Gulf monarchs, Trump and the new configuration of world order and peace.

[galbeedi]

How did the gulf crises start?, does the issue is bigger than hacked emails ?.

 

In early June ,A group called Globalleaks had hacked the emails of the UAE ambassador to U.S. The emails show a coordinated effort between the Gulf monarchy and a neoconservative group called foundation for defence of democracies ,or FDD. It showed a collusion between the group, Israel and the UAE to isolate Qatar.

 

In the email, the director of this group says, "Israel and the Arabs standing together is the ultimate ace in the hole. Because it takes it out of the politics and the ideology. When Israel and the Arab states are standing together, it’s powerful,” he said.

 

 

In another email exchange in late April of this year, John Hannah,a former aide to Dick Cheney, complains to ambassador Otaiba that Qatar — a rival Gulf government that has clashed with the UAE in recent months over various issues — is hosting a meeting of Hamas at an Emirati owned hotel. Otaiba responds that it’s not the Emirati government’s fault, and that the real issue is the U.S. military base in Qatar, “How’s this, you move the base then we’ll move the hotel :-).”

 

The Emeriti ambassador also points out that "Al Jazeera as an instrument of regional instability.”

 

The Al Jazeera network discussed these hacked emails in one of their segments broadcasted in early June. Before that, comments were published by the website of Qatar's state run Qatar News Agency--allegedly from the ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani --featured remarks about Saudi Arabia and Iran.

 

In the website the statement, it alleges that the Amir claimed " Iran is a legitimate Muslim power in the middle east and the problem lie with the approach of the Saudis and the Americans.

 

Since then it has been verified that the posting were only possible after someone hacked and posted the comment. The western media have said that the culprit is Russia

 

While these neocons and their backers have some influence in the inner workings of Washington , especially in the media, they are probably footnotes in the bigger issues in the region.

 

It all started with disrupter or the new president of the United States. While campaigning in the summer of 2016, Trump demanded money from the Saudis in order to keep them save and help them defeat whomever they consider to be their enemy, especially Iran. In his own words Trump said, "without the U.S support and protection, Saudi Arabia would not exist for a long time", the real problem , he continued, " was Saudi Arabia is a money machine and they didn't reimburse the way we should be reimbursed". If they refuse to foot the bill, Trump said ," he would not buy oil from them". I really do not know the real danger the Saudis need to be protected from.

 

In a campaign stop and interviews with media , Trump cited Saudi Arabia as those who were responsible for 911. He cited secret papers that could prove that the Saudis as responsible for the 911 attack. Also in the summer of 2016, certain members of the congress started a bill in the congress to declassify 28 pages from the 911 report which accused the saudis to be connected in the plot. It got huge support among the members and were pushed by the victim's families to gain billions of dollars for compensation. At the end, Obama blocked the bill as threat to national interest of the U.S. During that debate of the bill , the Saudis threatened to withdraw $750 billion worth of their investment from America.

 

Trump pledged many things in his bid to become the president of United States, and most of those pledges, especially the economic ones, did not materialize at all. He realized that a trade war with China will hurt most of the American exports and the successful high tech companies .Also the U.S owes China $1.3 trillion worth of American treasury bonds. If China recalls this debts and dumps the dollar, the American economy could be in big trouble. Furthermore,The North American Free Trade (NAFTA) is more complicated than it appears in paper and it's repeal will cause millions of jobs in America. So, Trump with help of his son in law Fred Kushner , decided to travel a new route to make billions and boost the American weapons manufacturers through Saudi and gulf money. The Israeli lobby and prime minister Netanyahu also took part in the drafting of this this plan, and since the weapons in question are targeted Iran and their alliances in the region, it was welcomed by the Israeli administration who is hell bent for the destruction of Iran. In other words, the Gulf nations and Israel who do not even have diplomatic relation, came together for the convenient short term goal of confronting Iran and building business relationships which will help Trump in his quest to create jobs in America. It is a new scheme to loot money from the gulf by creating fear and war.

