Turkey has aligned with Qatar

 

The diplomatic crisis in Qatar saw a new development Wednesday as Turkey's parliament passed legislation permitting the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar. The legislation was drafted prior to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar, but indicates that Turkey is willing to help the Gulf Arab country.

The bill was supported by both the governing AK party and the nationalist opposition.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Tuesday that "Turkey will continue and will develop our ties with Qatar," adding that "we do not think the sanctions against Qatar are good." Erdogan insisted Turkey would have intervened if the sanctions of terrorist support were proved, but questioned the effectiveness of measures already taken by his Arab neighbors in isolating the small emirate. Reports of Qatar's ongoing support for regional Islamist groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood, and Shiite-ruled Iran, led to uneasy relations with many neighboring nations.  Weekly Standard

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

Well, pilgrims you can add Mauretania the list of those following Saudi Arabia's lead in this.  They must be on "the dole" from Riyadh.

Qatar is a strange little place.  It is really a sandbar sticking out into the Gulf.  Qatar possesses large gas reserves but does anyone think that desire to possess these reserves motivates Saudi Arabia?   Qatar is the only Wahhabi country other than Saudi Arabia itself.  It exists because imperial Britain wanted to hold a non-Saudi piece of Wahhabi dominated "soil" in the Gulf region.  Qatar realizes the weakness of its position vis a vis Saudi Arabia.  The emirate is in fact if not in appearance an absolute dictatorship.  I was present at a meeting at the ruler's palace in Doha in which the then emir laughed and told the group I was with that if the West wanted democracy he would create things for them to look at.  He would have a parliament.  He would have a "free" press (Al-Jazeera?).  He said that there had been a subversive conspiracy attempting  a coup recently and that he had a number of the plotters in prison.  What should I do with them he asked this group of millionaires and corporate representative.   I do not wish to upset "The West" too much.  The response from the leader of the group was that the prisoners should receive due process.  The emir then changed the subject. 

Existing in such a milieu, Qatar's rulers have sought to "fireproof" themselves against a future in which Saudi Arabia decides that the Qatari mini-state's existence is unnecessary.

1.  Firstly, and perhaps most importantly they have given the US the use of land including the area of the former British air base at al-udeid and enough space to position USCENTCOM's forward headquarters in theater.  These facilities are very important to the US.  The air war in the ME is run from al-udeid air base, not the flying necessarily, but just about all the staff functions for command and control.   DJT does not seem to grasp the importance of al-udeid to the US air war.

2.  The "Al-Jazeera network" is a great irritant to the autocratic states of the Arab World.  It has always been such and it has been bitched about to me by rich and otherwise powerful Arabs from its creation.  It is clearly under the protection of the house al-thani (the rulers of this little country).  As I have said, this princely house is not IMO in any way democratic.  Al-Jazeera is part of the Potemkin Village of democracy that is presented to the West by the Qatari state, but that image is helpful to them.

3.  Qatar maintains a  certain ambiguity with regard to its relations with Iran.  It has recently chosen to emphasize that ambiguity, probably IMO in response to DJT's acceptance of his role as the mukhtar of America. 

And now, in demonstration of Sultan Erdogan's ambition to one day be thought Commander of the Faithful, the Turkish parliament has provided the legal basis for Turkey to intervene militarily and politically in settlement of the present difficulty involving Saudi Arabia, its Arab allies and mukhtar Trump on the one hand with Qatar and Turkey (possibly Iran?) on the other.

Can one doubt that Turkish support for the al-thani will achieve great influence in Qatar? If so, what will be Turkey's level of influence over US use of al-udeid AFB?  Without the C&C facilities at that base we would essentially be out of business in the air war.  And then there is Incirlik AFB ...

What on earth does DJT think he is doing by siding with SA against Qatar?  pl  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar 

http://www.weeklystandard.com/turkey-approves-deploying-troops-to-qatar/article/2008364

Comments

[John_Frank]

Arab countries release list of terrorist financiers supported by Qatar http://ara.tv/yycgv

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have collectively designated 59 individuals and 12 institutions that have financed terrorist organizations and received support from Qatar.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain are unified in their ongoing commitment to combatting terrorism, drying up the sources of its funding, countering extremist ideology and the tools of its dissemination and promotion, and to working together to defeat terrorism and protect all societies from its impact.,” according to a statement made available to Al Arabiya News Channel.

