Big News from East!!! Qatar new foriegn policy, other gulf states break relations

Here's some more on this story from al-Jazeera:

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain cut ties to Qatar

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain say they are severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

...The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf's Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatar's state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

Following the hacking of the news agency's website on Tuesday, comments falsely attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, were broadcast.

Qatar's government categorically denied that the comments in which the country's leader expressed support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel - while suggesting that US President Donald Trump may not last in power - were ever made.

...Despite Qatari denials, UAE-based Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya kept running the discredited story.

This is interesting because the USA maintains a very large presence in Qatar:

US Military presence in Qatar

The largest US base in the Middle East accommodating approx. 10 000 troops is located at the “Al Udeid” Air Base in Qatar, close to the capital Doha. The U.S.-Qatar military relationship is extremely important and surprisingly “free-of-charge”. It is well known that Qatar provides the U.S. military with exceptional access to two of the major Qatari military installations – “Al Udaid” Air Base and Camp “As-Saliyeh” – perhaps, CENTCOM’s most important operating installation outside of Iraq.

​One wonders whether this is a prelude to the USA installing a more 'compliant' government in Qatar...

Key Arab League States Cut Ties With Qatar Over 'Supporting Terrorism', LIVE UPDATES

https://on.rt.com/8dlf

"...The breaking of diplomatic ties with Qatar comes after a leaked email between Hillary Clinton and John Podesta revealed in October 2016 that Clinton knew about Saudi and Qatari funding for Islamic State, (IS) 'by August 2014.' 

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he does not expect the breaking of diplomatic ties between Gulf states and Qatar to have 'any significant impact' on the fight against terrorism across the globe. 'I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of some irritants in the region that have been there for some time,' said Tillerson. 'And obviously, they have now bubbled up..."

A fine mess! LOL 

The GCC States Led By Saudi Arabia Will Collapse Into Oblivion

https://t.co/6eB7ZtYOqO

"Emboldened by US backing, Saudi Arabia launched a campaign to finally subjugate Qatar into client-state status. The plan has now reached a high point. The reasons for the spat are manifold. It has very little to do with Iran..."

What a bunch of bullshit.  There's no bigger sponsor of terrorism than the Saudis.  This all about Qatar's funding is Al Jezeera.  I doubt Trump is even aware that the U.S. has a military base in Qatar.

This little contretemps with Qatar has exposed the utter incompetence of the Trump administration (if that had so far escaped your attention).

Every different administration spokesperson has a different story, Trump is tweeting out absolutely daft statements, and now the administration is blaming the Russians.

This is a circus!!!

And all this is on top of the unbelievable hypocrisy of Saudi Arabia pointing the finger at others for their support of terrorism. They are now, and always have been, the main conduit for US military hardware headed for their proxy army of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and a dozen others.

Meanwhile, Tweeter Trump seems to have no idea what's going on. Qatar is the largest supporter of USA military in the middle east, including that huge airforce base wth 10,000 USA troops. It is pretty much certain that no other country in the middle east would host that military contingent. Definitely not Saudi Arabia. They've already had their fingers  burned by too close contact with the US military.

So if Qatar shuts down the air force base, where is the USA going to launch from? They don't appear to know themselves. So what in the f**k are they doing? I honestly think they don't know.

Just to be clear, I don't think they should be there at all, but one usually tries to interpret policies through the desires of those who form the policies. What's going on in Qatar doesn't seem to satisfy anything.

The USA government is in a state of collapse. Every man for himself, and devil take the hindmost!

And, not conincidently:

Isis has claimed responsibility for twin attacks at the Iranian parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, in what would be the first time it has carried out a major terror operation on Iranian soil.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tehran-attacks-isis-suicide-bomb-iran-first-ever-terrorism-claim-responsibility-parliament-shrine-a7776631.html

And the UAE steps in to demonstrate their democratic position:

UAE lends a hand

The UAE foreign minister, Anwar Gargash, threatened more curbs if necessary and said Qatar needed to make “iron-clad” commitments to change policies on funding militants. The country also threatened anyone publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar with up to 15 years in prison…

…“Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media or any type of written, visual or verbal form,” Gulf News quoted the UAE attorney general, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, as saying.

