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Turkey to fast-track draft bill approving troop deployment in Qatar: Officials

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US and Saudi Effort to Isolate Qatar Backfires Spectacularly
June 9, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Darius Shahtahmasebi

Donald Trump’s decision to back Saudi Arabia’s attempt to isolate Qatar on the world stage is already backfiring in a number of ways.

In the first instance, it was clearly not supposed to be official U.S. policy to explicitly support Saudi Arabia against Qatar considering Qatar hosts America’s largest base in the Middle East. Qatar has also invested billions of dollars in the United States. Unsurprisingly, it has been speculated that Trump was not even aware of these major factors.
What this reveals is that the United States has, in many respects, become a client state of Saudi Arabia. If you don’t believe this statement, consider that in handling the political fallout of his much-publicized tweet — in which he appeared to take credit for the Saudi-Qatar fallout and labeled Qatar a sponsor of terrorism — Trump gave the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a phone call on Wednesday to offer “to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary.”

✔@realDonaldTrump

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!

Saudi Arabia’s response, courtesy of its foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, was to state the following:

“We have not asked for mediation, we believe this issue can be dealt with among the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

The Saudis’ refusal to accept Washington’s mediation proposal comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s ridiculous 24-hour ultimatum to Qatar. Essentially, Saudi Arabia is telling the United States (and the world) that they have the inherent right to bully a non-compliant state into submission, and that it is none of Washington’s business if it chooses to do so.

On one hand, this geopolitical rift tells us a lot about Washington’s deep and dark relationship with Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the move to isolate Qatar is also backfiring because, presumably, it was intended to send Qatar a message to cut its ties with Iran, a long-time regional adversary of Saudi Arabia. If anything, it has produced the opposite effect.

Iran immediately came to Qatar’s defense and expressed its support for the Gulf state after Saudi Arabia announced its decision to cut ties with Qatar, stating the sanctions were “an inefficient, blameworthy, rejected, and unacceptable move.

As noted by the Financial Times, Iran has also offered Qatar the use of three of its ports to import supplies, while the rest of the Gulf States have attempted to impose a blockade on Qatar’s imports. As explained by FT, only 16 percent of food supplies come into Qatar through the countries that have imposed the blockade.

“It’s replaceable and has been replaced in one day,” Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said. “They [Qataris] can survive at the same standard forever.”

The Saudis cannot push Qatar into a war against Iran anytime soon, largely because the two countries share a very lucrative natural gas field. In their hasty strategy, Saudi Arabia is only pushing Qatar closer towards the Islamic Republic.

Further, Al-Jazeera noted that Turkey’s parliament has ratified military deals allowing their troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar. It has been reported that as many as 3,000 troops may be deployed there to bolster the current number of a mere 200 Turkish troops. Ankara has had a base in Qatar since 2014, and Turkey’s parliament has decided to strengthen its presence there, as well as to sign another accord between Qatar and Turkey that focuses on military training cooperation.

Turkey, for its part, has, for quite some time, signaled its intent to increase its cooperation with Iran and Russia, particularly in Syria. In doing so, it has moved further and further away from official U.S. policy, and now, Qatar seems all but set to jump on this newly formed bandwagon. Turkey and Qatar already share a common interest in backing the Muslim Brotherhood, something the Saudis oppose.

Further, on Wednesday night, Kuwait’s Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah flew to Qatar in an effort to mediate the complicated issue.

Apparently, Trump’s recent sword dancing in Saudi Arabia and his heavily anti-Iran speech on Islam — designed to lick the boots of the Saudi overlords who have all too often guided U.S. foreign policy in the past — have given the Saudis the impression of an unlimited green light that allows them to launch a policy of their own against other key U.S. allies in the region. Remember that the last time a U.S.-allied leader thought he had been given a green light to implement a similar policy, he was set up for almost two decades of war, sanctions, and his inevitable hanging.

Anyone who believes the UAE’s ambassador to Russia’s official justification that the real reason for this denigration in relations is Qatar’s coordination with al-Qaeda in Syria probably deserves what is coming to them. Not only was al-Qaeda initially a Saudi and U.S. construct, but Saudi Arabia is also still backing al-Qaeda on multiple conflicts across the globe.

Clearly, this has nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with geopolitics.

