Why the Scapegoating of Qatar Now? Look at the Larger Context

While Qatar has indeed financially, politically, and logistically supported terrorist groups and extremist preachers and violence inciters, the recent campaign to hang out Qatar as the sole supporter of terrorism, is not only absurd, but dangerous. The fact that this campaign is spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, the single most dangerous supporter of so-called Islamic terrorism, and the cradle of Wahhabi-takfiri jihadism in the world, makes it even more surreal and dangerous. The fact that this campaign followed U.S. President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with the heads of state of 50 Muslim nations on May 21 to declare a total war on terrorism and extremism, has made Saudi Arabia look like the leader of the global war on terrorism, and put it above any suspicion. This will make most of the world’s nations blindsided and vulnerable to Saudi-backed terrorism that is completely coordinated, and has been for decades, with British intelligence institutions. It is often coordinated with American intelligence agencies, either by them turning a blind eye to these activities, or fully participating in them. This is what happened under President Obama in invading Libya and attacking Syria through actively backing the same Islamic terrorist groups, like Al-Nusra Front, Jaish Al-Islam, and others that Qatar is now accused of supporting, and by allowing ISIS to grow and become a major actor in the region and the world.

The British-Saudi involvement in the attacks on the U.S. in September 11, 2001, is well-known, although not yet thoroughly investigated, pending the implementation of the JASTA [Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act] law by U.S. courts to bring Saudi officials to American courts.

Many of the Qatar-based 59 individuals and 12 groups that were listed as terrorists on June 7 by Saudi Arabia and its allies, the U.A.E., Egypt, Bahrain, like Islamist preacher Sheikh Ahmed Al-Qaradhawi, were frequent visitors of Saudi Arabia and received ample support from it until recently. While Egypt and the Libyan governments have legitimate reasons to support the listing of Qaradhawi and Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are playing a sinister game. The latter two are actively supporting the Yemeni branch of the MB, Al-Islah Party, which is heavily involved in the war against Yemen in the Saudi-led coalition.

Saudi Arabia is also a strong supporter of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, who are the main native Syrian terrorist group, after Al-Nusra and ISIS. Saudi Arabia had indeed listed the MB as terrorists in 2014, but continued to selectively support its different branches in accordance with the British-Obama agenda of regime-change and destabilization in the whole region.

This whole situation should be seen in the larger, correct context, in order to understand and deal with this non-local crisis.

There is a new paradigm developing in the world, which is led by Russia, China, and their allies in the BRICS nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Economically, it is represented by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which is revolutionizing the world economy. Politically and militarily, Russia’s intervention in Syria since September 2015, brought an end to the Anglo-American regime-change doctrines. The Anglo-Saudi-Qatari-American forces (including all the above terrorist groups) that have wreaked havoc in the West Asia and North Africa, at least since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the outbreak of the orchestrated “Arab Spring,” are now losing their foothold and most of their positions. ISIS is being systematically eliminated in Iraq and Syria right now by two sets of coalitions: 1. The Russia-Iran-Hezbollah-backed Syrian National Army inside Syria, in addition to a U.S.-backed (under Trump) mix of Kurdish-Arab forces in eastern Syria. 2. By Iranian-backed Iraqi army and militias on the ground in Iraq, with certain aerial support from the U.S. Air Force.

Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have entangled themselves in a real quagmire in Yemen, in a war which has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the history of this country, committing war crimes and supporting the same terrorist groups mentioned above in the fight against the national army in Sana’a and its allies the Ansarullah movement (Houthis). The Saudi-U.A.E.-led coalition have achieved nothing of their goals in Yemen, and are unable to withdraw. On the other hand, the EU and the Western world generally are witnessing one of the greatest financial and economic crises since the 1930s.

The fact that President Trump has been contemplating, even if remotely, joining Russia and China in shaping a new economic and political order, is giving nightmares to the imperialist factions in the U.S., and in Britain and its satrapies in the Gulf. With the Middle East being the easiest region in which to start wars, the Saudi move is ill-boding.

During Trump’s Riyadh summit with the Muslim leaders, Iran was declared as the main source of terrorism and instability in the region and the world. The Saudi deputy Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman claimed in May 3 that Iran intends to take control of the holy sites in Saudi Arabia and that his country would instead take the fight into Iranian territories. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, during his visit to France, in June 7, vowed to punish Iran. That very day, a group connected to ISIS attacked the Iranian Parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, the worst act of terror in Iran in more than two decades. Iranian officials immediately pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia as being the recruiter of the terrorists, although Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said later that it was still too early to judge whether Saudi Arabia had a role in the attacks.

The intention seems to be to draw the U.S. into another disastrous conflict in the region on behalf of its allies, and prevent any collaboration between the U.S. and Russia. Another potential consequence of a dramatically escalated state of war in the Gulf, could lead to a complete disaster for the Asian economic giants China, Japan, South Korea, and India, who heavily depend on daily oil and gas shipments from the Gulf. Between 80% and 85% of all the approximately 17 million barrels of petroleum that pass through the tiny Strait of Hormuz daily, sails to the countries above. Qatar and Iran are the largest producers and exporters of natural gas to Asia, besides Russia. Any disruption of that flow could mean an unimaginable crisis for these countries and the world economy. This is one of the greatest economic blackmail operations the Anglo-American forces have been holding against Asia.