U.S. President Donald Trump has not voiced an opinion on the recent Temple Mount crisis. Apparently, calling Jordan's King Abdullah II once the crisis concluded to thank him for his contribution was enough for him. Throughout the crisis, he gave his emissaries to the region free rein to act as they saw fit and help arrive at the compromise agreement that, for now, has taken the issue off the Israeli, Palestinian and even Jordanian agendas. True to form, Trump chose instead to shine the spotlight on what he views as a more urgent matter. In a White House meeting last week with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Trump focused his remarks -- at least those unrelated to his domestic problems with senior administration officials -- on two organizations the United States and its allies must fight: the Islamic State group, which now presents less of a threat to regional stability, and Hezbollah, which he described as a terror organization that threatens Lebanon and the entire Middle East. Hariri presumably shares Trump's opinion and considers Hezbollah a dangerous rival and even a threat. After all, his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, was murdered by members of Hezbollah in February 2005. But in Lebanon, reality is always stranger than fiction. And so the young Hariri found himself defending Hezbollah, with whom he has formed a government and whose members serve as ministers in that government, at the White House. Hariri did not come to the White House to promote the war on terror, certainly not against Hezbollah. He came to convince the U.S. administration to alleviate the economic pressure it has imposed on his country in response to Hezbollah's presence and activities on Lebanese soil. The administration put in place severe restrictions that could cripple the Lebanese banking system, since every bank that opens an account or transfers money to a member of Hezbollah or one of the many charity organizations with ties to the terror organization risks the prospect of U.S. sanctions. Hariri's mission seems to have been a success. After strongly condemning Hezbollah, Trump praised the Lebanese government for its fight against terrorism and even promised that the U.S. would continue to assist the Lebanese military, the same military that works hand in hand with Hezbollah, including in the country's south along the border with Israel. No wonder Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is pleased. A few hours after Trump excoriated the organization at the White House, Nasrallah delivered a speech at a rally in which he announced that in recent days, thanks to the Russian-Iranian blitz in Syria, Hezbollah had succeeded in pushing members of the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly Nusra Front, out of Arsal on the Lebanon-Syria border. But according to reports from Beirut, Nasrallah avoided any mention of Trump's statements or the meeting he held with senior Russian officials in Washington to discuss the future of the indirect partnership between their two countries. The issue, however, is not Nasrallah, but Trump. Trump started his presidency on the right foot, with a dramatic and much-praised attack on a Syrian airbase used to launch chemical weapons on Syrian civilians in April. But the moves that followed were far less impressive. Trump "sold out" the Syrian rebels when he stopped providing them U.S. assistance and "closed a deal" with Russia that allows Syrian President Bashar Assad to remain in power, and worse still, allows Iran to entrench its presence in Syria. In his meeting with Hariri, Trump promised to continue to support Lebanon's military. To his credit, he might not be aware that every dollar he provides Lebanon, every move to roll back restrictions on its banking system, and every weapon delivered to its military, will serve Hezbollah. Forceful statements, while important, are no less significant than actions, which, unfortunately, do not appear to be on the horizon. Former U.S. President Barack Obama abandoned the Middle East to Russia, Iran and Hezbollah out of impotence and weakness. Trump is now abandoning the Middle East out of a belief in the Russian-American partnership. Washington's allies in the region, including Israel, may very well end up paying the price.
