Al Shindagah

POLITICS 6 | Al Shindagah | Issue 140 ormer United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger spoke to truth when he said, “America has no permanent friends, only interests”. The fact that the Trump administration is prepared to overlook Qatar’s terrorist ties to gain financial and military benefits lends credence to that wily veteran politician’s admission. Just seven months ago following US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, his very first foreign trip in office, he attacked Doha for being “a haven for terrorism” and the terrorists’ chief financier. He later boasted that he had encouraged the Kingdom and its allies to distance themselves from their former brotherly neighbour gone rogue. It is known that I had my doubts about candidate’s Donald Trump’s character and fitness for the job but I hoped he would not renege on his promises like his predecessor Barack Obama who cuddled Iran while disparaging Gulf States. Once elected, we believed we had a reliable partner. Trump’s visit was considered a sign of respect for the historic alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States. We were wrong. It was nothing but a media photo opportunity without substance meant to pacify the Arab World pushed aside by Obama in the aftermath of his nuclear deal with the devil. The Saudi-led Alliance that includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt was prepared to re-embrace Qatar on condition it agreed to implement 13 demands. The list included the severance of Doha’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Daesh and Hezbollah; the closure of its propagandist media F ©APimages Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor • Published in the media on 14 February 2018 is not ours Our enemy’s friend