 

Forget about the so called hacking or what the Qatar Amir said about Saudis, the real issue rests with Tump, Israel and the Saudis to help each to get their agenda and the implementation of a new war in the middle east.

 

During the meeting between Trump and the Saudis, Trump demanded a Trillion dollar deal that will keep the Saudis and their gulf friends on the American side while isolating and targeting Iran . The Saudis and the gulf monarchies have decided to share the trillion dollar deal of weapons and logistics in order to stay in power and destroy anyone that challenges to their rule especially those seeking peaceful election or freedom of thoughts. The Saudis could choose peace, coexistence and dialogue with their neighbors including Iran. Instead of buying weapons, they could use the so called $450 billion dollars to diversify their economy and help the Arab nations recover from the deadly wars they helped ignite. They could help the United Nations refugees program or build sanitations for the third world countries. They could choose peace instead of war, they could build bridges and reduce the sectarian violence in the middle east. Yet, they chose war, hubris , aggression and despotism.This desert rats are the cause of the destruction of many Arab countries. They have no connection with Islam and their religion or any moral or ethical standard. Their only concern is money and their crown. When Trump went to Europe and the middle east in his first overseas trip, the American comedians said, " Trump visited the three holy places of the three main religions of the world: Christianity , Judaism and oil , the latter referring to Saudi Arabia. I could not agree more. Trump , an Islamophobe who does not miss any opportunity to bash Muslims , did not visit Saudi Arabia for the respect of the faith, but to get a ransom from the despots.

 

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting before Trump arrived in the region, the Saudis offered to take the lion's share of the ransom demanded by Trump and offered a $350 billion worth of weapons deal in ten years and another $100 billion immediately. They decided that the remaining $550 billion should be shared by other gulf monarchies. Qatar refused to take it's share of the Trump ransom and said that it will procure weapons when they needed without anyone pressuring them. Infuriated by the independent foreign policy of the Qatar government, the Saudis and the allies gave them few weeks to make a decision. AS they wait for the decision, the leaked emails showed up in the media and the Saudis and UAE made their move.

 

The Saudis thought that by paying the Trump ransom and allying themselves with Netanyahu and the lobby , they could do anything and get their wish without the objections of other regional countries, but foreign policy in the middle east is more complicated than the eyes could see. Rather than move slowly and assert their pressure behind the scene , they put all their eggs in one basket and showed all their scheme in one single move by blockading and trying to strangulate a sovereign nation that did not attack or hurt them.

 

Make no mistake that Qatar it self was always part of the gulf crimes by using money to destabilize other nations, they were even part of the war in Yemen. Qatari air force is taking part in the Yemen war as we speak, yet the Saudis demanded total obedience of their plan.

 

In today's geopolitics ranking, Qatar is considered to be a middle power. Qatar is a high income economy, backed by world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves.[ The country has the highest per capita income in the world. With less than 3 million people , it's GDP is $188 billion dollars. It is the richest country in the world per capita income. Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development and is the most advanced Arab state for human development. Qatar is a significant power in the Arab world. Tiny Qatar is the world’s No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas. Its $335 billion sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in global companies from Volkswagen to Glencore and Barclays. Its influence goes beyond money. Few years ago it succeeded to bring the world cup of soccer to Qatar.

 

The Qataris did not take any hostile measures to respond to the blockade, they did not expel any citizens from those countries nor did they stop the natural gas delivery to UAE who used 30% of their gas from Qatar. Many Saudi citizens and Emeriti citizens took to twitter to call Qataris their neighbors and brothers. Yesterday the UAE ministry of the interior released an order that would impose 10 years in jail and fine anyone who praises Qatar in this crises.