However, the strategy may ultimately shoot the U.S. in the foot as America faces the loss of yet another vital ally in the region. It may also push Qatar closer towards America’s adversaries. While Qatar would probably like to maintain a friendly relationship with its neighbors, there is no practicable way it can concede to Saudi Arabia’s demands to cut all ties with Iran or close down its most prominent international news network — no matter how many cyber attacks are thrown Al-Jazeera’s way.

As such, Qatar just announced that it refuses to “surrender” to the Saudi-led assault on its independent decision-making and will most likely continue to bond with other adversaries.

As more of these alliances shift, the balance of the chessboard may begin to turn somewhat. This could make a global confrontation less desirable to those who previously held the balance of power as the number of adversaries slowly but surely begins to mount against the U.S. and its allies.

It’s time to face the facts. Countries cannot be bullied into submission, as Saudi Arabia has observed — and apparently ignored — after relentlessly bombing Yemen’s civilian population for over two years. Countries also can’t be realistically isolated on the world stage forever, as we saw after the apparent success of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

Surely, diplomacy is always the better option, as Saudi Arabia and its allies will continue to learn the hard way.
http://theantimedia.org/us-saudi-qatar-isolate-backfires/
 
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Russia’s food shipments to Qatar are a soft power masterstroke
ANDREW KORYBKO

The Qatari-Saudi Cold War is a geopolitical scheme cooked up by the US and the UAE, as I explained in my 21stCentury Wire article about “The Machiavellian Plot to Provoke Saudi Arabia and Qatar into a “Blood Border” War”, but it’s not exactly a surprise that it happened.

My September 2016 forward-looking analysis about “The GCC: The Tripartite’s Big Barter In The ‘Eurasian Balkans’” presciently forecast that a second round of Gulf tensions was bound to occur, and that the Great Power Tripartite of Russia, Iran, and Turkey could cooperate with Qatar in helping to break Riyadh’s stranglehold on the GCC. Moreover, my Geopolitica.Ru analysis from earlier this week about “Russia’s Energy Diplomacy In The Mideast: Boom Or Bust?” accurately predicted that Russia will play a role in mediating tensions between the two feuding GCC countries, which has now officially come to pass with the Qatari Foreign Minister’s visit to Moscow this weekend.

There are concrete geostrategic reasons why Russia is making itself available to Qatar as a mediator, and these mostly have to do with positioning Moscow as the supreme balancing force all across the Eurasian supercontinent and probing the potential for a “gas OPEC” between the two and Iran. Apart from the tangible dividends, however, there stand to be more immediate soft power results from Russia’s outreach to Qatar.

Moscow took the wise move to announce that it’s ready to increase food shipments to Doha, which is hugely symbolic considering that Muslims all across the world are fasting to commemorate the Holy Month of Ramadan. For readers who aren’t aware of what this entails, Muslims fast all throughout the day and then eat a large multi-dish meal after sunset during iftar. Ramadan is supposed to be a month of Islamic solidarity and celebration, but regrettably, Saudi Arabia decided to launch its asymmetrical aggression against Qatar at this time, and the self-inflicted reputational consequences have already been severe.

Many Muslims from all across the world have voiced their disgust on social media, unable to believe that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques would dare cut off food shipments to a fellow member of the ummah (international Muslim community) during this Holy Month.

Some have even (rightly) accused Saudi Arabia of acting on orders from “Israel” because Tel Aviv has publicly backed Riyadh’s every move. Saudi Arabia’s backstabbing of former ally Qatar looks even more treacherous when contrasted with Iran’s offer to provide food to the de-facto embargoed country and even allow it to use the Islamic Republic’s ports for commerce.

This isn’t supposed to happen, at least according to the radical sectarian narrative promoted by Saudi Arabia, but the very fact that Shiite Iran is extending humanitarian assistance to Sunni Qatar debunks the manufactured Sunni-Shiite geopolitical split that Riyadh has been heavily promoting for decades. What’s more, Russia’s food shipments to Qatar therefore take on an even more heightened symbolic meaning in this context.

Russia’s grand strategy is to become the Eurasian Balancer, and it can only do this by peacefully managing intra-Islamic relations between the Sunni and Shiite communities. Moscow’s policies aren’t sectarian by any measure, though they’ve unfortunately been branded as such by some Muslims and especially Qatar’s ummah-wide Al Jazeera media outlet due to the misleading perception that they supposedly only benefit Shiites (Alawite President Assad and Iran).

