Qatar Punched Above Its Weight. Now It’s Paying the Price.
Citing Qatar’s support of “terrorists” — a now commonly used label for one’s political opponents, in addition to jihadist groups — Qatar’s two partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council broke off diplomatic relations on June 5 and imposed a land and air blockade
that left the small nation with only a single access route for essential supplies.
The dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on one side
and Qatar on the other is of long standing and — hyperbolic headlines aside — remains largely unchanged today.
The arrival of President Trump in the White House and his appointment of senior officials who, along with many in the House
and Senate, despise the nuclear deal and favor continued enmity with Iran now offer the Saudis the chance to confront Iran by proxy — the proxy being the United States military.
The Saudis now believe Iran is taking advantage of its new international standing
and resulting access to business and investments by ramping up its military role and support in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
The two have had a rocky relationship — a couple of coup attempts in Doha, occasional border skirmishes —
but to Saudi Arabia, Qatar has been an irritant at most, a slightly errant G. C.C.
