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The recognition by US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has triggered more than just criticism from America's allies.

Here in Bahrain, at the annual Manama Dialogue security conference, there is an almost universal concern that the announcement will be a gift to the region's twin adversaries - Iran and the jihadists of al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State (IS).

"The president has lit a fire and left his Arab allies to deal with the blaze," said Elisabeth Marteu, Consultant Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

A former UK Special Forces officer, who asked not to be quoted, compared the announcement to "throwing a hand grenade into a room with the pin removed".
Officially, the Arab Gulf rulers have always supported the Palestinian right to a homeland, recognising it as a long-running source of grievance for the whole region and a popular pan-Arab, pan-Islamic cause.

Privately though, older members of the ruling families have never fully forgiven the Palestinian Authority for siding with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Soon after that country's liberation I saw a piece of graffiti daubed on a wall in Kuwait City that read: "Jerusalem is the eternal home of the Jews and I am a Kuwaiti writing this."

That was in 1991 and things are different now. Most of the Arab world's populations are too young to remember, or even care about, the invasion of 1990, but they do care about Jerusalem.

It is the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina, and it holds a special place in many people's hearts. What does this mean for counter-terrorism? It means a risk on two counts.

The first is the risk that people who might not be well disposed towards the West but were not planning to translate this into violent action may now think again.

Hediya Fathalla, an expert on Gulf security and a former Bahrain government official, told the BBC: "There are dormant jihadist mentalities who are sitting there thinking 'I'm not operational but I have jihadist feelings' so will this push them over the fence?"

The second risk is on the other side of the equation, namely that someone previously co-operating with US government agencies may now be less inclined to do so.

They may well have an excellent working relationship with, say, their counterpart at the CIA or NSA. But at the back of their minds there could now be a pervasive doubt over whether a US administration that has acted in this way actually has their interests at heart.

Even at the very top of a country's hierarchy, in the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia, there must now be concerns that Saudi Arabia has chosen to work so closely with a White House that has just infuriated so much of the Arab world.

Then there is Iran.

The Islamic Republic continues to rival Saudi Arabia for power and prestige across the Middle East. It has long supported the twin anti-Israel militias of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. The overseas arm of its Revolutionary Guards Corps is called "the Quds force", meaning "the Jerusalem force".

"Iran has always used Jerusalem as a sort of narrative when stirring up Arab masses, it's what helped it align with Hamas... so I think it will definitely play into the hands of Iran," said Hediya Fathalla.

Commenting this weekend in the online edition of IISS Voices for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organises the Manama Dialogue, Elisabeth Marteu also believes the announcement will help Iran's interests.

"This would be a great boost to Tehran, which is trying to repair its image after the Syria and Iraq conflicts," she writes.

Over time, the damage to US relations with its Gulf Arab partners will be repaired. Washington is simply too big, too powerful and too important an ally to ignore.

The US Fifth Fleet patrols the Gulf, providing a counterweight to Iran, while sophisticated US weaponry makes up much of the region's arsenals.

But the recent US announcement is a reminder to rulers here that this White House administration is still capable of causing them intense embarrassment.

People close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television

Right, 17 year old girls think 34 year old men are young carefree guys. Face it, the guy was and is creepy. I wish 'hot' Kathy liked you back in high school, maybe then you wouldn't have turned out so bitter.

GOP tax plan diverges wildly from Trump’s promises to the middle class

Trump supporters were reminded that Ivanka once denounced Roy Moore: ‘A special place in hell’

Conservative local TV news giant Sinclair Broadcast Group has produced two “must-run” segments misrepresenting the work of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and casting doubt on its “hate group” designations. Sinclair is known for requiring its local news stations to air “must-run” segments that often look like right-wing propaganda. These must-runs come as hate groups and other right-wing organizations have ramped up their years-long campaign against SPLC in 2017.

In less than a year in office, Trump has led the G.O.P. into situations and alliances so degraded that the Party may never fully recover, even as he watches an investigation into Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 election, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, move ever closer to his immediate circle. Last week, Donald Trump, Jr., refused to answer questions before the House Intelligence Committee about his conversations with his father, and a plea deal that Mueller struck with Michael Flynn, the former national-security adviser, indicates that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may be under scrutiny, too. Mueller may also have turned his attention to records related to Trump’s finances. Last Monday, the day that Trump endorsed Moore, Axios reported that one of the President’s lawyers, echoing Richard Nixon, had suggested that what might count as obstruction of justice for others would not in Trump’s case—because if the President does it, it isn’t really a crime. But each day dawns with a possibility that Trump will disgrace the Presidency more than he already has, whether he is insulting Native Americans or mangling relationships with our most trusted allies.

