US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on those tweets
US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the Saudi-led diplomatic isolation of Qatar, calling it just punishment for the country's financial support for Islamic extremists and taking sides in a dispute among key US allies in the Gulf.
"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump said on Twitter today. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"
He followed with two additional tweets, saying the action was proof that his meeting with Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month was "already paying off."
"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" he said.
The US wasn't warned by its Arab allies about an impending move to isolate Qatar during Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, according to two Administration officials. But Trump was aware at the time of his meeting in Saudi Arabia of longstanding tensions among the Gulf nations fuelled by Qatar's financial support for extremist groups and cosiness with Iran, the officials said.
Trump's tweets marked a shift from the US position just a day earlier.
Yesterday, the White House had said it was seeking to "de-escalate" the crisis and is committed to holding talks with all parties.
Saudi Arabia and three regional allies - the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain - accused their fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member of supporting a range of violent groups, from proxies of Shia Muslim Iran to the Sunni militants of al-Qaeda and Isis. They suspended flights and sea travel to Qatar, ordering Qatari diplomats and citizens out.
Trump's "tweet fuels more conflict, increases tensions and will be used by those who are trying to demonise Qatar," said Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at Qatar University in Doha.
~25% of all US troops and DOD contractors in Middle East are based in Qatar. Lose Al Udied and you're totally reliant on Gulfies and Turkey.
Qatar has dismissed the Saudi charges as baseless, and said the Saudis are seeking to dominate the region. Western officials have expressed concerns that Qatar may back fundamentalist groups, but they've also raised similar issues about Saudi Arabia.
"We are combating the funding for any terrorist group," Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani told CNN.
The crisis pits US allies against each other, disrupting trade, flights and business activity in one of the world's most strategically important regions. The Saudi-led action has prompted some analysts to openly speculate about the possibility of regime change in Qatar, the No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas, whose sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in global companies from Barclays to Credit Suisse Group.
The crisis has roots as far back as 1995, when the father of the current Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Al Thani deposed his own pro-Saudi father and the country began shipping natural gas from the world's largest reservoir, a resource it shares with Iran.
Qatar used its gas wealth to back the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and armed factions opposed by the UAE or Saudi Arabia in Libya and Syria. Gas also paid for a global television network, Al Jazeera, which at various times has embarrassed or angered most Middle Eastern governments.
I wonder if the commander-in-chief realizes he has 10,000 troops stationed in Qatar. https://t.co/nHJIcrvlib
"Moving Qatar away from supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and others is good for the region and the world," said Paul Sullivan, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington.
"It may be partially done by public missives and speeches, but a lot of this has to be behind the scenes. And careful wording is needed - very careful wording. This situation could spin in many directions. And some of those directions are likely not where we want to go."
A Flight Radar graphic shows how Qatar Airways is managing bans on flights through the airspace of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt, by flying over Iranian airspace. Photo / AP
The US has previously had a friendly and cooperative relationship with the country. It's home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command. The US Ambassador to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, drew a contrast with Trump yesterday, retweeting previous posts from the US Embassy complimenting Qatar for combating terrorism financing and joining the coalition against Isis (Islamic State).
Smith is a career foreign service officer who was nominated for her post by former President Barack Obama, donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign and hasn't yet been replaced by Trump.
"It's not a coincidence for the spat between Qatar and Saudi Arabia to erupt right after Trump's visit to the region," Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, said. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have decided to put pressure on Qatar, which so far has seemed to refrain from pursuing equally harsh policies toward Iran. Trump's latest tweet is a reflection of his anti-Iran stance."
Mediation efforts intensified today, with Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah travelling to Saudi Arabia for talks to defuse the crisis. Sheikh Sabah also spoke to Qatar's ruler and urged him to avoid any escalation, Kuwaiti state-run media reported.
