Seriously?

I suspect that, by now, there are at least some readers that know that my first “real” job after I received my doctoral degree involved teaching computer science in Haifa at the Technion, also known as the “Israel Institute of Technology.” (Since I received my doctoral credentials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the transition seemed like an easy one.) In those days, Israel’s relations with the United States were much better than those of any of the countries on its borders. The only “viable” border was the Mediterranean Sea to the west, which involved a significant amount of shipping at several ports (not to mention a few recreational beaches).

More recently, however, Israel finds itself to be a “focal point” in the Middle East as a whole. This is probably due in no small part to the “special relationship” between Israel and the United States. That said, over the last decades our country has established good relations with other Middle East countries. Unfortunately, those relations have been put under a strain, which can be attributed primarily to our government’s Executive Branch.

The current focus of that strain is the strait of Hormuz, which has recently been the source of a major impact on the price of crude oil. The good news is that President Donald Trump has decided to convene with his entire cabinet. To keep the meeting well-focused, the plan was to meet at Camp David, which is outside the District of Columbia but nearby in Maryland. Sadly, my interpretation of “well-focused” was put under more than a little strain when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt chose to describe the occasion as “a lot of fun and something different for the cabinet to experience together.”

Donald Trump on his way to Camp David (photograph by Manuel Balce, courtesy of Centa and the Associated Press, from an article on the Web site for The Guardian)

Judging from the look on our President’s face as he prepares to leave for Camp David, I would guess that “fun” is the last thing on his mind!