Arab States Cut Diplomatic Ties with Qatar

[ORAC]

Significance?????

‘Terrorism, meddling in affairs’: Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar (https://www.rt.com/news/390863-bahrain-cuts-diplomatic-relations-qatar/)

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the country of backing terrorist groups. Qatar has called the move a "campaign of incitement" which is "based on lies."

Bahrain announced early Monday that it is severing diplomatic relations with neighboring Qatar and cutting air and sea connections with Doha, accusing it of meddling in its internal affairs. Bahrain’s state news agency said in a brief statement that Qatari citizens have 14 days to leave the country. It accused Doha of supporting terrorism and meddling in Manama’s internal affairs.

Citing “protection of national security,” Riyadh then announced it was also severing ties with Doha and closing off all land, sea and air contacts, the Saudi state agency said in a statement, cited by Reuters. The Saudi state news agency SPA alleged that Qatar “embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly.”

The Saudi-led coalition has announced that Qatar’s participation in its joint military operation in Yemen has been canceled. The coalition’s statement accused Doha of supporting the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorist groups.

Egypt was next to join the diplomatic war, with Cairo announcing it is cutting relations with Doha, according to Sputnik news agency. Egypt has closed all its seaports and airspace to Qatari vessels and planes, the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar because of the continued hostility of the Qatari authorities towards Egypt,” the Cairo statement read, also accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has followed suit, citing “support, funding and embrace of terrorist, extremist and sectarian organizations” as the reason for cutting ties with Qatar. The UAE’s state news agency said in a statement that Qatar is “undermining regional stability,” Reuters reports. The Emirates has similarly given Qatar’s diplomats just 48 hours to leave its territory.

Yemen also followed suit, accusing Qatar of working alongside its enemies in the country's ongoing civil war, Al Arabiya and Reuters reported, citing state news agency Saba. The government said it cut ties with Qatar partly over its support of extremist groups in the war-torn country, which were “in contradiction with the goals announced by the countries supporting the legitimate government,” AP reports. “Qatar’s practices of dealing with the (Houthi) coup militias and supporting extremist groups became clear,” the government said in a statement cited by Reuters. It added that it supports the decision by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen to remove Qatar from its ranks.

Alarmed viewers of the Qatari TV network Al Jazeera wondered why it was not covering the diplomatic crisis, instead tweeting pieces such as a video about hijab cosplay in Malaysia. Al Jazeera finally broke the news at around 03:35 GMT, citing a “dispute over a Qatar news agency hack” as grounds for the crisis. There was no immediate response to the accusations available from Doha, Al Jazeera said.

The hacking and “fake news” scandal broke out on May 23, when Qatar News Agency’s website and social media accounts were apparently hacked, spreading what Doha calls false statements citing Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Those included him allegedly slamming the recent tensions with Iran, calling Hamas and Hezbollah “resistance movements,” as well as doubting whether US President Donald Trump will stay in power for long. The agency’s compromised Twitter account also cited the Qatari foreign minister as saying the kingdom was severing relations with some of its neighbors.

While Doha vehemently denied the validity of those claims, UAE-based broadcasters Al Arabiya and Sky News Arabia picked up the stories, giving them extensive coverage and infuriating Qatari officials. But the hacking scandal rapidly escalated, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain banning all Qatari-funded news agencies, including Al Jazeera, for what MENA agency called “having content that supports terrorism and extremism, as well [as] publishing lies.”

In the latest cyberwar development before the all-out diplomatic crisis, the Bahraini foreign minister’s Twitter account was allegedly seized on Saturday by hackers, who tweeting hostile and insulting clips about Iran. It took more than six hours for Bahrain to regain control of the account, judging by the reports on the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter page........

Qatar also hosts the US military’s Central Command and some 10,000 US troops, with American forces using its Al-Udeid airbase. AP said there was no immediate response from the Pentagon on the situation. US President Donald Trump met with the Qatari emir during his recent visit to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, describing the royal delegation as “friends” and marking that “our relationship is extremely good.”

[Lonewolf_50]

I wonder: what happens to Al Udeid Air Base (joint use, and lots of money poured into it for about a decade) if this estrangement continues?

The US left PSAB in the early 00's. Has the time of usefulness of Al Udeid ended such that other political concerns in the region overshadow its geographical benefit?

I imagine quite a few people who post here have been through that base at least once.

[Saintsman]

Being as the Qataris own a sizeable chunk of London, I imagine the the UK's response will be quite diplomatic...

Airspace use is going to be quite interesting though, with Bahrain controlling a sizeable chunk of it around Qatar. Any restrictions will undoubtedly cause things to escalate.

[MPN11]

I wouldn't trust any of that lot anyway. A part of the world I have zero desire to visit.

Is there a Qatari football stadium in UK?

