Team Trump’s ‘Zionist overkill’ could blow up in its face

Alameen Templeton
Donald Trump’s “Zionist overkill” selection policy for his choice of cabinet picks have diehard Israelis chortling over their “dream team” and Arabia analysts worrying it’s going to unwind in a messy blowback of epic proportions.
The Lawnmowers in Tel Aviv are cock-a-hoop this week, with Israeli defence minister Israel Katz emboldened to brag his country was behind the July assassination of Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in Teheran.
It’s a deliberate goading of the old foe, Shia Iran, that is skulking back in its shell, its claws clipped, its Hezbollah forces in disarray, and its supply route through Syria cut off as the Lebanese government starts flexing its muscles in the vacuum left by Hezbollah’s retreat.
Katz knows Washington has his back – whether it’s supporting its genocide, keeping the arms supplies flowing, or keeping up diplomatic and political protection to ensure Israel remains untouchable to humanitarian law – so he’s upping the pressure on Teheran, trying to entice it into a retaliatory attack.
Zionism Rampant
He knows Teheran won’t dare back up its oath to avenge Haniyeh and the attack carried out, illegally under international law. on its soil during its presidential inauguration.
But analysts are venturing this week Trump may have shot himself and America in the foot by loading his cabinet with fanatical Israel-first supporters, determined to make Israel great again.
Arabia is a very different place compared to 2016 when he first took office and unleashed the Abraham Accords and “normalization”, determined to pull troops out of Syria and to end America’s “forever wars”.
Most of Trump’s picks are rank amateurs.
Take his Israel ambassador Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, Israel’s first non-Jewish ambassador in 40 years, and a former Fox News talkshow host. Then, there’s Team Trump’s “Middle East Envoy” pick, Steven Witkoff, who is a real estate agent. His only credentials are he’s a generous donor to Republican coffers and is a fanatical supporter of Israel.
That’s hardly likely to endear him in interactions with Arabian leaders who have cozied up to Iran after Israeli threats to target oil infrastructure in the Arabian Gulf. They’re also tending to warm to Russian and Chinese overtures
Pete Hegseth is Trump’s pick to head up the Pentagon. He’s a Fox News talkshow host. He’s going to oversee nearly 3 million soldiers, America’s nuclear-deterrence policies, and a budget of $820 billion.
What could go wrong?
Other analysts are more concerned about the obviously worrisome policy of picking clear incompetents to head up some of the country’s key posts. Are they simply meant to be “talking heads”, taking directions from something else? A deep state, for instance?
Trump’s choice of amateurs means they’ll obviously always be out of their depth in their specialist fields and will be pathetically dependent on “advisors” at crucial decision-making moments.
It begs the question – is Donald Trump the ultimate “deep state” front man, the preeminent shill for state capture?
Or, it could be Trump is determined this time to keep well back all the “minders” that tried to usher him through its introduction to the Oval Office in 2016. He’s got his plan and no one’s going to tell him otherwise.
So, he’s surrounded himself with billionaires and yes men. But, is he really his own man, or are others doing more than just nodding in assent?
Billionaires and ‘yes-men’
Trump Monday hit back at Democrats claiming his Elon Musk’s puppet. “No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told cheering supporters at the Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix on Sunday. “And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country.”
Billionaire Cerberus Capital founder Stephen Feinberg is Trump’s second-in-command at the Pentagon. How about that for embedded power? No one’s going to ever again question his “buy” and “sell” recommendations.
Here’s a list compiled by Markaz Sahaba after trolling through too many Zionist websites of Trump’s Diehard Israel choices:
*Mike Huckabee, as Trump’s ambassador to Israel, opposes any idea of a Palestinian state. He’s formerly the Arkansas governor, a Baptist minister and a Fox News talk show host. He’s said “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestinians in reference to descendants of people who lived in Palestine during the Nakba. He has called for the permanent occupation of the West Bank;
*Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor, is a diehard Israel supporter and a former Green Beret. He supports the genocide, is an Iran hawk and supports attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure and nuclear facilities. He’s also a staunch normalization, Abraham Accords, supporter;
*Marco Rubio, secretary of state pick, opposes a ceasefire, is an Iran hawk and wants Israel to “destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on”;
*Stephen Feinberg, deputy defence secretary, co-founder of Cerberus Capital, a major defence contractor and investor in hypersonic missiles. He’s Zionist to the hilt and a man with long-term plans extending beyond his presumed four-year term;
*Scott Bessent is Trump’s Treasury Secretary. He is an Iran hawk, pro-Israel and is a former close protege of George Soros the Zionist famous for sparking government takeovers around the world (even though Trump and Soros are supposedly enemies);
*Pat Bondi, to be attorney general, wants to deport campus protestors, wants Muslim banned from immigrating, and supports the Gaza genocide. She is a former lobbyist for Qatar and helped broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, supports Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and visits Israel regularly.
*Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce, is a Zionist funder and Trump donor and is helping choose Trump’s team.
*Steven Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, is a real estate agent and donor and fanatical supporter of Israel.
*John Ratcliffe, CIA director, supports a Muslim travel ban, supports the Genocide and attacks on Iran.
*Elise Stefanik, UN ambassador pick, supports prosecution of campus protestors for antisemitism and opposes funding for Unrwa.
*Fox News host Pete Hegseth is to head the defence department. He opposes a two-state solution, wants the temple built on Al-Aqsa and an Iran hawk.
*Sebastian Gorka, of Hungarian parentage, is to be deputy assistant to the president and senior director of counterterrorism. He says 98% of terrorists in the US are Muslim and said in 2016 Muslim immigrants are opposed to American values at best and, at worst, “want to kill us”. He’s said “there is no such thing as Palestine”.
*Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff, is a former Trump speech writer, and is also picked as homeland security advisor. He formulated Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration policy, saying “America is for Americans and Americans only”;
*Lee Zeldin: Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Is a diehard Zionist who wouldn’t certify 2020 election;
*Kristi Noem, Homeland Security, supports antisemitism definition,
Making Israel Great Again
The Jewish Press, Tampa, Florida, crowed after Trump’s choices were made public: “His first national security picks are diehard Israel supporters, some of whom have denied the existence of the Palestinian people and back the annexation of the occupied West Bank. These loyalists are set to advance Trump’s ‘America First’ and hardline populist agenda in a second term and could signal some shifts in longstanding US policy, especially regarding a possible conflict with Iran and resolving conflicts in the Middle East.”
There’s little doubt Trump’s tack will be far more hard-line, but is a hard sell going to work every time? It could be Trump, supposedly the ultimate dealmaker, is going to be undone by his very own source of power, his unquestioning presumption of success? Has “Teflon Don” forgotten to prepare an escape route, a bolt hole, or even an exit strategy if things don’t work out?
Washington is firmly welded to Israel’s “war-only” strategy, where Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on the tiller and control of operations on the ground mean he is the real one determining America’s future course in Arabia.
That portends a future clash and even a falling out among billionaires with the potential to upend the best-of-made plans.
Divide and rule
America could try counter resistance to Israel’s war-only strategy – that will inevitably lead to confrontations with Arabian leaders – by abandoning an all-encompassing “Arabian strategy” in favour of bilateral agreements.
Instead of uniting Arab leaders against a common American policy, Washington could instead seek to cower or coax individual leaders into line by hammering together agreements behind closed doors.
The New Arab speculates that Trump wants Netanyahu to wrap up the wars, and Netanyahu may do this in a way credits Trump with a sudden, deceptive peace.
The Washington Post quotes a close aide to Netanyahu saying Israel is pushing for a ceasefire deal in Lebanon as a “gift” to Trump.
But uncertainty remains about the Israelis’ ability to “wrap up” the conflict, to “get the job done” as Trump has said.
Given this, the diehard, open Zionists on Team Trump may will find Arabia hard going. They will have to consider the “other side” while they are clearly forwarding Tel Aviv’s agenda.
“America as mediator” died a very slow and public death during Genocide Joe Biden’s administration, struck through with too many forgotten red lines.
TNA says Team Trump’s unconditional support for Israel could strain relations with other regional actors and may freeze progress on “normalization”. It could also see a retreat from securing a Saudi defence treaty.
“With Saudi Arabia improving ties with Iran and US influence waning due to stronger Gulf ties with Russia and China, Trump may struggle to reshape the region.
“A broader US disengagement from the Middle East is possible, though not a total withdrawal. Managing these relations based on Trump’s instincts could put the US in a dangerous position,” The New Arab says.