Trump thinks he is shaping the Middle East. Instead, it’s Gulf states that will dictate US foreign policy | Simon Tisdall

The US president travels to meet the region’s leaders facing an uncomfortable reality: he may need them more than they need him

Donald Trump is accustomed to getting his own way. That could change next week when he’s confronted by the mess he’s making in the Middle East. As he begins a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, the US president is promising great things. As ever, he’s delusional. The reality is that reckless, incoherent and neglectful US regional policies are failing across the board. A fundamental course correction is urgently required.

Gulf leaders have the leverage to set Trump straight, if they decide to use it. He relies on them to an unprecedented degree – far more than on Europe – as diplomatic interlocutors, security partners and financial backers. His approach to Palestine, which is on the brink of a second Nakba (catastrophe), is a mix of prejudice, cruelty and sheer ignorance. Without Arab help, the US and Israel may remain trapped indefinitely in a destructive policy cul-de-sac.

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