[Alber Ratman]

Lots of "Pots" calling the "Kettle" Black IMHO.

[racedo]

Lots of "Pots" calling the "Kettle" Black IMHO.

One bunch of their terrorists is been beaten by another bunch of someone elses terrorists..................

Pull up the chair, get a beer and popcorn and sit back. :E

[MPN11]

Having looked at Al Udeid Air Base on Google Earth ... WOW, that's some installation!

[Arclite01]

Like a kids train set on Google earth.................

Arc

[AnglianAV8R]

Saudi Arabia massing on the borders of Qatar .....
Gulf expert expects full-scale invasion

?????? ???? - ???????? ???? ??? ???? ???.. ????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? (http://alforatnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=144069)

From article text....

He noted that the US President, Donald Trump, and his foreign minister, Rex Tillerson, would support significantly the Saudi invasion of Qatar, adding , " I think he actually told the Saudis that would have no objection. "

:eek: Deja vu, it's 1990 all over again.

[Lonewolf_50]

Saudi Arabia massing on the borders of Qatar ..... Gulf expert expects full-scale invasion ..." I think he actually told the Saudis that would have no objection. " :eek: Deja vu, it's 1990 all over again. Suggest you take that report with a grain of salt, though with the Trump view of the world, I am still not sure what he will or won't do.

In other news, a recent report indicates that a billion dollar ransom was recently paid to both Al Q and Iranian backed underground groups to get 26 Qataris back. Echoes of narco cartels kidnapping for profit in Central and South America ... (http://www.businessinsider.de/qatar-ransom-al-qaeda-iran-falconry-2017-6?r=US&IR=T)

[Jumping_Jack]

Isn't US CENTCOM forward is Qatar? How's that going to work then?

[Lonewolf_50]

@Jumping_Jack get everyone out if certain conditions are met? I am sure that Fifth Fleet will be happy to host them all for a few days in Bahrain while arranging transport back to MacDill. :ok::}
(But yeah, good point and another reality check on the "The Saudis are invading" theme).


From General Votel's Posture Statement (http://www.centcom.mil/ABOUT-US/POSTURE-STATEMENT/) (For what it's worth):
Qatar remains a highly valued partner, providing critical access and basing in support of coalition forces and operations being conducted in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the Central Region. The country hosts more than 10,000 U.S. and Coalition service members at Al-Udeid Air Base, home of USCENTCOM’s Forward Headquarters, our air component, U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), and its Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC). Qatar’s Armed Forces also continue to support external operations in Syria and Yemen. In Syria, given their relationships with a wide range of actors, including more moderate elements, the Qataris are well-positioned to play an influential role in facilitating a political resolution to the conflict

[Just This Once...]

POTUS provides his insight:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

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!

Interesting times for CENTCOM...

[A_Van]

Would be surprised if the Saudis really start a war against Qatar with serious shooting. Even if the US base could be totally (but temporaly) evacuated to remain neutral, the infrastructure could be affected and who would pay for fixing damages ? However, "invasions" could be with little shooting, it depends.


More likely it will be another "payment", now in the opposite direction and substantially higher. Driving a car back home was just listening to an expert on a radio who said that among those folks who are still living in middle ages what we call ransom and racket is nothing but "business as usual". They all are catching each other at any opportunity and then ask for money. It's not a crime for them, but bravery. Just showing that they are cool and smart guys. Saudis, in turn, sometimes pay to houthis in Yemen if/when they take somebody who is of a certain value for SA.
Maybe this time such a racket will work on a country level (Qatar will have to pay 5 or 10 Bln to settle the case), and all this is trivial raising of stakes?

[The Old Fat One]

I would agree that this is one for popcorn and an armchair, not least because I suspect there is some serious head scratching going on in the White House just now. A sort of "what just happened" moment.

Ruling elites in that part of the world know full well that they either continue to rule or end up swinging gently in the breeze.

If (and I have have no idea of the truth of it) Qatar has been seen to be destabilizing the regional status quo, they won't **** about, they'll stick the boot in as hard as they feel the need to.

I suspect Qatar is pawn anyway and what you are seeing is a message to their real bad guy Iran.

Bloody effective message isn't it just. There is no need for bombs and bullets, they can just shut the borders and let chaos and mayhem among the local population do the rest.

And the latest news indicates, that has already begun.

Now where is that popcorn?

[racedo]

I would agree that this is one for popcorn and an armchair, not least because I suspect there is some serious head scratching going on in the White House just now. A sort of "what just happened" moment.

Ruling elites in that part of the world know full well that they either continue to rule or end up swinging gently in the breeze.

If (and I have have no idea of the truth of it) Qatar has been seen to be destabilizing the regional status quo, they won't **** about, they'll stick the boot in as hard as they feel the need to.