This is the wrong way to interpret Russia’s anti-terrorist intervention in Syria, but it’s unfortunately convenient for agenda-driven actors to frame the game-changing events over the past couple of years along these lines. One of those self-interested forces which actively promoted this idea and deliberately fanned the flames of sectarian violence is Qatar through its publicly financed Al Jazeera platform, though interestingly, Doha is now in a position of semi-strategic dependency on Moscow which could potentially lead to a more neutral shift in the station’s coverage of Russia’s Mideast policies.

Altogether, Russia’s proposal to ship food to Qatar in helping the peninsular country break through the Saudi-led embargo has served two strategic soft power objectives. The first is that Moscow is no longer perceived as the “pro-Shiite” actor that some of the region’s citizenry were wrongly brainwashed into thinking that it was, and secondly, Russia’s reputation will likely improve as a result of Al Jazeera’s expectedly more neutral coverage of its Mideast policy. Considering that Al Jazeera is largely responsible for this false sectarian narrative anyhow, Russia’s humanitarian courtship of Qatar during Ramadan could go a long way in sustainably reversing this if Doha directs the station to more neutrally cover Moscow’s Mideast moves as a sign of gratitude for its support.

The soft power surge that this would give to Russia’s regional policy is immeasurable, and it would advance Moscow’s grand strategic goal of becoming the premier balancing force in Eurasia, especially as it relates to easing tensions surrounding the US’ recent aggravation of the Sunni-Shiite split.

https://theduran.com/russias-food-shipments-to-qatar-are-a-soft-power-masterstroke/
 
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http://zeenews.india.com/world/indi...risis-through-constructive-talks-2013970.html

New Delhi: Asserting that it has "vital stakes" in peace and stability in the Gulf, India today asked countries in the region to resolve the Qatar crisis through constructive dialogue and well-established international principles of mutual respect.

External affairs ministry said India is closely following the emerging situation in the region in the wake of the recent decision by Saudi Arabia and some other countries to break diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain announced on Monday they were cutting diplomatic ties and closing all connectivity links with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. The charge has been denied by Doha.


"India has time-tested friendly relations with GCC countries. With over eight million Indian expatriates living and working in these countries, we have vital stakes in the regional peace and stability," the ministry said in a release.

In this context, the government is closely monitoring the situation and is also in regular contact with the regional countries. Their authorities have assured the government continued support for welfare and well-being of the resident Indian communities, it added.

"We are of the view that all parties should resolve their differences through a process of constructive dialogue and peaceful negotiations based on well-established international principles of mutual respect, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," it said.

India believes that peace and security in the Gulf are of paramount importance for the continued progress and prosperity of the countries in the region.

International terrorism, violent extremism and religious intolerance pose grave threat not only to regional stability but also to global peace and order and must be confronted by all countries in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, the ministry said.

It asked Indian expatriates in the region to contact the Indian Embassy or Consulate concerned should they require assistance or advise consequent to the developing situation.
 
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Actually a whole lot did. Only a tiny fraction of soldiers from present-day Pakistan deserted and mutinied, the bulk remained dutiful and fired at Ottomans. For example not a single Khattak deserted/mutinied and professionally they are the best soldiers among Pashtun people.

Wow you pashtuns are really proud people !
 
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Maybe you should show Egypt how to smash Israel?
It is just arrogance on the part of some hurt Turks..I have invited some to go educate themselves on specific threads related to 1973 war, but obviously their intent is not education, but to release some steam on the Arabs in general.. too bad since we can invoke, Turkey loosing F-16s to Greece's Mirage-2K many times, or The Turkish citizens killed on their own Turkish ship By Usraeli special forces when trying to bring aid to Gaza.. but would it be relevant or just aimed to hurt some Turks, since these guys seem to think they are still living in the Ottoman era..They have never faced Usrael on a battle field, which is facing the US overtly and NATO covertly.. hell, they can't even face Greece, let alone the US-Usrael, which Egypt after the mistake of taking into account the Roosevelt ultimatum of 1967 war, saw as a necessity at any price to confront Usrael and its supporters directly ad indirectly, that takes a lot of courage and sacrifice, but it was done and brought the best results of all Arab vs Usraeli and western supporters previous wars..

