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

[Ed Anger]

Trump May Not Have Known US Has 11,000 Troops in Qatar When He Bashed The Country

He's a big picture guy.

It wouldn't be so bad if it was even just a paint by numbers one.

The aid forgot to put the little plastic army man on the map.

I'd love to see the two maps Mrs Merkel drew for him.

"Greater Germany" and the General Government.

[Maximus]

Just sayin'
/img/

I really don't see why people are so concerned about TEC-40054. The ships can just move over to the brown side of the strait.

[mongers]

Turkey ready to threaten to deploy troops to Qatar, their parliament rushed through the necessary legislation.

[Valmy]

So anybody know what the US position on this crisis is? The US Senate would like to know and so do I.

[mongers]

So anybody know what the US position on this crisis is? The US Senate would like to know and so do I.

Continue to stir the pot and then negotiate a really awesome deal with those who emerge from the ashes.

[Tamas]

So anybody know what the US position on this crisis is? The US Senate would like to know and so do I.

You, and the US Senate, should open a Twitter account and keep an eye on it. Seriously, put some effort into it.

[Razgovory]

I suppose on the plus side, this will be a short war since the US already effectively occupies Qatar.

[CountDeMoney]

I suppose on the plus side, this will be a short war since the US already effectively occupies Qatar.

However, the Saudis occupy Trump International Hotel. #CHECKMATE

[mongers]

Anyone catch the Tillerson statement a few hours ago, from the few moments I caught, couldn't tell if he was making his plea to the Gulf potentates or if it included the White House as well.

[garbon]

Why are Republicans still supporting him?

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/337162-trump-blasts-qatar-for-funding-terrorism

Trump blasts Qatar hours after Tillerson urges end to blockade

President Trump on Friday chided Qatar for funding terrorism, remarks that could complicate U.S. efforts to ease the diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf.

"The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level," Trump said during a press conference at the White House.

Trump's comments came just hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for all sides to de-escalate the conflict, and for other Arab nations to end a blockade against Qatar. Tillerson was in the White House rose garden during the remarks.

A senior administration official told reporters later Friday that Trump and Tillerson are "on the same page" when it comes to Qatar. Regarding the blockade, the official said Trump relayed his position privately to Gulf state leaders this week.

"What he said was consistent with what the secretary of State said," the official told reporters aboard Air Force One.

"He mentioned that he was concerned with the food issue, the family separation issue. But he's also very concerned about Qatar support for terrorist finance and for supporting extremist ideology and other things, and he wants to see that addressed, too."

On Monday Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and closed all land, sea and air borders. The countries accused its government of supporting extremist groups such as Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, and for its relations with Iran.

Qatar has so far denied the allegations.

"I've decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our great generals, and military people, the time has come to call on Qatar to end its funding," Trump said Friday.

"They have to end that funding and its extremist ideology in terms of funding. I want all of the nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism. Stop teaching people to kill other people and filling their minds with hate and intolerance."

Trump — who traveled to Saudi Arabia last month and met with numerous Gulf leaders at a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council nations — said several nations "came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behavior," following the conference.

Tillerson took a more diplomatic approach with the regional dispute earlier on Friday. In a four-minute speech at the State Department, he said Qatar needed to address its neighbors' concerns about terrorist financing, but asked Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade.

The United States relies closely on nearly all Gulf countries involved in the dispute for military operations in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar both have funded rebels fighting in the Syrian civil war, and about 8,000 to 10,000 U.S. troops are at Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar's capital. Udeid Air Base is the largest U.S. base in the Middle East, the forward headquarters of Central Command and the staging area for much of the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Bahrain, meanwhile, hosts the U.S. Navy.

U.S. officials have sought to avoid taking sides in the dispute, but Trump earlier this week muddled the administration's message when he took credit for the decision to cut ties with Qatar, saying his speech in Saudi Arabia calling on Muslim countries to unite against terrorism and Iran was the reason.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted Tuesday.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding .... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" he continued later.

The tweets blindsided top U.S. officials who had tried to downplay the issue.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Tillerson on Monday told reporters it was up to the countries involved to work it out among themselves.

A Pentagon spokesman also on Monday said the United States was "grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support of our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security."

[CountDeMoney]

Why are Republicans still supporting him?

1) Because he's the one holding the pen that signs bills into law,
2) offers the promise of getting their pipe dreams accomplished with little fuss, and
3) is not Hillary.

