The art of the feint

It's just like old times to see the opinion pages of our daily newspapers crammed with anti-Trump letters and op-eds. Noteworthy also, to see how rapidly the anti-Trump ire has been redirected at the Ukraine situation, leaving the Gaza purchase alone. Is it not clear that Trump's gambit on buying Gaza was a masterstroke? Nothing changed on the ground, but miraculously the Arab states found pressing reasons to plan a Gaza summit excluding Hamas. The timing was exquisite, with Jordan's Abdullah II squirming in his seat as Trump reiterated the plan first announced during Netanyahu's visit the week before. Trump sold a dummy, which the Arab states bought and seem willing to pay for. Over to Ukraine and we see every European nation chiming in on a peacekeeping force to police a ceasefire. Again nothing changed except perception. 'A Trump/Putin Alliance? OMG - we'd better get weaving and demand a ceasefire which we will garrison'. Obama and Biden would do anything for a round of applause, but to use that hackneyed phrase: 'There's a new sheriff in town'.

At the Battle of Tours-Poitiers the Christian leader Charles Martell confronted the Muslim invaders. Aware that the Muslim soldiers had accumulated vast treasures as they had marched north across France, Martell saw that as a weakeness to be eploited. In plain site of the Muslim Army, Matell feinted an attack on their encampment. Fearing loss of their booty, the Muslims broke ranks and Martell recorded a victory which ended aims of a Muslim Europe.