I suspect Qatar is pawn anyway and what you are seeing is a message to their real bad guy Iran.

Bloody effective message isn't it just. There is no need for bombs and bullets, they can just shut the borders and let chaos and mayhem among the local population do the rest.

And the latest news indicates, that has already begun.

Now where is that popcorn?

Course an invite to Iranian Military for a friendship visit with 25,000 visitors should be fun tob watch.

[The Old Fat One]

Been catching up with all the latest inputs, BBC, CNN, White House site and Al Jeezra. It's quite a contrast. Very little in the West, where it is not yet the main headline news (and probably poorly understood in most press offices) as opposed to a minute-by-minute account on Al Jeezra. As is now often the case, the first major impact is on air travel, so where can you get really live updates...right here sports fans

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/595526-bahrain-egypt-uae-saudi-arabia-cut-diplomatic-ties-qatar-qatar-aircraft-ban-4.html

This one is going to be fascinating...the clear Western expectation is that someone will back down in the the name of the GCC and normal ops will resume. Two things that suggest that might be a tad optimistic (and naive):

One, it sure is escalating quickly.
Two, Arab cultures not exactly known for their willingness to compromise (loss of face, pretty big thing out there).

On the other hand, rather a lot at stake and the first signs (and you really have to look for them) that Mr T's (military) advisers are quietly and persistently telling him..."Keep yer maws awae from the **** mouse btn will ya", while they try and get a handle on the situation.

off to the cash and carry to get my popcorn in bulk

[The Old Fat One]

A little International Relations perspective. Just about every commentator, journalist, analyst, academic, whatever, who writes about any issue conducted in the international arena (which is pretty much everything) has been highlighting the re-emergence of the Nation State as the primary global actor. Or to put it in its most popular form…the [potential] role back of globalisation.

Anyone who has studied Realism (the supremacy of the Nation State in terms of power) in International Relations Theory will be aware of the snooker ball analogy. That when Nation States are predominant there is an inevitable and unavoidable chaos to International Society. Like snooker balls cannoning into each other and ricocheting off in all different directions – some expected, some unexpected.

It kinda follows logically since the world has been seemingly steering away from that chaos (“seemingly”, because we are theorising here) any return to an “Anarchical Society” (Hedley Bull, 1977) is likely to be even more chaotic than it ever was.

I would propose that this geopolitical event is a pretty damn fine fit for this chaos theory. Qatar sees itself as some sort of Middle East Switzerland. A haven for compromise, peaceful negotiation and cooperation. Unfortunately, in a region of emboldened Nation State actors, such characteristics (even if true) are irrelevant and insignificant if they clash with any particular National State’s interest.

And how did these Nation States suddenly become emboldened? With a hat tip to the International Relations theorists that will tell you Realism never went away, I’ll give you a more recent, reality-based source.

Remember this…

From this moment on, it’s going to be America First.

I bet you do.

But do you also remember he concluded that paragraph with these words...

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world – but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

[Cows getting bigger]

Indeed. Interesting this morning to see uncorroborated comment that the Russians my have had a part to play in fake news regarding Qatar's support of terrorism. Another unrelated snippet is the US Ambassador to the UN having a go at the UN Human Rights Council. In particular:

Haley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who was tapped by President Donald Trump for the cabinet-level diplomatic post, specifically called out the Council for admitting "many of the world's worst human rights offenders" as members, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia.

Hello! Didn't Trump just spread the love with the Saudis, this potentially being the catalyst for excommunication of Qatar? From Trump's Twitter account:

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!


So, on the one hand he wants to spread the fear regarding terrorism and destabilise the Middle East but in the same breath his representative is having a dig at the Main Player about human rights. The Executive arm of the USA is intentionally feeding the chaos; this isn't just Trump shooting from the hip.

Bannon will be getting increasingly moist over all of this.

[The Old Fat One]

Indeed, indeed

And talking of fake news, chaos and conflicting interests

The truth about President Trump's $110 billion Saudi arms deal - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/International/truth-president-trumps-110-billion-saudi-arms-deal/story?id=47874726)

[Davef68]

Having looked at Al Udeid Air Base on Google Earth ... WOW, that's some installation!

Is there still an RAF/ UK Mil presence there too?

[Cows getting bigger]

My logbook tells me I last flew out of OTBH on 31/08/16. At that time there was no visible UK military presence although it was ticking-over from an American perspective.

[Lonewolf_50]

Some of the underlying tension between Saudis and Qatar (FWIW, over a decade ago when I was last at Al Udeid, the Al Thani family leader (previous Emir to this one) was considered by many to be (as Arab heads of state go) fairly progressive).