“As a result of the continued violation by the authorities in Doha of the obligations and agreements signed by them, including the pledge not to support or harbor elements or organizations that threaten the security of states and to ignore the repeated contacts that they called upon to fulfill what they had signed in the Riyadh Agreement of 2013, its implementing mechanism and the supplementary agreement in 2014; The four States have agreed to classify 59 individuals and 12 entities on their prohibited lists of terrorists, which will be updated in succession and announced,” the statement added.

The majority of those entities sanctioned are linked to Qatar and are a manifestation of a Qatari Government policy of duplicity, the statement read.

The report provides the names of designated individuals and entities.

[Serge]

>Turkey is the only (near) MB government left in power

There is also Libya(the tripoli gov of course, which "controls" the overwhelming majority of the population). In Tunisia ennahda (MB) also wields considerable influence in the political system despite stepping down from power a couple years ago

[John_Frank]

Ah, with respect, go back and re-read the speech that the President gave in Riyadh on May 21.

A transcript of his remarks as prepared for delivery can be found at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/21/president-trumps-speech-arab-islamic-american-summit

In that speech Mr. Trump makes specific reference to Qatar hosting U.S. Central Command. So, it is not correct to say that the President is unaware of the military import of Qatar as being alleged by Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace of MSNBC based on what a White House source purportedly told them.

[Keith Harbaugh]

Back in Gulf War I (in 1990) it was reported that the USAF had built a very large air base, with state-of-the-art for the time C&C, somewhere in SA.
Could the U.S. use that?
Or would that just give al Qaeda more ammo to use against the U.S.?

[EEngineer]

And egos... Getting gulf gas to market, any market, isn't that much of a technical issue. Getting the egos involved to compromise, that's another matter altogether...

Get your popcorn, the vipers are turning on each other.

[Daniel Nicolas]

There was some rumor from mr. wikileaks saying that Al Jez had privately claimed to them that Qatar had acquired a nuke in 2010.

Perhaps SA had some recent independent confirmation of that rumor?

[kooshy]

IMO, US Military (possibly excluding president Trump) wouldn't be happy KSA' invasion, incursion of qatar.
For reason of security, stability and accesses militaries wouldn't want to have all their eggs (military bases/assets) in one basket country likes of KSA, or Qatar,Bahrain, etc. they would like them spread out and not accesses controlled by one unstable ruler.

[John_Frank]

It is being reported that Iran Air has sent its first shipment of food to Qatar.

Meanwhile:

Who are the most prominent #Qatar-linked figures in new terror designated list? http://ara.tv/6pquc

[BraveNewWorld]

In reference to Qatar.

“only 300 people and a television channel”.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud

Al-Thani is heading to Russia to whisper sweet nothings in Putins ear. I wouldn't be surprised to hear suit cases of cash went along for the ride.

[turcopolier]

John_Frank

It was written for him by someone like me. He has no idea what he said. pl

[charly]

For LNG you need a LNG installation to fill the tankers. Iran does not have such an expensive installation.

[crf]

It's possible Trump read the words written in that speech but they did not leave an impression on him.

[optimax]

JF

Truump knowing about our bases and joining the Saudis in their belligerence is even dumber. Was this part of the arms deal? Will future deals commit our country to more conflicts contrary to our national interests? Or is Trump just giving moral support to the Saudis, to use the arms we sell them and not barter away our troop support? Either way it's rotten.

[Gene O]

John Frank -

Regarding the prominent Qatar-linked figures in new terror designated list that you linked to:

Yusuf al Qaradawi, number one on that list, may be Qatar based, but he is also a big fan of Erdogan. Reportedy called Erdogan a Sultan. They have met several times and Erdogan publicly defended Qaradawi against Interpol's arrest warrant.

[b]

Sorry, I have not read it yet, but will do so today. I currently have quite busy days.

[b]

Saudi Arabia once threw the U.S. military out of the country. A major base then moved to Qatar. There it has freedom of action.
I don't think the military is eager to put that base (again) under SA control and to again have the soldiers there live within SA's rigid society. It would a very dangerous strategic gamble.

The military is Trump's only ally in Washington right now. I doubt that he can/wants to blow up relations with it.

[b]

The Qatari mercenaries would be mostly Turkish, and probably some from the mercenary army Turkey and Qatar have financed and built to fight in Syria. Qatar has the money but no people, Turkey needs money and has the second largest standing NATO army. Iran provides a decent route between the two countries. When interests align ...

