Admiral Woofington
Member
if shit falls through with the US, hopefully all of the university students studying down there for a few semesters are able to leave without issues.
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Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and others cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar
- Thread starter Blablurn
- Start date
Maintenance
Member
Oh boy. Good thing he has no business tie to muddy his decision as POTUS thanks to long standing stance on emoluments clause as well
Here is an older article with a bit of background: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/01/whats-going-on-with-qatar/
Seems like Saudi Arabia and/or UAE is trying to assert dominance in the region and take a harder line on Iran than before. Qatar's leader may have recently said some inflammatory remarks or a state run news website was hacked and he never said those things at all. Also Obama's nuanced diplomacy in the region has been replaced by Trump's support for Saudi Arabia and anti-Iran stance has probably emboldened Saudi Arabia to make this move
Seems like Saudi Arabia and/or UAE is trying to assert dominance in the region and take a harder line on Iran than before. Qatar's leader may have recently said some inflammatory remarks or a state run news website was hacked and he never said those things at all. Also Obama's nuanced diplomacy in the region has been replaced by Trump's support for Saudi Arabia and anti-Iran stance has probably emboldened Saudi Arabia to make this move
Dubbedinenglish
Banned
That is generally a very bad sign. Hopefully diplomacy can prevail here.
Woah I didn't even think about this. That has to be a scary situation.
I studied in the Philippines for a semester before things started going crazy. I don't even know what I would have done if I was there when the death squad drug war stuff started. Like would we even get to leave easily?
See, this is what Trump meant when he told Saudi Arabia to covfefe
No, it is because Qatar is very close to Iran. Saudi Arabia considers itself the Arab and Muslim leader in the region. They also hate the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen. They don't like Iran having so much influence. Qatar also would rather move away from SA. So Qatar is helping Iran challenge Saudi leadership in a lot of countries.
This has nothing to do with the slavery allegations since Saudi Arabia uses the same type of labor, but even employs it for maids, drivers and servants.
But they cannot stop Doha aka Qatar. They realize the oil is running out which is why they are spending billions on the world cup. This is what a ramp up to eventual conflict looks like. Egypt has also cut ties. Just one more rung on the ladder of conflict in the middle east it feels like. The scary part for Qatar is that Saudi Arabia has bootlicker Trump in office. They showered Trump with praise and so he'll greenlight anything the Sauds want.
GoldenEye 007
Member
Sounds ominous. But I guess it remains to be seen how serious this actually becomes.
And on the surface, you have SA and a few others on one side. A SA we just signed a massive arms deal with. And you have Qatar, home to a massive US military base? It... just doesn't seem like something the US has the capability of effectively handling. I guess it's not like the US has ever handled middle east situations well. But with Trump in office, I have a feeling whatever the outcome, it'll be worse than usual.
And on the surface, you have SA and a few others on one side. A SA we just signed a massive arms deal with. And you have Qatar, home to a massive US military base? It... just doesn't seem like something the US has the capability of effectively handling. I guess it's not like the US has ever handled middle east situations well. But with Trump in office, I have a feeling whatever the outcome, it'll be worse than usual.
BreezyLimbo
Banned
So who are the 'good' guys here, generally speaking?
Qatar? Saudi Arabia? Bahrain?
Like..if we had to root for one who was morally good, who would it be?
Or is it just a muddy grey over there and they're all more or less equally complicit in morale wrong doings?
Qatar? Saudi Arabia? Bahrain?
Like..if we had to root for one who was morally good, who would it be?
Or is it just a muddy grey over there and they're all more or less equally complicit in morale wrong doings?
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
And I'm heading to Bahrain later this year...
Spoiled Milk
Banned
There are no good guys in all of human history except, possibly, WWII and the American Civil War.
And the Falklands War.
The British are the good guys in that one.
Omega Kirby
Member
Definetely not Qatar
Buba Big Guns
Banned
None are good...but I think it's clear who the worst one is. Saudi's use their power and wealth to export one of the most abhorrent ideologies currently practiced. Rich coming from them accusing others of supporting extremists.
Frozenprince
Banned
None of them, you hope the war begins the destruction of all three regimes and that the proxy conflict between the Shia and Sunni nations ends.
A conventional "victory" would mean little. Just replacing one set of princes for another.
How About No
Member
You know, maybe this whole "peace in the Middle East" thing is a lot easier than everyone's thinking
Trump during negotiations:
In this situation everyone sucks but I feel like SA edges it out to be just a bit worse.
Frozenprince
Banned
Best case.
Mattis handles everything.
Mattis handles everything.
SolarPowered
Member
You mean Jared, right?
Dubbedinenglish
Banned
Next watch what Saudi warships do. Wouldn't be surprised if they put up a blockade.
Roland_Gunner
Member
Reading about this and the first thing thats going to be a problem is that Qatar imports almost all of its food from Saudi Arabia. Finding replacements this quickly is going to be a real problem.
polyh3dron
Banned
Looks like it.
Frozenprince
Banned
This is going to require much nuance and balancing to figure out how to manage the crisis without open war.
So, there's gonna be war.
So, there's gonna be war.
victreeb3l
Member
War is the last thing that region needs. Hope diplomacy prevails.
Electric Eye
Banned
Also they'll tell him they are funding Iran and hezbollah and that will enough for the moron to go along or just not care whatever the case the US is not anytype of mediating party anymore.
So, war with Iran?
CrazyHorse
Junior Member
Funnily enough Iran and Qatar are not allies. Saudis are using Iran as an excuse. The Saudis dislike Qatar because of Hamas, Morsi etc. Iran is just bait to get Trump involved.
Dubbedinenglish
Banned
Yeah, you don't take these kind of measures to have a diplomatic riff.
DXB-KNIGHT
Member
Qatar is a Sunni country
DiscoJer
Member
But Qatar does the same thing with the Muslim Brotherhood and to an extent, its state funded media.
It's like back in Europe when there were 3 different popes at the same time. You have all these governments using religion as part of their political portfolio, just like at one time, there was a pop in Italy and a pope in France (and one more also in Italy)
demosthenes
Member
Jeez.
Cutting Qatar off from food would be a crime against humanity and legal casus belli (for Qatar to attack, whatever its worth to them), no?
Buba Big Guns
Banned
Qatar's reach is very minimal though, not close to the scale of the Sauds. Saudi has had a hand in ruining multiple countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan etc.)
Yoda
Member
Qatar can't really defend itself. A war would, in reality, be a slaughter (of Qatar).
qatar military is tiny.
I'm real reluctant to agree but...yeah that's pretty much the way these guys seem to want this to go.
DXB-KNIGHT
Member
Qatar failed to comply with this basically.
US, Gulf countries form new group to stem flow of terror financing
US, Gulf countries form new group to stem flow of terror financing
You Are Viewtiful
Member
Didn't this happen a few years back? I remember Kuwait having to mediate.
Maybe that is because the Kingdom of Saud knew what thwy planned to do. Which is why they also bought a warship. At the end of the day they know the Trump administration doesn't care about Qatar or middle eastern suffering but would like the nation that just bought $110 bllion in US weaponry to win.
Your instincts are sound.
Yeah I can't wait for 3 more Syrias either.