Fact is the common denominator between Turkey and Qatar is that both have Usraeli embassies on their soils, hence the hatred of the Arabs.. for Egypt and Jordan (both fought Usrael in battlefields) it is an agreement supervised by the US, and it does not go further than a symbolic gesture to make Usrael feel secure.. while with Turkey and Qatar it is a full fledged relationship.. this explains a lot of rants here..

Just one thing. Mughals were not turks but Mongols and Persians who used to speak Turkish language.

And khiljis, Mamluks were Turks but Lodhis and sayyids were Afghans and Arabs.
The 3 Muslim Khanates.. the descendants of Gengis Khan who in the process of conquering Muslims, became Muslims themselves..3 out of 4 Mongolian Khanates embraced Islam..

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Trump: orders Qatar to stop supporting terrorism immediately

Trump: Qatar has a history of financing terrorism at a very high level, And agreed with the US Secretary of State and military leaders that Qatar should stop financing terrorism now and the time has come to call on Qatar to stop supporting terrorism

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Turkish food arrive to Qatar:
18922016_1335545313148688_2425990221839680186_n.jpg.4d207709208ceb7a63aaa983d6255ee0.jpg

 
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It is just arrogance on the part of some hurt Turks..I have invited some to go educate themselves on specific threads related to 1973 war, but obviously their intent is not education, but to release some steam on the Arabs in general.. too bad since we can invoke, Turkey loosing F-16s to Greece's Mirage-2K many times, or The Turkish citizens killed on their own Turkish ship By Usraeli special forces when trying to bring aid to Gaza.. but would it be relevant or just aimed to hurt some Turks, since these guys seem to think they are still living in the Ottoman era..They have never faced Usrael on a battle field, which is facing the US overtly and NATO covertly.. hell, they can't even face Greece, let alone the US-Usrael, which Egypt after the mistake of taking into account the Roosevelt ultimatum of 1967 war, saw as a necessity at any price to confront Usrael and its supporters directly ad indirectly, that takes a lot of courage and sacrifice, but it was done and brought the best results of all Arab vs Usraeli and western supporters previous wars..


The 3 Muslim Khanates.. the descendants of Gengis Khan who in the process of conquering Muslims, became Muslims themselves..3 out of 4 Mongolian Khanates embraced Islam..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OT:

Trump: orders Qatar to stop supporting terrorism immediately

Trump: Qatar has a history of financing terrorism at a very high level, And agreed with the US Secretary of State and military leaders that Qatar should stop financing terrorism now and the time has come to call on Qatar to stop supporting terrorism

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Turkish food arrive to Qatar:
18922016_1335545313148688_2425990221839680186_n.jpg.4d207709208ceb7a63aaa983d6255ee0.jpg


We are the masters of the eagean sea, go watch youtoube and learn something. Sametime we have shoot down greec fighter next day. And with israel we have won over the marmara incident, they have pay compensation and before that we have threathened with war.
 
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We are the masters of the eagean sea, go watch youtoube and learn something. Sametime we have shoot down greec fighter next day. And with israel we have won over the marmara incident, they have pay compensation and before that we have threathened with war.
You threatened with war but never went to war against them..that BS talk, all you have got is $20 million from them..a peanut compensation for 19 dead Turks and many wounded on a Turkish ship by another entity soldiers.. as for Greece you should educate yourself on how many Turkish islands they still occupy!!! So, don't say you are masters of anything..

I am not here to insult Turks, I have met many in Europe, some were even close friends, but do not try to spread propaganda.. Turkey does not need that.. as for the Egyptians facing USrael with full US and Western support.. it is comparable to Turkey's awareness that it can not face Christian Orthodox Greece even out of NATO without running the risk of confronting Christian orthodox Russia.. and it did not dare, unlike Egypt.. so better be safe and keep your main Muslim and Arab allies.. that is if you can now!
 
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You threatened with war but never went to war against them..that BS talk, all you have one is $20 million from them..a peanut compensation for 19 dead Turks and many wounded.. as for Greece you should educate yourself on how many Turkish islands they still occupy!!!

Ther is no much Turkish islands, show us something.
 
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