 

 

As you can see, the Qatari leadership is not going to roll over to the unreasonable Saudi demands. This hasty move by TRump and the Saudis could easily change the geopolitical configurations of the middle east for years to come. In fact, it did already started when the Qatari foreign minister started his diplomatic offensive not from Washington, but from Istanbul , Berlin and Moscow.

 

 

In their statement, the SAudis said that the Qataris were supporting Hamas and the Muslim brotherhood. While Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel is an obstacle for peace between the Palestinians and Israel, it is not the most pressing issue for the gulf or a reason to blockade a sovereign nation. Also, the Taliban has offices in Doha with the blessing of Washington in order to facilitate dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Already some members of the taliban has accepted peace deals. If you follow the Qatari logic, the war in Afghanistan has reached 16 years and the clashes between the government and the insurgents is still raging on. As a goodwill , even Obama has released some Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo bay and settled the in Qatar in order to encourage peace talks. This diplomatic moves are intended to open new channels of dialogue between the warring factions in order to find an alternative to the never ending war. Well folks , if that is the the biggest cause for the blockade , they have failed miserably.

 

Israel can and should make peace with the Arab states and the wider Muslim world without cozying up with illegitimate despots and monarchs who are not genuine partners for peace. Israel signed a peace deal with Egypt decades ago , yet the business and people contacts are almost non existent. On the other hand the relation between Turks and Israelis is thriving. Even after Israel killed nine Turks in a ship delivering aid to the palestinians during the Gaza blockade which strained relation between her and Turkey, the business and people contacts continued as normal regardless of the politics of the leaders. While Israel is not the main cause for tension in the middle east, which most Arab dictators used to claim in order to justify their tyranny and holding of power, a two state solution with the Palestinians could reduce a lot of tensions very quickly, but preparing and pushing another war in coordination with Saudis will not bring peace neither Israel nor to the region.

 

As we speak , not only the illegal blockade is crumbling ,but the American power and prestige in the middle east could take a hit that could not be recovered easily. President Trump , as usual, without thinking, poured fuel to the fire by initially supporting the blockade. Suddenly, he is back trucking as things get from bad to worse. The American base in Qatar Which houses 11,000 coalition troops and equipment, was moved from Saudi Arabia decades ago after it caused many problems for the locals who opposed, and if this row continues, they will be moving soon. Trump reversed himself and called to mediate by inviting parties to Washington. The Qatar ruler refused and demanded all blockade to be removed before any talks. Friday, after he was ignored and snubbed , he went to his usual twitter rant and attacked Qatar again.

 

Turkey, a regional power and NATO member pledged to send 5000 soldiers, and president Erdogan warned the gulf countries and said , " isolating Qatar would not resolve their problems". Iran pledged food and offered Qatar to use their ports. The German foreign minister accused Trump of pouring fuel to the fire. Pakistan decided to be neutral on the issue and it's parliament issued its concern for peace. If Turkey, Pakistan and Iran find a common ground and resolve this issue, the sectarian nature of the so called Sunni vs Shia tension would decrease dramatically which is what the middle east needs today.

 

Iran has lost it's credibility as responsible nation by probing evil dictators and encouraging sectarian conflict in the region. They cheered when Mubarak of Egypt was deposed by public uprising, yet when the Yemeni people have overthrow Ali Abdallah Salah after 36 years in power, they supported a shia based sectarian group which allied itself with the deposed dictator. While Iran might have legitimate fear of hostile Iraqi government in their door step after suffering a million casualty when Saddam Hussein invaded them without no apparent reason, they should stop helping the bloodthirsty Syrian dictator who murdered hundred of thousands of people. We all hope that this gulf crisis engineered by Trump and Saudis would usher a new way of thinking and bring different religious group to the table.

 

Who will replace America as guarantors of world commerce, peace and democracy?

 

Pictures are worth a thousand words. The world had already witnessed the departure of president Trump from the world stage during the NATO and G7 meeting. Newly elected president of France E. Macron walked toward the leaders and when he reached the group , he deliberately embraced German Chancellor Merkel, shaked hands with those in her left and took his time to eventually extended the hand to Trump who pulled his hand back and forth like some saying , " I am here too".