…The final straw appears to have been reports in the Qatari media last month that its ruler had made a speech that appeared friendly to Iran. The Qataris deny the emir made the remarks and blamed hackers.

CNN on Tuesday reported that US intelligence officials believe Russian hackers planted the false news story. FBI experts visited Qatar in May to analyse an alleged cyberbreach, the US broadcaster said.

…The Qatari foreign minister said the FBI had confirmed the hack and the planting of fake news…

…Moscow on Wednesday denied the allegations. “We’re getting tired of reacting to unsubstantiated banalities,” Anderi Krutskikh, a Kremlin adviser on cybersecurity, told the Interfax news agency…

​Nobody knows what's going on, least of all the USA president. As VOTD quoted above, the president is not a rational actor. This particular episode reinforces the impression Trump has slipped off the deep end.

Hacked Emails Show Top UAE Diplomat Coordinating With Pro-Israel Think Tank Against Iran

quote:

Israel and the Gulf monarchies have grown closer in recent years, as both sides fear that Iran is moving closer to normalization with the West and will therefore increase its own influence and power in the region. But admissions of the alliance between the two are still rare in public. One high-level Israeli official, discussing the relationship on background for a previous HuffPost profile of Otaiba, laid out the politics of it. “Israel and the Arabs standing together is the ultimate ace in the hole. Because it takes it out of the politics and the ideology. When Israel and the Arab states are standing together, it’s powerful,” he said.

The hacked emails demonstrate a remarkable level of backchannel cooperation between a leading neoconservative think tank — FDD is funded by pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Adelson, an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is one of the largest political donors in the United States  — and a Gulf monarchy. (An FDD spokesperson says that Adelson has not given to FDD since 2013.)

Russia's Food Shipments To Qatar Are A Soft-Power Masterstroke

http://theduran.com/russias-food-shipments-to-qatar-are-a-soft-power-mas...

"...Russia is brilliantly branding itself as a Muslim-friendly country by sending food relief to Qatar during Ramadan, and it's also setting the stage for Al Jazeera to become more neutral in its coverage of Moscow's Mideast policies too. Russia's grand strategy is to become the Eurasian Balancer, and it can only do this by peacefully managing the intra-Islamic relations between the Sunni and Shiite communities..."

Donald Trump Sells Qatar $12 bn of Weapons Days After Accusing It of Funding Terrorism

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-qatar-weap...

"The US has sold Qatar $12 bn-worth of fighter jets just days after President Donald Trump accused the country of being a 'high-level' sponsor of terrorism."

Terrorism is one thing, but business is business...

In a bid completely to return the Middle East to the old system of strict government media censorship, four countries have demanded that Qatar close down the Aljazeera television channel.

Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made the demands formally via Kuwait, which is attempting to mediate the dispute between the four countries and Qatar. The list also included a demand that Qatar close its diplomatic mission in Iran and largely cut that country off, as well as a demand that it cut off the Muslim Brotherhood.

https://www.juancole.com/2017/06/nations-qatars-aljazeera.html

The Saudi-Qatar Spat

https://t.co/p1LQZF7SA5

"An offer to be refused..."

House of Saudi Cards: The Inside Story  -  by Pepe Escobar

https://sptnkne.ws/eHNM

"Just when geopolitical practitioners were betting on regime change in Qatar - orchestrated by a desperate House of Saud - regime change ended up happening in Riyadh, orchestrated by Warrior Prince, Destroyer of Yemen and Blockader of Qatar, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS)."

The Qatar crisis is ripping Washington apart...

https://t.co/kuSqDnErzP

"Tillerson was not only 'blindsided by the Trump statement,' but 'absolutely enraged that the White House and State Department weren't on the same page."