Trump Is Going to Provoke a War over Jerusalem

And provoking a war, of course, seems entirely to be the point — because it has been made abundantly clear to Donald Trump what the likely consequences of this decision are:

Donald Trump is expected to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday, while also signing a waiver that delays moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, two U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News.

...Ahead of the announcement, Trump held a series of phone calls on Tuesday with leaders in the Middle East.

The president spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the White House said.

...Abbas warned Trump about "the dangerous implications for such a decision on the peace process, the security and stability in the region and the world" and called the possible move "an unacceptable step," Rudeineh said.

...[King Abdullah] affirmed that the decision will have serious implications that will undermine efforts to resume the peace process and will provoke Muslims and Christians alike.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan, meanwhile, called Jerusalem "the red line for Muslims."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi condemned the possible embassy announcement, saying that it would be seen a hostile move against Arabs and Muslims.

So Trump has just spent the day making calls to Muslim leaders, letting them know he's going to do something that they warn him will have disastrous fallout. Cool.

Lots of people have wondered why, precisely, Venezuela was included on Trump's latest iteration of the "travel ban," aside from its usefulness in attempting to conceal the ban's inherent Islamophobia.

As I noted back in August, the administration seemed to be war-shopping, with Vice President Mike Pence dispatched to do the heavy lifting on Venezuela.

Given that Trump's latest maneuver — no doubt rigorously supported by Pence, for whose conservative white evangelical pals Jerusalem plays a special role in their rapture fantasies — could cause a conflagration that cuts off the United States from major oil resources, suddenly oil-rich Venezuela makes a lot of sense as a target for an invented war.

I don't know exactly what the endgame is here, but I know it ain't good.