I have to be honest, if you told me that the crusades might be making a comeback in the year of our Lord 2025, I’d ask for a hit of whatever you were smoking.
But apparently, the whole notion of smiting foreign infidels to protect God’s kingdom and his people on Earth could be coming back in style if President Trump’s threats are taken seriously.
Just in case you missed it, President Trump threatened to stop all foreign aid to Nigeria and instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action” if the country failed to stop its ongoing Christian persecution.
On Saturday Trump went even further, saying that America “may very well go into that now disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing' to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Admittedly, I’m a C student when it comes to World History, but that’s pretty much the language of the Crusades as far as I remember.
Primarily, Nigeria’s Christian population has been under deadly assault by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province or ISWAP, both of whom are well documented and justifiably feared Islamic terrorist groups.
So, is it likely that we’re going to put boots on the ground in Nigeria for an admittedly good moral cause?
Probably not and in all honesty I’m certain that we shouldn’t.
I’m all for the United States taking a moral stand on the world stage and I believe it’s good and decent to do so where possible. However, stepping into another foreign conflict with our armed forces isn’t recommended nor wise considering the current state of the United States. With any luck, the President’s threats of stripping U.S. support to Nigeria may be enough.
As far as I can tell on social media, Trump’s interest in this conflict is puzzling to a lot of people. Unsurprisingly, the loudest decriers of the so-called genocide in Gaza are the most puzzled by America’s interest in a well-documented civilian purge that’s happening in a foreign land.
While it may seem odd that Trump is taking personal aim at a religious conflict in Africa, it’s less strange when you consider his personal and foreign political behavior over the course of the year.
On the foreign policy front, Trump has been increasingly interested in being a peacemaker and has made it a personal mission to attempt to settle as many foreign conflicts as he can while in office. While this obviously includes the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in Gaza and the War in Ukraine, it has also extended on to Congo where the US recently brokered peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda.
However, it’s Trump‘s personal behavior that is the most interesting thing to me.
He doesn’t do it often, but every now and then, Trump will self deprecate about his relationship with God and the state of his soul.
Perhaps it’s just his advanced age talking, but he’s been increasingly vocal about his personal salvation being off the table.
Earlier in the year he was asked in a presser if he believed that ending the War in Ukraine would help secure a spot in Heaven and he seemed to confirm that...