[garbon]

All those things are possible still while tearing him down

[AnchorClanker]

So anybody know what the US position on this crisis is? The US Senate would like to know and so do I.

Re-phrase the question.

Does the National Security Team have a position?  Yes.
Does the State Department have a position?  Yes.
Does POTUS have a position?  He did, and then he found out we have a major air base there, and now I am not sure of his position.

My point being, we are far from having a unified 'voice' on this, and on many other matters.

[AnchorClanker]

Turkey ready to threaten to deploy troops to Qatar, their parliament rushed through the necessary legislation.

No surprise there - Turkey and Qatar have been bankrolling the SAME assholes for quite some time.  Erdogan has effectively dismantled the Kemalist secular state.

[jimmy olsen]

Lol, Trump

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/20/us-saudi-arabia-qatar-embargo-trump?CMP=twt_gu

US rebukes Saudi Arabia over Qatar embargo in reversal after Trump comments

State department says it is 'mystified' by lack of clarity from Gulf states in latest sign of gap between Trump's comments and foreign policy

The US state department has issued a stinging rebuke to Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies saying they had failed to come up with a justification for the embargo they imposed on Qatar earlier this month.

The public and blunt criticism of Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates marked a sharp about-turn from Donald Trump's wholehearted backing for the embargo, and his accusations of terrorist funding against Qatar. It follows a increasing pattern in which the state and defence departments have pursued policies abroad that are far removed from Trump's rhetoric.

"Now that it has been more than two weeks since the embargo started, we are mystified that the Gulf states have not released to the Qataris, nor to the public, the details about the claims they are making toward Qatar," Heather Nauert, the state department spokeswoman said.

"The more that time goes by, the more doubt is raised about the actions taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE," she added.

"At this point, we are left with one simple question: were the actions really about their concerns regarding Qatar's alleged support for terrorism? Or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries?"

Trump was feted by Saudi Arabia when he made Riyadh the destination of his first trip abroad as president, on 20 May. Riyadh declared its embargo on Qatar just over two weeks later and Trump made repeated statements in support of the move, appearing to take at face value Riyadh's justification that it was to punish Doha for its backing of terrorist groups.

In a tweet on June 6, Trump even appeared to claim credit for the blockade, suggesting it showed that his trip to Riyadh was "paying off"

"The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump said in the Rose Garden three days later. "We have to stop the funding of terrorism."

But last week, the defence secretary, James Mattis, signed an arms deal in which the US sold Qatar 36 F-15 fighter planes, worth $12bn.

In her remarks on Tuesday, Nauert denied that the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, was taking a position that entirely contradicted the initial stance adopted by Trump.

"I don't think so at all. I think the president and the secretary both want to see this resolved. They want results, and let's see this resolved quickly," Nauert said. She added that Tillerson no longer saw any need to act as a mediator in the Qatar dispute.

Nauert said Tillerson had spent the two weeks since the embargo talking to the protagonists and regional leaders in person and on the phone, but no longer saw any point in continuing mediation.

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"The president had offered secretary Tillerson weeks ago to do that. At this point, we don't think that is necessary. We believe through the secretary's talks, through talking with those nations and hearing what they have to say, that they'll be able to work this out on their own," Nauert said.

She added: "There comes a certain point where you say, folks, let's get this done, let's get moving along. The secretary likes results."

Days before the embargo was declared, the Qatari state news agency was hacked and a report planted that quoted the emir as casting doubt on how long Trump would last in office, advocating closer ties with Iran and supporting Hamas. The report on 23 May was one of the pretexts for the punitive measures imposed on Qatar. Egypt and Bahrain also cut ties with Gulf nation.

On Tuesday, Qatar's attorney general claimed that the hack had come from the countries imposing the embargo.

"Qatar has evidence that certain iPhones originating from countries laying siege to Qatar were used in the hack," Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri told reporters in Doha.

He did not name the countries, but an FBI investigation is reported to have pointed towards Russian hackers hired by Gulf clients.

The Gulf dispute is just one of several issues on which the state and defence departments appear to follow a different tack from the president. The divergence is particularly evident in matters connected to Russia. Tillerson and Mattis, supported by most congressional Republicans, have insisted sanctions on Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, remain in place until the Kremlin withdraws its forces. Trump has quietly sought to have the sanctions lifted.