It's something of an understatement to say that the Middle East is a real mess these days. Granted, this has always been a contentious part of the world, and after having spent some time in the area while on the General Schwarzkopf Traveling Road Show's "Highway of Death" tour, I can see why these people are fighting all the time; it's because they have to live there. Big parts of the Middle East are surely no less barren than the surface of the moon.

But the Middle East also has a wealth of one major strategic resource - oil. So when things in the Middle East start going sideways, as they seem to be doing right now, a lot of eyes turn towards the United States. All this has prompted former President (and current Republican presidential nominee) Donald Trump to ask one very good question: Who the heck is in charge of American diplomacy in this region?

He’s right! Let’s not have WWIII. Deal? pic.twitter.com/nqL9Jb57kp

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) August 25, 2024

If you can't see the Trump X post, it reads:

Who is negotiating for us in the Middle East? Bombs are dropping all over the place! Sleepy Joe is sleeping on a Beach in California, viciously Exiled by the Democrats, and Comrade Kamala is doing a campaign bus tour with Tampon Tim, her really bad V.P. Pick. Let's not have World War III, because that's where we're heading!

That's a very good question.

See Related: Israel Defense Forces, Making Bad Terrorists Into Good Terrorists 

IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon, Taking Out Threats to Israel 

These aren't just regional issues. We know Iran is the largest state sponsor of Islamist terror, not just in the Middle East, but in the world. Hamas, Hezbollah, all these groups have Iran's fingerprints all over them. Iran helps them with recruiting, training, and logistics. And Iran has an ally to the north, an ally with whom they are increasing their military coordination - Russia: 

....[F]ormer Russian Defense Minister and current Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu was in Tehran on August 5, where he met with several officials, including Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. During their meeting, Pezeshkian reportedly told Shoigu that Iran was “determined to expand relations” with its “strategic partner Russia.” Various media sources indicate that Tehran has renewed its requests for Russian deliveries of advanced air-defense systems and that Moscow might have delivered radars, Iskander missiles, and other items, but these have not been verified.

Iran has also reportedly been engaged with North Korea and China. 

A military alliance of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran would be, to put it mildly, detrimental to world order. These four nations have several things in common: They are all approaching a demographic cliff, they all have moribund economies, and they all have powerful if, in some cases, archaic military forces. Were they to join forces, they would present a serious problem for the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the commander in chief of the world's most powerful military is absent without leave, and non compos mentis to boot. His understudy, who is campaigning for his job, is partying on a campaign bus, while mostly refusing to answer unscripted questions from the media.

If one wanted to present a picture to the world of a weak, declining America, one could hardly do better than the current state of affairs. It's all part of a larger question, of course: Who is in charge in the White House? Because, clearly, it's not Joe Biden. Nature abhors a vacuum, and "Who is really in charge?" is a question that we really should have had asked and answered by now.