Qatar

The news is out the Russians sent out fake news resulting in the problems that are now in the Middle East.

The results: Arab countries have cut times driving Qatar into the camp of the enemy which is the Iranians.

Trump is parroting what the Arab states have done and conveniently forgetting the USA has a large military air base in Qatar from which to fly missions against ISIS. With Qatar coming ever closer with the Iranian enemy, what does that do for the USA military presence in that country?

Trump boasts he is "an excellent tactician" and so where will this all lead you Americans?

Glowpun said:

The news is out the Russians sent out fake news resulting in the problems that are now in the Middle East.

The results: Arab countries have cut times driving Qatar into the camp of the enemy which is the Iranians.

Trump is parroting what the Arab states have done and conveniently forgetting the USA has a large military air base in Qatar from which to fly missions against ISIS. With Qatar coming ever closer with the Iranian enemy, what does that do for the USA military presence in that country?

Trump boasts he is "an excellent tactician" and so where will this all lead you Americans?

Click to expand...

What?

Glowpun said:

The news is out the Russians sent out fake news resulting in the problems that are now in the Middle East.

The results: Arab countries have cut times driving Qatar into the camp of the enemy which is the Iranians.

Trump is parroting what the Arab states have done and conveniently forgetting the USA has a large military air base in Qatar from which to fly missions against ISIS. With Qatar coming ever closer with the Iranian enemy, what does that do for the USA military presence in that country?

Trump boasts he is "an excellent tactician" and so where will this all lead you Americans?

Click to expand...

The USA pretends the USA doesn't support terrorists but al Qeda and ISIS are the same and the USA supports al Qeda. Saudi Arabia supports all the Sunni/Salafist/Wahhabi terrorists. Qatar has been supporting the same Sunni/Salafist/Wahhabe terrorists. Now everybody points the finger at the lowest common denominator named Qatar thinking their (SA USA) actions will be overlooked. Qatar does a lot of business with Iran. This forces Qatar into a closer alliance with Iran and the way things are shaping up Turkey and Russia, as well. The "excellent tactician" and bloated minister of flamboyance has bit the big one, don't ya' know? All this to try to make Americans think that the USA did not get caught with its' hand in the cookie jar in Syria by supporting terrorists. The maximum moron has been mesmerized by the ego stroking of the Saudis. Wowser! The doodoo gonna get deepl
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Glowpun said:

The news is out the Russians sent out fake news resulting in the problems that are now in the Middle East.

The results: Arab countries have cut times driving Qatar into the camp of the enemy which is the Iranians.

Trump is parroting what the Arab states have done and conveniently forgetting the USA has a large military air base in Qatar from which to fly missions against ISIS. With Qatar coming ever closer with the Iranian enemy, what does that do for the USA military presence in that country?

Trump boasts he is "an excellent tactician" and so where will this all lead you Americans?

Click to expand...

Putin wants political destabilization of the Western structure of security and trade.....

Re: Qatar
※→ Glowpun, JoG, et al,

Like most every story, there are two-sides to this political drama and the imagery that goes with it. In fact, there are some half-dozen reasons why one might characterize Russian political, economics and internal security situation as somewhat dysfunctional if it is judged on its past performance. But, as with all things, "time" is the continuous variable that offers Russia to emerge, yet once again, as relevant co-star on the world stage.

They two most common ways (but clearly not the only ways) to address the political field, economics conditions and internal security challenges are to either build yourself up, or tear your opponent down. And the strategy that uses both of these approaches, has a good start on a dynamic playbook.

joG said:

Putin wants political destabilization of the Western structure of security and trade.....

Click to expand...

(COMMENT)

Point of Interest: More that a decade ago, Dr Steven Rosefielde, PhD (Professor, University of NC - Chapel Hill and a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences) wrote a book called ⇒ Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower. It is not like middle-America did not know the Russians (instead of getting right back on the horse) boarded a train and began to build both speed and strength.
Two researchers [David Clark (Chair of the Russia Foundation) and Dr Andrew Foxall (Director of the Russia Studies Centre)] identified the six dimensions of influence the Russians now trying to use today:

• energy;
• economics;
• politics;
• diplomacy;
• military;
• and cultural.

I'm not sure whether the Russian's want to destabilize America, or just - exchange places with it, is not clear.

Most Respectfully,
R

RoccoR said:

Re: Qatar
※→ Glowpun, JoG, et al,

Like most every story, there are two-sides to this political drama and the imagery that goes with it. In fact, there are some half-dozen reasons why one might characterize Russian political, economics and internal security situation as somewhat dysfunctional if it is judged on its past performance. But, as with all things, "time" is the continuous variable that offers Russia to emerge, yet once again, as relevant co-star on the world stage.

They two most common ways (but clearly not the only ways) to address the political field, economics conditions and internal security challenges are to either build yourself up, or tear your opponent down. And the strategy that uses both of these approaches, has a good start on a dynamic playbook.


(COMMENT)

Point of Interest: More that a decade ago, Dr Steven Rosefielde, PhD (Professor, University of NC - Chapel Hill and a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences) wrote a book called ⇒ Russia in the 21st Century: The Prodigal Superpower. It is not like middle-America did not know the Russians (instead of getting right back on the horse) boarded a train and began to build both speed and strength.

