Juan Cole: Trump Engineered Saudi Soft Coup, attack on Qatar, to Save Self

Juan Cole writes that Trump Engineered Saudi Soft Coup, attack on Qatar, to Save Self.

This naked power grab on the part of Saudi Arabia has likely destroyed the budding Gulf Cooperation Council (that groups Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar), which aimed at being sort of like the European Union plus NATO for the small Gulf Arab oil monarchies. Some of its rationale was to resist Iranian hegemony, so breaking it up helps Iran. Iran has correct relations with Qatar, and stepped in to help offset the Saudi boycott.

To any extent that Trump encouraged the rash Saudi move, he helped further fragment politics in the region. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and SecDef Mattis clearly did not approve and have tried behind the scenes to undermine Trump policy in this regard.

So to conclude: Trump did not get hundreds of billions in new investments in the US from Saudi Arabia. He did manage to put in an erratic and aggressive crown prince in Riyadh, helping destabilize the region in ways Iran will take advantage of. The other corner of Wolff’s reporting on the May trip, that Trump thought it was a prelude to Peace in Our Time in Israel-Palestine, is too complex to take on here but that was also obviously a scam.

Emphasis Mine

In his eagerness to prove his deal-making abilities, Donald Trump is destabilizing the Middle-East by emboldening Saudi Arabia and strengthening the geopolitical clout of Iran.

In private business, Trump could walk away from a failed deal because he was using other people's money. In international affairs, a failed deal can have horrendous consequences.