It would be inaccurate, though, to say that the President has acted alone, or without the coöperation of his party. There have been a few eloquent protests from members of Congress who are retiring or seem to think that they have nothing left to lose politically. After the Washington Post first published reports of Moore’s predation, several Republicans denounced him, and the Republican National Committee pulled out of a joint fund-raising agreement with him. But, last week, when Trump let the R.N.C. know that he was supporting Moore, it began pouring money into his campaign. “The President says jump and the RNC jumps,” a Party official told the Wall Street Journal.

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@justinjm1
Ex-FBI agent: Trump "says nary a negative word about the Russians, but will insult us every chance he gets"

Research suggests that people with high IQ scores are more likely to have mood disorders, and a higher risk factor of ‘psychological overexcitabilities’ – perhaps that explains the behaviour of the man in the White House

Follow this one: DNC/Clinton Campaign pays a
-->lawfirm who hire a
-->commercial research firm that
---> pays a former UK Intelligence Agent who gets
--->some Russians to cook up some tabloid mess, the 'dirty dossier'
---> they take their resulting dossier to the FBI who doctor it to make it look like legitimate intelligence then use it to apply for a
--->FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant
---> these warrants are used as the basis for spying on members of the Trump campaign
= one of the biggest political scandals in American history.

President Trump has already lent his support to Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore. Now he’s lending his voice.

Trump agreed to record a robocall for the accused child molester running on the GOP ticket, the White House confirmed Saturday night.

"We need Roy voting for us and stopping illegal immigration and crime, rebuilding a stronger military and protecting the Second Amendment and our pro-life values," Trump says on the call, which was played for ABC News. "But if Alabama elects liberal Democrat Doug Jones, all of our progress will be stopped full."

"Roy Moore is the guy we need to pass our 'Make America Great Again' agenda," the commander-in-chief continued.

The call is expected to go out to Alabama homes on Monday, the day before the long-awaited special election.

A total of eight women have come forward with stomach-churning stories of unwanted sexual contact from Moore.

Six of them said they were underage at the time of the incidents. The youngest said she was just 14 when a 32-year-old Moore groped her inside his home.

The allegations haven’t turned off Trump, who pledged his support for the accused sexual predator as recently as Friday night.

“We can’t afford to have a liberal Democrat,” Trump said at a rally in Pensacola, Fla., referring to his party’s narrow 52-48 advantage in the Senate. and claiming Democrat Doug Jones would be a “total puppet.”

Earlier in the day, Trump posted a terse tweet imploring his followers to support Moore, who was twice suspended as the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

“VOTE ROY MOORE!” Trump wrote.

The allegations haven’t turned off Trump, who pledged his support for the accused sexual predator as recently as Friday night.

Quote:

I can't imagine a 17 old year fine looking young lady wanting to go out with a grandfather unless he is loaded or something...but whatever.

First of all, Moore wasn't

A total of eight women have come forward with stomach-churning stories of unwanted sexual contact from Moore.

1. Wendy Miller

Wendy Miller, in the same The Washington Post report, outlined an account about Moore approaching her while she was working at Gadsden Mall as Santa's helper at 14 and later at 16 when he asked her out on dates, which her mother prohibited due to his age.

Where's reported the "unwanted sexual contact" alleged here?

2.Debbie Wesson Gibson

Debbie Wesson Gibson, in the same The Washington Post report, described Moore asking her out after speaking at her high school civics class when she was 17 and Moore was 34. She said they dated for two or three months which included kisses, but did not say that Moore forced her into any sort of relationship or sexual contact.

3.Gloria Thacker Deason

A fourth woman, Gloria Thacker Deason, spoke of dating 32-year-old Moore over several months after meeting him at the Gadsden Mall when she was 18. She said that her dates included bottles of Mateus Rosé wine and tropical cocktails, while the legal drinking age in Alabama at the time was 19. She also stated that the dates were approved by her mother, and included kissing, but did not say that Moore forced her into any sort of relationship or sexual contact.

4.Kelly Harrison Thorp

Kelly Harrison Thorp claimed Moore approached her asking for a date while she was working at a Red Lobster. She was 17 then and Moore was in his early 30s.

Where's the reported "unwanted sexual contact?"

5. Becky Gray

Becky Gray said she was 22 and working in the local mall when Moore "started coming up to" her, resulting in her repeatedly rejecting his dating offers. She said she "...thought he was 'old'."

6. Gena Richardson

Gena Richardson, who is a Republican, stated that Moore started pursuing her when she was a senior in high school, near her 18th birthday...Richardson stated that she eventually went on a date with him, and when she started to get out of his car, "he grabbed [her] and pulled [her] in and ... kissed [her]."

So he kissed a girl who went out on a date with him, eh? She doesn't even claim it was unwanted.

7. Allegations by other women

Phyllis Smith, who worked in the local mall, stated that Moore had not approached her personally, but she had seen him talking to other young clerks.

Accused serial killer Barak Obama spotted in Europe