The problem Trump has no vision and is totally manipulated by those with short term interests (ODT)

“When Trump comes to power, the Arab spring is turned into an Arab winter. There are bushfires in Syria, in Libya, in Egypt, in Tunisia, in Yemen and elsewhere in the region,” he says.

“America’s interests are endangered, and Iran is seen by America’s allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, as the main beneficiary of Arab uprisings.

“And the more Iran is involved in Syria, the more it is involved in Yemen, the more it supports the Shias in Bahrain and inside Arabia and in Iraq, the more fearful and hostile America’s allies in the region get. And while they felt that Obama did not have a listening ear, in Trump they found a willing ally in not just containing Iran but to try and roll back Iran’s influence.

“And so when you get those three, inevitably Trump’s strategy of an aggressive reaction to Iran wins the day.”

“Our problem in the West has been that largely we’ve tended to be very reactive, we haven’t really had the patience to deal with this as a strategic issue, which I have to say the Russians do.

“I mean, the one advantage of Putin, as unpleasant as he is, is that certainly for those rulers in the Middle East is he seems to have a strategy and he sticks to it, whereas the West seems to be at sixes and sevens about what it’s planning to do and doesn’t really have a plan.”

Why America and Iran hate each other – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)