshell which no one was expecting, namely the $5000  bonus to be paid for each adult (a registered voter) when and if the elections guaranteed a republican majority in both the Senate and the House!

    But let’s dig a little bit further in the significance of the timing of this generous dividend! The difference between the payment (after or before) the elections can be viewed from more than one angel. And this must be very revealing for many Americans and those watching the American experience from other parts of the world!

    From purely a Trumpean point of view it is just another business transaction, simple and clear!

    Trump’s argument on this point would go something like this: “I can reward you, when and if I am satisfied with the work you have done for me! For I am the one who is running this political bonanza called the “midterm elections” campaign, and I am the one who gave you the chance to vote for my-would be supporters at the Senate and the House”!

    Then, he might go on to say: “But I cannot pay you now simply because, I do not buy any fish that is still in the sea”!

    But what President Trump is not saying is he first does not have this much cash “a trillion dollar” in his drawer, and that he does not trust every single “adult” who promises, he or she, would vote republican! Trump thinks, and he is right, that there could be some pretenders who would say something but do something else!

    A third possibility could be that Trump’s bid would prevail and the republicans would have made it! And the day of payment would arrived, while Trump would not have cash yet! Here, Trump’s genius as a great businessman would come to the test and it will be the guessing game of the century!

    But seriously, observers of the American scene under the Trump Presidency, and many Americans as well, must be wondering how on earth the politics of a great country like the US, could get stuck in such an unusual labyrinth of contradictions, where not so many can differentiate between reality and virtual reality, between incentive and bribery and between a hasty promise and commitment!!

    Continue reading

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