 

After his speech of lecturing European leaders about paying their debt to NATO, Trump was isolated and ignored. He even pushed the prime minister of Montenegro to place himself to the front row for pictures. Finally, his reckless withdrawal of Paris climate change sealed the deal of American's exit from the world stage. The climate accord is a complicated agreement that needs only endorsements, because it's implementations would take longer than usual, and even Obama could not push it through congress. Trump could have kept the status quo and worked with world leaders who have invested time and energy to achieve a deal that was signed by 195 nations.

 

When America elected a gangster style and reckless narcissist, it sealed its deal as spent force and the beginning of the decline. President Roosevelt said, " strong leaders speak soft and carry a big stick". Many leaders of the world had already noticed how weak Trump is. Everyone is waiting, but only Arab fools rush.

 

Merkel, Macron and Prime minister Gentiloni of Italy have formed a formidable alliance in Europe, while the Charismatic Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will lead the transAtlantic alliance from Canada.

 

Stay tuned to part two....

 

[maakhiri1]

Thanks mate, you been following the story well.

 

The army deal with KSA, and the new ARAB NATO, SAUDIS trying to build , many people believe SAUDIS are winners because without check and balance, without asking how you gonna use these weapons, they got what they wanted from Trump, who only thinks signing BIGGER deal. it will create more problem for the region.

 

Also if you are ready to spent $450 billions on weapons, why not develop it yourself, if you have few brain cells, you can develop a lot, and became self sufficient.

 

North Korea's GDP is $15 billion a YEAR.

 

 

[Holac]

The Saudis can't afford to spend $450 Billion on weapons. This is fake news. It is all fake. Read the Brookings Institute's conclusions.

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2017/06/05/the-110-billion-arms-deal-to-saudi-arabia-is-fake-news/

 

The Saudis will make small arms purchases, and that is what they have always done, but they don't have the money to spend the mentioned amount. They are currently struggling economically.

 

The Saudis fear the Muslim Brotherhood (which Qatar helps) because unlike the Wahabi doctrine of the Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood believes a corrupt leader or a monarchy can and should be overthrown through uprising, and citizens should have the freedom to elect good leaders. That basic doctrine is a threat to Gulf monarchies. The Salifies funded by Saudi Arabia teach that "muslim leaders should not be overthrown" even if they are bloody murderers. In other words, the sheep should keep obeying the master till death.

 

Muslim Brotherhood Doctrine:

 

"We believe that the political reform is the true and natural gateway for all other kinds of reform. We have announced our acceptance of democracy that acknowledges political pluralism, the peaceful rotation of power and the fact that the nation is the source of all powers. As we see it, political reform includes the termination of the state of emergency, restoring public freedoms, including the right to establish political parties, whatever their tendencies may be, and the freedom of the press, freedom of criticism and thought, freedom of peaceful demonstrations, freedom of assembly, etc. It also includes the dismantling of all exceptional courts and the annulment of all exceptional laws, establishing the independence of the judiciary, enabling the judiciary to fully and truly supervise general elections so as to ensure that they authentically express people's will, removing all obstacles that restrict the functioning of civil society organizations, etc.[32]

[galbeedi]

Holac,

 

thanks for this info. I did read somewhere that at this calendar year the Saudis would be buying around $500 million worth weapons, besides which factory can fill an order $450 billion?.

 

This manifesto of the Muslim brotherhood must be spread throughout the western media. It is a blueprint for change and democracy. We all knew that during all the wars and mayhem by others, the brotherhood never fired a shot. They were known the nonviolence movement, but suddenly there were a campaign to make them parallel to the extremist like others. Although I am wary of Muslim political movements since that are mostly controlled by foreign intelligence, we must all highlight the despotism of the monarchies and dictators for what they stand for which pure tyranny.