Saudi Arabia,UAE,Egypt,Bahrain break diplomatic ties with Qatar over 'terrorism'

[mongers]

This sounds a lot like Network Rail's excuse for delays, different type of leaves on the lines, this case it's the wrong sort of terrorist.

[DGuller]

You remember how you read about bad emperors and kings messing up their empire for decades if not downright collapsing them? This is how the modern version of this looks like, folks.

Thinking of it as a one man problem vastly underestimates it.  I think a more apt example is of formerly progressive empires being undone into irrelevance by the reactionary elements.  We've got at least 30%+ of electorate that very consistently thinks that what is unarguably bad is really awesome.

[Tamas]

You remember how you read about bad emperors and kings messing up their empire for decades if not downright collapsing them? This is how the modern version of this looks like, folks.

Thinking of it as a one man problem vastly underestimates it.  I think a more apt example is of formerly progressive empires being undone into irrelevance by the reactionary elements.  We've got at least 30%+ of electorate that very consistently thinks that what is unarguably bad is really awesome.

Good point

[FunkMonk]

Wait so Turkey is protecting Qatar?

I guess right now I just need to wait to hear what the US military is going to do since our clown President will just tweet whatever he thinks makes him look good.

Saudis are playing this brilliantly.

1)Blockade Qatar

2)Drive Turkey and Iran together to protect Qatar and counter KSA

3)???

4)Profit!

[Zanza]

But I am sure they can rely on their steadfast ally The Donald, right? His promises must be worth something.

[Jacob]

ISIS carries out attack in Iran, killing 12 and wounding 42: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/world/middleeast/iran-parliament-attack-khomeini-mausoleum.html

Looks like the ME is getting more exciting again. Makes sense, given the US is no longer providing anything resembling a steady hand on the rudder.

[Valmy]

Yeah we have another thread about it. I use poor grammar.

[Admiral Yi]

ISIS carries out attack in Iran, killing 12 and wounding 42: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/world/middleeast/iran-parliament-attack-khomeini-mausoleum.html

Looks like the ME is getting more exciting again. Makes sense, given the US is no longer providing anything resembling a steady hand on the rudder.

When was the last time the ME was dull? And when was the last time a steady US hand contributed to that dullness? 

[Jacob]

When was the last time the ME was dull? And when was the last time a steady US hand contributed to that dullness? 

It was pretty dull these last few years under Obama, I think.

I'm more referring to the US' clients and allies getting into a tiff amongst themselves - Qatar with the US base, supported by Turkey vs Saudi Arabia is only going to cause trouble for the US. Steady leadership could have - as I believe it has in the past - kept that conflict under wraps but now it seems to be bubbling up.

Seems to me the Saudi are trying to swing the US at their various enemies - including Iran - more aggressively. This seems more exciting than the dullness promised by easing of tensions between the US and Iran under Obama.

[Admiral Yi]

It was pretty dull these last few years under Obama, I think.

I'm more referring to the US' clients and allies getting into a tiff amongst themselves - Qatar with the US base, supported by Turkey vs Saudi Arabia is only going to cause trouble for the US. Steady leadership could have - as I believe it has in the past - kept that conflict under wraps but now it seems to be bubbling up.

Seems to me the Saudi are trying to swing the US at their various enemies - including Iran - more aggressively. This seems more exciting than the dullness promised by easing of tensions between the US and Iran under Obama.

You mean civil war in Yemen, anarchy in Libya, a billion refugees paddling to Europe, that kind of dullness?

[The Minsky Moment]

Wait so Turkey is protecting Qatar?

Erdogan is pro-Brotherhood.

[Jacob]

You mean civil war in Yemen, anarchy in Libya, a billion refugees paddling to Europe, that kind of dullness?

Point taken.

Still hostilities between US allies seems to add a new dimension to the excitement and indicate that the US is doing a poor job managing its interests.

[Malthus]

The problem for the US in this area is various players in the ME not trusting the US to behave in a consistent manner or to do what it says it will do (on top of distrusting its motives to begin with).

This has been a problem for decades: think of Ronnie Reagan marching the marines into Lebanon, then marching them out again after the Beirut Barracks Bombing; various flip-flops over Saddam and Iraq; Obama's "red line" in Syria (that wasn't).

So this is nothing new.

The difference is that Trump, like Spinal Tap, turns the dial up to 11. No one can trust him to know what the hell his own government is doing, to understand basic facts, or to say the same thing from one tweet to the next: or that anything he says or posts has even an accidental relationship with the truth.

[Tamas]

I wonder if the 100 mil to Ivanka's bank account was buy a free hand for the house of Saud to sort out the Middle East as they see fit, while they can still do?

[Jacob]

I wonder if the 100 mil to Ivanka's bank account was buy a free hand for the house of Saud to sort out the Middle East as they see fit, while they can still do?

What's the $100M to Ivanka story?