I don’t know if Qatar’s troubles began with The Donald, but he would certainly like to take credit for them. In the World of Trump, “The nation of Qatar unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level….We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided … the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding.” Pretty straightforward. Makes a sort of sense, I suppose–at least until you listen to the folks at the US state department. They seem to be wondering why the gulf states are picking on Qatar. Some speculate that the rift was caused primarily by Qatar’s recent $1 billion ransom payment to terrorists in Iraq. Recently, the Saudis have given the Qataris a list of demands and the Emiratis say they want the US and Europe to step into the fray. The Qataris remain unimpressed. Their friends in Iran seem to be helping them get enough food until the siege is over. Among other demands, the Saudis want the Qataris to shut down Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera has no intent to be shut down). I’m not sure how shutting down Al Jazeera is going to reduce terrorism. The more I try to figure this out, the sillier the whole charade seems to be. It’s not that it’s great having Trump in America, but it does tend to isolate the confusion to one part of the world.
The Daily Take 