An aerial view of high-rise buildings emerging through fog covering the skyline of Doha in Qatar. According to media reports, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar. (Yoan Valat/EPA/Newscom)
Mideast: To many in the diplomatic world, the sudden decision by five countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut diplomatic and commercial ties with small, wealthy and energy-rich Qatar was as stunning as it was perplexing. Maybe it shouldn't be.
Coming on the heels of President Trump's visit to the Mideast, the move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen to isolate Qatar makes at least some sense. During his trip, Trump made clear that he wanted to forge an alliance of the willing in the region to counter Iran's growing influence and nuclear threat. He got his wish.
The Saudis, who are especially vulnerable to Iran's threat, eagerly led the Sunni group of nations that had coalesced to meet Shiite Iran's challenge. And it seemed as if Qatar, which is itself Sunni, was part of the group.
That is, until last week, when Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani angered the Saudis by congratulating Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for being re-elected. That was bad enough; but, as the Financial Times reported, Qatar had also paid an al-Qaida group and Iran upward of $1 billion in a hostage deal to achieve the release of 26 Qatari royal family members who had been captured during a hunting trip in southern Iraq.
As part of the deal, dozens of militants captured by jihadis in Syria were also let go.
Quoting both leaders of militant groups and government officials in the region, the Financial Times wrote: "By their telling, Qatar paid off two of the most frequently blacklisted forces of the Middle East in one fell swoop: an al-Qaida affiliate fighting in Syria and Iranian security officials."
That was too much for the Saudis and the others. They gave Qataris in their countries two weeks to leave, canceled flights between their countries and announced that they would close the border with Qatar a potentially devastating blow, given that Qatar's only land border is with the Saudis.
The power-play against Qatar one of the world's largest natural gas producers was clearly directed at Iran. The Sunni Arab countries that make up most of the Middle East fear Iran fomenting even more trouble and terrorism in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, eastern Saudi Arabia and on the West Bank and in Gaza. And now, they're convinced they have an American president who will back them.
Trump has shown himself to be a foe of Iran, and with good reason.
The Obama administration's eight years of coddling brought only more meddling by Tehran's mullahs in the Mideast, more support of terrorism, and an expanding nuclear program that many defense experts believe is on the verge of a usable nuclear weapon. With its increasingly capable missile systems, Iran will soon be able to terrorize the entire Mideast, and even potentially launch nuclear attacks against the heart of Europe.
As such, isolating Iran, which is what the move against Qatar is meant to do, is a good idea. We wanted a coalition of the willing to battle Iran's radical, West-hating regime, and we've got one. But now it seems to be breaking apart.
Picking sides is always tricky in the Mideast, where the complex web of religions, tribal allegiances, national interests and ethnic identities make most alliances at best temporary, and at worst delusional.The Saudi-led move to force Qatar back into the anti-Iran fold could be a problem for the U.S.
Sure, the Saudis are buying $300 billion in defense goods from the U.S. following Trump's visit, and have often been allies in the fractious Mideast. But the Saudis also have encouraged and financed extremism in Europe, the Mideast and the U.S. And it has provided money to the radical and dangerous Islamic State, along with other jihadist and terrorist groups in the region.
Likewise, Qatar's sprawling al-Udeid military facility, where 11,000 American military personnel are stationed, is the largest U.S. airbase in the Mideast and provides a major strategic foothold for the U.S. in the region. But, like the Saudis, Qatar has aided and financially supported the Muslim brotherhood, Hamas and al-Qaida, even letting some al-Qaida financiers live openly in the emirate, according to 2014 testimony by U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has suggested that he'll let the Sunni members of the anti-Iran coalition solve their disputes themselves. He's right to do so. The U.S. should avoid playing puppetmaster. And lest we forget, remember our own President Obama paid $1.7 billion in ransom money to the terrorist Iran regime, so it's tough to criticize Qatar.
Rather than mediating regional disputes, we should focus on the growing threat of terrorism around the world.As the attacks on Manchester and London show, radical Islam is a real and growing threat to our way of life. And unfortunately, not just Iran, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been implicated in that.
So while we play the great Mideast chess game, the U.S. should not forget its duty to battle radical Islam everywhere it appears. That means while we must forcefully confront No. 1 terrorist threat Iran, we will some day also have to confront our "friends" the Saudis and Qataris.
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Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia And Trump Play The Mideast's 3D Chess Game - Investor's Business Daily