As for gas.

The Saudi Deputy Clown Prince paid $550 for a yacht that had cost §330 million when it was built in 2011. It was a spontaneous idea when he saw that ship in some harbor. He had never been on the ship when he made the offer.

The guy does not know anything about money or business but is running SA's economy (with the help of selfish neoliberal consultants) - into the ground.

The scheme of liquidating SA's assets, which is part of the escape plan for the al-Sauds should the people get a bit uppity, is not going to work as well as thought. (The idea was to take Amranco private via the stock exchange, give freely convertible stocks instead of yearly appanages to the princes and gain the freedom to leave the country while keeping the now moveable assets. That scheme worked very well in Russia for many of the now exiled Russian billionaires.)

Amranco is more difficult to privatize than thought. The price received will be way lower than estimated. It will take longer than planned. Meanwhile SA's economic situation is deteriorating with no oil price recovery in sight. A $350 billion Qatari cash fund and a very profitable gas business would be a welcome addition to the Saudi rulers bank accounts.

I am not saying that this is the major reason to take down Qatar, but it is certainly part of the calculation.

[charly]

What is the opinion of Japan on all this. They are the ones who buy the gas IIRC.

[FourthAndLong]

Aren't the Shia opposed to MB ? I am very confused, as Iranians are predominately Shia and Qatar has been represented as pro-Iran of late in this latest anti Qatar dust up of the Saudis.

So I detect internal inconsistencies. Maybe I don't fathom the Shia & MB relationship.

[John_Frank]

Fyi, A short while ago, Secretary Tillerson made the following statement:

Remarks on the Middle East
https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/06/271672.htm

Follows is the text of his remarks as posted:

Good afternoon, and I thank all of you for your patience. I know you’ve been waiting a little while.

Three weeks ago, the President joined members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in a strong show of partnership, repudiation of extremism, and a plan to defeat terrorism of all kinds in the region and around the world.

Now, the situation in the Arabian Gulf over the last few days is troubling to the United States, the region, and to many people who are directly affected. The United States wishes to reaffirm our commitment to the spirit of the summit. As we combine efforts to defeat the military, financial, and ideological support of terrorists, we expect to see progress in the Arab world toward greater political expression. An important pathway to attack Islamic extremism and to prevent political activism from escalating into violence is to allow marginalized voices opportunities for political expression.

But this process requires regional and global consensus and mutual understanding. The GCC summit creates a platform to achieve this consensus and understanding. We call for calm and thoughtful dialogue with clear expectations and accountability among the parties in order to strengthen relationships. We ask that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region. We call on Qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors. Qatar has a history of supporting groups that have spanned the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence. The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly.

Others must also continue to eliminate factions of support for violent organizations within their own borders. Again, that was a commitment made by all at the summit. We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar. There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade. We are seeing shortages of food, families are being forcibly separated, and children pulled out of school. We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this Holy Month of Ramadan, but they can be addressed immediately.

The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other international business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the people whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar. The blockade is hindering U.S. military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS.

We support the emir of Kuwait’s efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to this agreement and progress toward eliminating all forms of support for terrorism – military, financial, moral, or ideological. The U.S. will support these mediation efforts along with the emir of Kuwait.

In the last few days, I have spoken to many leaders in the region. And as I said to all of them, we know you are stronger together. It is clear to me, based on these conversations, that the elements of a solution are available. The GCC must emerge united and stronger to show the world the GCC’s resolve in its fight against violence and terrorism, and its commitment to countering the threat from extremism.

Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good-faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other. Thank you very much.

[Keith Harbaugh]

Feeling bad about burdening Col. Lang with the need to moderate this,
but thinking the information will be of value to some:

The base I referred to (I forgot its name at the time of my earlier comment) is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sultan_Air_Base
See also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia

[Lurker]

".....to SA than some additional gas reserves....."

Additional to what? SA is one of tye two top Oul producers together with Russia but SA is not known to have gas reserves hence the obvious motivation to enhance their portfolio with Qatar's access to the Pars field.

[Lurker]

The Saudi led blockade of Qatar is turning into a foreign policy nightmare to team Trump because it provided an opening for Turkey, Iran and Russia to lift the blockade. Everything the Saudis touch turns to sh#t.

[turcopolier]

Lurker

I have visited a number of ARAMCO LNG plants so I don't know what you are talking about. pl

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