(SOURCE (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/analysis-qatar-gulf-crisis-terrorists-170607062029222.html)) Qatar also gradually eclipsed Saudi Arabia as a regional leader entrusted to resolve civil disputes, frequently hosting warring factions from Afghanistan, Sudan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories for reconciliation talks.
At other times, Qatar supported the emergence of alternative centres of power around the region, launching the Al Jazeera network in 1996 with the aim of bringing to light views that had been largely suppressed by regional dictatorships, including those of the Islamist opposition.
Most of the current accusations against Qatar date back to the years leading up to and during the Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2010. Unlike its neighbours, Qatar lent its support for the removal of authoritarian regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, and generally endorsed the possibilities offered by a new era of political openness for repressed populations around the region.
That support was quite often channelled through Islamist parties poised to take power in democratic elections such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia. Even amid questions surrounding Qatar's actual motives for pursuing such a policy, or the fact that it stopped short of supporting the uprising in neighbouring Bahrain, Qatar was placed in the anti-establishment camp
Another look at this, in part


(Source is PhD candidate/political analyst at U of Maryland, College Park, which is just outside of Washington DC (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/06/siege-doha-170606170601171.html)).
While the two countries {Saudi/Qatar} were able to contain their policy differences through diplomatic means for the better part of the four decades since the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC), there have been previous precedents to the current Riyadh-Doha rift.
In 1992, for example, the two neighbours had a border skirmish. More recently, Saudi Arabia, along with United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, withdrew its ambassador from Doha back in 2014.
But it is also necessary to evaluate the US' position in the region. Qatar, after all, is the home of the largest US military base in the region. I think the Trump administration is implicitly pleased to see the Qataris sweat this crisis out. From Washington's point of view, this crisis may help Doha to fully understand the importance of the American presence, and to modify some of its regional policies that are not aligned with US interests.
In the American capital, some view Doha's support for political Islam to be at odds with its relations with the United States. Only hours after Riyadh and UAE's announcement about severing ties with Doha, US Secretary of State Tillerson stated that he "encourage[s] the parties to sit down together and address these differences … it is important that the GCC remain unified". It would be safe to say that a military activity on the Qatari-Saudi border is highly unlikely, and it would constitute a red line for the Pentagon. Also, the US government will not allow Doha to fall out of the American sphere of influence.

[racedo]

Indeed. Interesting this morning to see uncorroborated comment that the Russians my have had a part to play in fake news regarding Qatar's support of terrorism. Another unrelated snippet is the US Ambassador to the UN having a go at the UN Human Rights Council. In particular:

Hello! Didn't Trump just spread the love with the Saudis, this potentially being the catalyst for excommunication of Qatar? From Trump's Twitter account:



So, on the one hand he wants to spread the fear regarding terrorism and destabilise the Middle East but in the same breath his representative is having a dig at the Main Player about human rights. The Executive arm of the USA is intentionally feeding the chaos; this isn't just Trump shooting from the hip.

Bannon will be getting increasingly moist over all of this.

Qatar may not be the ones that should worry.......................... US dragging Saudi's into something they cannot cope with.

[Lonewolf_50]

And Saudi's leaping in with a military that is hardly who I'd want on my left or my right.

Men mean more than guns in the rating of a ship
~John Paul Jones

[Lyneham Lad]

In The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/19/turkish-troops-take-part-in-joint-military-exercises-in-qatar-blockade-saudi)
Snip - Turkish troops have arrived in Qatar to take part in joint training exercises, the Qatari defence ministry has said, as a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf enters its third week.

The first drills took place on Sunday at the Tariq bin Ziyad military base in Doha, the ministry said in a statement.

Qatar has been subject to an embargo led by Saudi Arabia since 5 June, when Riyadh and its allies including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties over accusations that Qatar supports extremism. Qatar says those allegations are an attempt to compromise the independence of its foreign policy.

Turkey, one of Qatar’s strongest allies, has offered diplomatic support and flown in fresh dairy produce to get around the blockade.

Although the military drills had been “planned for some time” according to the Qatari defence ministry, the message of cohesion is significant given the extent to which both sides have been anxious to demonstrate how they are winning international support.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been outspoken in his support for the Qatari cause, condemning the Saudi-led blockade as “almost like a death sentence” for Qatar.

[ORAC]

Turkey Deploys Artillery to Qatar (http://www.janes.com/article/72428/turkey-deploys-artillery-to-qatar)

The Qatari ministry of defence (MoD) announced on 18 July that a sixth batch of Turkish troops had arrived in the country, and released photographs of a T-155 Fırtına self-propelled howitzer being unloaded from a Qatari C-17 transport aircraft at Al-Udeid Air Base.

This is the first time Turkish artillery has been seen in Qatar, although the MoD released photographs of the first two deployments that arrived in June, showing the units with ACV-15 armoured personnel carriers.


http://www.janes.com/images/assets/428/72428/p1706841.jpg