Backgrounder: Saudi vs. Qatar …and Trump

So what’s the story with Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar? And why is Trump in the middle of it, making things worse?

We know that the Saudis are in a cold war (sometimes kind of hot) with their former friend (and US ally) Qatar. We know that the Saudis would like Qatar to stop being diplomatic with Iran, and would also like to profit from Qatar’s natural gas reserves. But why is Trump in all this? And why is he siding with the Saudis?

We’ve recently put together a small list of articles on the web that provides a bit of background on all this. If you want to understand the Saudi’s cold war, and how 45 is making things worse, give the following a close look:

First, from the Harvard Political Review,  Trump in the Middle East: What We Can Learn From the Qatar Crisis   by Darwin Peng. In it, Peng looks at how Qatar upset its bigger neighbor by suddenly behaving as a regional power.

Then, in the Conversation, we have Saudi Arabia’s standoff with Qatar continues – and Donald Trump has made it worse, which looks at how Trump encountered a difficult situation…and being Trump, made it waaay worse.

Next, some background on the background. Some of the best reporting on Middle Eastern issues being done right now is coming from the Israeli paper, Haaretz. Get to know the paper from its Wikipedia entry.

Then, from the Daily Intelligencer, we have Qatar Refused to Invest in Kushner’s Firm. Weeks Later, Jared Backed a Blockade of Qatar by Eric Levitz. Yes, folks, it seems that Jared and Trumpian greed are involved yet again.

In the Nation, we have the inside story of how Trump took the Saudi side in How the Saudis Wooed Donald Trump, All it took was flattery, arms, and a little bit of cash by Ben Freeman and William D. Hartung. As usual, 45 sold us out for cheap.

And last, from the Irish Times, we have Trump backs Saudi decision to cut ties with Qatar over ‘terror support’ by Simeon Kerr. It seems the Trumpster, in his glory, is once again citing “terror” as an excuse for his own corruption.