Dear readers, often it is true that at first glance, we can be shocked by what occurs in daily event that seems to defy our path forward in achieving goals. While I am not reversing opinion, passage of time can yield more clarity.

Though I remain skeptical, having more closely analyzed the speech given by our American president on May 22 of this year, it is clear to me that a cooperation between our US government and Saudi’s at the “Arab Islamic American Summit” has been long in planning.

Here is a bit of information, which shows some of the difficulties that may lie ahead in peace processes and idealism of the US president. Saudi Arabia, like Iran, is very dependent upon oil revenues. What happens when these revenues wane? Will terror proliferate?

When speaking of a psychology of terror, my president had said, “This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between Good and Evil.”

I agree with him. But, I do have some concern that we may discount the very real and bitter and long-standing hatred among factions, sects, and faiths in the region and beyond – a reality that exists and motivates the warring factions today. We cannot over-simplify. The president of the US is correct however, in stating that fundamentally, governments must support good and not evil works. He’s also right to have stated that evil tries to use religious justification for its evil ends and purposes.

The president’s vision is an optimistic one. And, he has delivered a message to America [and others], that Saudi’s had not yet told us without his help until now. That, they wish for peace, they have said. And, president Trump has delivered our aid in a very material way. Aid that in large part comes from the blood and tears of America.

Our president chose the physical center of Islam, to speak these messages of peace.

Now briefly, praise comes with some measured criticism: When he says “drive them [terrorists] out of this Earth”, does he mean kill? It is unlikely that the Saudi’s will kill their own extremists. But, perhaps they have before. Perhaps they will again.

“Starving terrorists of their territory, their funding, and the false allure of their craven ideology, will be the basis for defeating them.”

Sadly, such evil acts of terror, are very much worsened by conditions of poverty, harassment, oppression, isolation, denial of place in society, and radicalization by false religious believers… who prey on innocence and desperation of other persons.

I dare to hope that the US president’s call for Saudi’s to use our trust, in genuine cooperation… within limits of reason and reality. And, not to engage in war with its regional Arab nations, we hope they will rather encourage all Islamic people worldwide, to renounce the evil of terror, state funded or not; and to teach their children that peace is the way to live.

Quotations of the US president’s speech, are cited from the transcript published at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-president-donald-trumps-saudi-speech-full-transcript-20170521-gw9wkm.html