Trump picks sides in the Gulf

The following is an excerpt from an editorial in the New York Times.

President Trump’s impetuousness and his simplistic view of American interests have again put national security at risk. He has taken sides with Saudi Arabia and four other Sunni states in their attempt to isolate and bully Qatar, the tiny gulf nation that is arguably America’s most important military outpost in the region.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen chose to cut ties to Qatar for a number of reasons, some of them petty, but principally because Qatar has a relatively close relationship with the Sunni states’ greatest rival, Shiite Iran.

Mr. Trump has made clear he seeks no opening to Iran and has no interest in building on the Obama administration’s success in reaching a nuclear deal with it. But even if his goal is to isolate Iran, allying with Saudi Arabia to punish Qatar is a self-defeating way to go about it: Qatar is home to the forward headquarters of the United States Central Command and is a major intelligence hub. It hosts Al Udeid Air Base, with more than 11,000 U.S. and coalition forces.

There is no sign that Mr. Trump has actually thought any of this through.

This is a bad time to alienate Qatar. With the United States allies beginning an assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s (Daesh) “capital” in Syria, America needs its bases.

The American ambassador to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, this week retweeted one of her posts, saying that Qatar made “real progress” in curbing financial support for terrorists, reportedly including prosecuting people for funding terrorist groups, freezing assets and putting stringent controls on its banks.

One thing seems clear: Tiny Qatar is more adept at diplomacy than is Mr. Trump. The man who sold himself as a shrewd deal maker seems to believe instead in green lights and blank cheques, causing great damage to American interests.