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Qatar's funded Islamic extremists, so they're bad guys But Saudi Arabia's funded Islamic extremists, and they're good guys
#QatarCrisis 3/x -
Qatar hosts Al Jazeera (FAKE NEWS!): bad guy But they're rich, opulent, and make deals: good guy
#QatarCrisis 4/x -
Of course, it's not nearly as simple as good guys v. bad guys. (No one knew the
#MiddleEast could be so complicated)#QatarCrisis 5/xpic.twitter.com/P0trPN7nrX
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Americans often make the mistake of thinking other countries' decisions are always about the United States.
#QatarCrisis 6/x -
For example: Saddam lied to weapons inspectors to defy America! But he was mostly afraid of looking weak to
#Iran.#QatarCrisis 7/xpic.twitter.com/LiVCjMq4rs
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Much of the
#QatarCrisis is due to Sunni Arab countries' complicated, overlapping relations with each other (and outlook towards#Iran). 8/x -
But the move to isolate Qatar comes quickly after Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia.
#QatarCrisis#TrumpInSaudi 9/x -
The president gave a speech, trying to unite everyone against
#terrorism, but also blaming terrorism on#Iran.#QatarCrisis 10/x -
The Saudis finally got what they've always wanted: an American president taking sides. And all it took was flattery.
#QatarCrisis 11/xpic.twitter.com/m5Z7Gt2gw5
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It's hard to see the
#QatarCrisis follow so closely on Trump's "sure, whatever you want, Saudis" speech and not see some connection. 12/x -
Of course, he took credit for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, and Yemen's move. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/872062159789985792 …
#QatarCrisis 13/x -
But what he doesn't seem to realize is many American flights targeting
#ISIS fly out of Udeid, a large airbase in... Qatar#QatarCrisis 14/x -
The Sunni Arab states are trying to rope Qatar back in line. But could push Qatar closer to
#Iran (or Russia or China).#QatarCrisis 15/x -
Meanwhile, Kuwait and Oman are in a tight spot. And, thanks to Trump, the US can't mediate, giving an opening for Turkey.
#QatarCrisis 16/x -
Who knew the
#MiddleEast could be so complicated?#QatarCrisis 17/17 (END)pic.twitter.com/xxK6798C0L
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(PS1): To those accusing me of defending Iran, you're also falling into the oversimplified good guys-bad guys trap.
#QatarCrisis -
(PS2):
#Iran is a US adversary in many areas (nuclear proliferation, backing Hezbollah, backing Shia sectarians in#Iraq, etc.)#QatarCrisis -
(PS3): But
#Iran is also fighting#ISIS, and generally opposes jihadists, an important area of mutual interest.#QatarCrisis -
(PS4): The US should work with Middle Eastern countries in areas of mutual interest, and stay out of Saudi-Iranian rivalry.
#QatarCrisis -
(PS5): Choosing sides, as Trump did, increases the risks of regional war without gaining anything.
#QatarCrisishttps://arcdigital.media/trump-forfeits-global-leadership-797829e09af3 … - 2 more replies
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