US Administration Does About-face on Saudi-led Blockade of Qatar

In case you missed it, in a far more considered, moderated and tactful statement to the media, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE to ease the blockade on Qatar, citing humanitarian reasons and progress by the the Emir of Qatar toward ending Qatar's support and funding of radical groups.

This move constitutes an about-face in the US stance as previously indicated by President Trump as he was taking credit for the breakdown of diplomatic and commercial ties between Qatar and its neighbors... on Twitter... just three days ago:





Secretary Tillerson also stated that the blockade was hindering the US coalition's efforts to combat ISIS. Additionally, he stated that all of the elements were in place to resolve this regional crisis.

It would appear that somebody talked some sense into Trump. Good. The breakdown in relations between these countries and an important strategic partner, Qatar, in no way benefited the US agenda nor our efforts to combat ISIS.

Now if they could just stop Trump from trying to take credit on Twitter for every random thing he hears about, his hamfisted attempts at dabbling in geopolitics might not result in further incidence of 72-hour foreign policy reversals.

What strikes me as odd is that terrorists backers U.S & Saudi Arabia having the gumption to accuse others of the same thing.

It all stinks of projection to me.







Looking forward to the World Cup in Qatar that's for sure. /sarc

what tillerson meant to say is that the mighty petrol dollar chairmen asked the US to take a different stance, so they did.
he can cite all the humanitarian 'reasons' he wants, but he's only fooling the many he can, but never the few he cannot.

Well it was genius to tick off the worlds third largest LNG supplier after Russia and Iran,Qatar has reserves of 896 trillion cubic feet or 14 per cent of the worlds resources,Qatar is currently talking with Moscow....Oh the humanity those poor billionaire Saudi and Yank oil and gas moguls.

I missed the part where Trump ever endorsed or even mentioned a blockade.

How can there be an "about face" on an issue Trump never specifically commented on?

Just another one of your typical strawmen.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
In case you missed it, in a far more considered, moderated and tactful statement to the media, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE to ease the blockade on Qatar, citing humanitarian reasons and progress by the the Emir of Qatar toward ending Qatar's support and funding of radical groups.

I guess the real question now is, "is this all Tillerson's doing or does Trump support it?" He's equally likely to go on a twitter rampage about it.

a reply to: Byrd

The fourth US attack on the Syrian army in a few days just occurred with 30 vehicles destroyed the Generals are in charge the rest are just circus clowns.

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

There I added the other tweet:



What delusion of yours would you have us share? He tweeted this the morning after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE initiated the blockade. June 5th:

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday after accusing the small emirate of supporting terrorism and aligning with Iran.

The coordinated move by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE plunged the Arab world into one of its most severe diplomatic crises in years and left Qatar both physically and politically isolated.

Saudi Arabia ordered the closure of Qatar’s only land border, sending Qataris panic buying into supermarkets and raising serious questions over whether it will still be able to host the World Cup in 2022.

Was there some other action that Saudi Arabia and others had taken against Qatar less than 24 hours earlier that he could have been possibly taking credit for? Seriously, put or shut up. Tell us, what was he talking about?

[snipped]

Shouldn't this thread be in the Jokes Satire forum?!?!?

How isn't this somehow a total hitpiece!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

a reply to: Byrd

Apparently Qatar immediately reached out and Trump had a call with the Emir so I assume he is on board and we won't see him coming out to contradict what Tillerson just announced.

Then again, there have been a number of notable disconnects between Trump's rhetoric and his administration's official statements, including in matters of geopolitics and in fact, Qatar. So who knows. The WH spokespeople encourage thinking people not to pay attention to what the President says.

a reply to: theantediluvian

You are clearly the delusional one because there is still not a single mention of Trump endorsing a blockade.

Exactly who do you think you are fooling?

a reply to: theantediluvian

TLDR: You support the President on this issue.

Nice to see you are coming around.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

How is it a "hitpiece?"

Are you arguing that Trump wasn't referring to the cut off of diplomatic relations with and simultaneous blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia et al? I don't think you'll stoop to that level of intellectual dishonesty. So he did in fact express his support for the move. He also inferred that he was in some way responsible because of his visit. Am I wrong?

I can't imagine how you'd dispute that Tillerson just came out and made a statement calling for the easing of the blockade and a resolution to the crisis. The whole thing was filmed by multiple international new services and media outlets. Perhaps you could argue that it was all created on a computer or that what we all really saw was a android doppleganger created by Soros and "the globalists?" I somehow doubt that too.

What's left?

"Don't pay any attention to what Trump says, his words don't represent the real foreign policy of the government he leads?"

This ought to be interesting!

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: theantediluvian

TLDR: You support the President on this issue.

Nice to see you are coming around.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
I missed the part where Trump ever endorsed or even mentioned a blockade.

How can there be an "about face" on an issue Trump never specifically commented on?

Just another one of your typical strawmen.

The spin continues? roflmao

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
a reply to: theantediluvian

You are clearly the delusional one because there is still not a single mention of Trump endorsing a blockade.

Exactly who do you think you are fooling?

What's the matter? Perhaps if I laid it out in a way you prefer?

Trump was talking about Qatar, believe me. It's true. It's true. No, I read it — it must be true right? That's what everyone is saying. He was talking about the blockade. Qatar is going to be great again. It's going to be so great. You've never seen such a great Qatar. We have no choice, right? Cheese. Terrorist. Door knob. Clinton. Clinton. Clinton. Obama. Clinton. Obama. Globalists. Globalists. Globalists. Clinton. Old McDonald had a word salad. Two scoops for me!

a reply to: theantediluvian

Tillerson clearly said "ease" not eliminate completely.

Nobody in Trump's administration is demanding diplomatic ties be restored.

There has been no "about face" whatsoever.

This is just a fabrication by you with absolutely no supporting evidence.

FAKE TITLE. FAKE NEWS.

TO THE HOAX BIN!

a reply to: Metallicus

I support the decision to call on an easing of the blockade and a quick resolution to the crisis. I guess you could say that I'm glad that Trump didn't double down on his original position? Is that supposed to be praiseworthy? That this one time when he was wrong, he listened to reason, wasn't intractable and flip-flopped and landed on the right side?

Meh. F it. I guess we're all supposed to lower our standards and just be happy he didn't continue to make things worse.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Byrd

Apparently Qatar immediately reached out and Trump had a call with the Emir so I assume he is on board and we won't see him coming out to contradict what Tillerson just announced.

Then again, there have been a number of notable disconnects between Trump's rhetoric and his administration's official statements, including in matters of geopolitics and in fact, Qatar. So who knows. The WH spokespeople encourage thinking people not to pay attention to what the President says.

It has been "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" since day one with this bunch. The chaos is showing.

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Keep shifting, shifty. If you move the goal posts enough times, you might actually be right about something. You're not there yet though. I'll check back in a little while.