The Economist --- Russia’s economic problems move from the acute to the chronic


​

Two researchers [David Clark (Chair of the Russia Foundation) and Dr Andrew Foxall (Director of the Russia Studies Centre)] identified the six dimensions of influence the Russians now trying to use today:

• energy;
• economics;
• politics;
• diplomacy;
• military;
• and cultural.

I'm not sure whether the Russian's want to destabilize America, or just - exchange places with it, is not clear.

Most Respectfully,
R

Click to expand...

From what I have read and discussions when i was in Russia, my take is that they less want to take the place of the USA knowing this is impossible in the foreseeable future, by when at least China will be by far stronger and probably a half dozen other players of similar potency will be in the game. It is more that they want a multipolar world asap. This requires reducing American power and the hitherto high legitimacy of democracy.

Qatar now claims to have traced the hacking which is the nominal cause for this blockade to Saudi and Gulf State sources and not to Russia, This coupled with the shift in the Saudi government's power structure with the naming of a new crown prince and the precipitous demotion of the security minister invites speculation that this is all a giant fiasco designed to muzzle Qatari criticism for the Yemeni war.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has been relieved of his post and replaced by Mohammed bin Salman. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has for years been the kingdom's counter-terrorism chief. Mohammed bin Nayef has been partially responsible for running Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, directing Saudi Arabia's undeclared war against Iran, bringing Egypt and Israel closer to Saudi Arabia, jointly guiding an energy policy with global implications and spearheading plans for the kingdom to build a post-oil based economic future. He is also arguably the man behind Saudi Arabia's part in the Qatari blockade. So what's going on in the Saudi Kingdom?

Cheers.
Evilroddy.

An astonishing and profoundly despotic list of demands by the Saudis, Egyptians, the UAE and Barhrain. The list demands are:

1) Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US and international sanctions will be permitted.

2) Sever all ties to “terrorist organisations” specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State group, al-Qaida, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Formally declare those entities as terrorist groups.

3) Shut down al-Jazeera and its affiliate stations.

4) Shut down news outlets that Qatar funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

5) Immediately terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside of Qatar.

6) Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the United States and other countries.

7) Hand over “terrorist figures” and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.

8) End interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries’ laws.

9) Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar’s prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.

10) Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar’s policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar.

11) Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.

12) Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014.

13) Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid.

Wow! And these despots are our allies. I think we may be on the wrong side. What possible legitimacy does such a list of demands have? The Saudis are doubling down on their anti-Iran and Yemen War policies and will allow no one and no nation/state to stand in their way. Qatar must surrender its sovereignty, its foreign policy and its free media or face unspecified threats from from the Egyptian Junta, the Saudi and Bahrain monarchies and the oligarchs of the UAE. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's fingerprints are all over this. This is shameful.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.

Glowpun said:

The news is out the Russians sent out fake news resulting in the problems that are now in the Middle East.

The results: Arab countries have cut times driving Qatar into the camp of the enemy which is the Iranians.

Trump is parroting what the Arab states have done and conveniently forgetting the USA has a large military air base in Qatar from which to fly missions against ISIS. With Qatar coming ever closer with the Iranian enemy, what does that do for the USA military presence in that country?

Trump boasts he is "an excellent tactician" and so where will this all lead you Americans?

Click to expand...

First let me say, that this is my first time on this forum and I am really excited about the conversations that I have read so far.

I think a really interest note to point out- and this may be inappropriate regarding the topic... but the contradiction of the policy and stance taken by the U.S. federal government. You have the president who is mandated with supreme power in the foreign policy arena backing the Saudi led coalition but you also have the secretary of state who as an institution has taken on a subordinate and active role in foreign policy. Tillerson has contradicted his superior by vocally supporting Qatar, the natural gas rich state.

Back to the question at hand... we can all agree that effectively this leaves the US weaker in the region and allows Iran a stronger position which has steadily been growing over the years. This is without a doubt the Saudi's attempt to retake its gulf, however trying to punish one state for "allegedly" doing what you have also "allegedly" done is a sorry call to arms, surprisingly it has not back fired on them as much as it could have. In an effort to put the gulf and peninsula back in line Saudi Arabia has opened a window of opportunity and escape for undesired guest that I believe it will not close anytime soon.

They have dropped the ball here along with the executives leaving us wildly exposed for Iran to pick away at the GCC(Gulf Cooperation Council) and her allies. However I will refrain from calling Iran the enemy for fear of feeding into the diaspora of that characterization. In conclusion this is the first phase of gradual decay among Saudi and her gulf as well as the American presence in the over region.

OP: This has virtually nothing at all to do with Russia. The Iran-Saudi cold war has been going on for long before Putin.

Abbazorkzog said:

OP: This has virtually nothing at all to do with Russia. The Iran-Saudi cold war has been going on for long before Putin.

Click to expand...

I agree. Russia if anything is nominal in this entire event. This is a repeated effort to out maneuver one another politically and pull or keep the smaller states within a realm of influence. However damaging relations with Qatar, with which we use as a base to launch attacks on to ISIS may pan out for Russia and Assad. Even if it is one base, the amount of operations flown in from there can be significant and should be considered. Another ramification from the US dropping the ball.