As cynical as I am, but I have a feeling that this image will mean something for the Middle East in years:
Context: Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad performing funeral prayers for one Qatari martyr and four Palestinian martyrs after the Zionist bombing of Doha.
Ex-military psycho, mid-30s, insane Facebook account uncovered after they catch him
Imagine dying in Utah
The bullet was guided by Allah, he won't survive
Charlie Kirk is dead lmao
We interrupt the Qatar news cycle with reports about a Russian drone strike on a target in Poland. 5+ drones already crossed Polish airspace a few minutes ago and now there are reports that Russians struck something in Polish territory. I'm logging out for the day after a day of furious posting, see you on the other side.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're living in the age of happening, the nothing ever happeners are dead.
If we ignore all the political implications of everything and just focus on the human side.
This is Badr Al Dossari
His Qatari blood is now mixed with Palestinian blood, Lebanese blood, Syrian blood, Iranian blood, Yemeni blood and the blood of countless others on the road to Al Aqsa. He's just another sacrifice to satiate the unstoppable bloodlust of the Israeli war machine. May Allah grant him the highest ranks of heaven, next to all martyrs of the past two years and beyond.
It feels hard to imagine, but maybe something like this:
Using Al Jazeera to attack Saudi/Emirati interests in the region
Financing MB branches in Egypt and accelerating dissent against Sisi's regime
Buying the loyalty of Jolani's freaks in Syria and making the new Syria a Qatari-Turkish outpost that could be used to harass Israel
Helping Iran evade sanctions more effectively by shipping to Iran from Qatar's ports
Cutting deals under the table to help finance Ansarallah institutions in Yemen
Sabotaging the American-Israeli-Saudi plan to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon by financing Hezbollah and their allies
Selling more LNG to China and their allies instead of Europe and the US
Sabotaging Saudi's 2030 plan and their upcoming hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2034
If you're interested in how this actually looks in action, check out some of Al Jazeera's old reporting on stuff like the Egyptian elections in 2012, Khashoggi's murder and the 2006 Lebanon War
I'm the Gulf's biggest hater, but give them time honestly. Today was a shock on all levels, the illusion of invincibility was completely shattered for the first time since the establishment of the new order in the Middle East post-Gulf War. Things will not stay the same.
The Qataris have an admirable flexibility and a willingness to test the limits of US blob in a way that other US-controlled states don't dare to do. Qatar agitated through Al Jazeera against US-supported governments in Egypt, Tunisia and numerous other Arab states during the Arab Spring and were instrumental in toppling a few. They have always been Iran's most important partner in the Gulf, and they maintain financial and logistical support networks for Muslim Brotherhood branches in all over the Muslim world, which of course angers the US and their favorite cucks in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Jerusalem. They have also refused full normalisation with Israel, still allow anti-imperialist dissent in the country, and directly criticise Israel every day through Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera is Qatar's most potent weapon, and any change in Qatar's direction will first be noticed in what Al Jazeera shows on its screens. I believe that Qatar is smart enough to realign themselves again outside the Saudi-UAE-Israeli Axis, just like they did in 2017 with the Gulf Crisis.
Yeah it's important that money keeps flowing, but also that the empire keeps its aggression outside the borders of the Gulf. The front reaching Qatar today and the US doing nothing to stop it is absolutely a backstabbing. The deal was always security and stability in exchange for complete capitulation to the empire in terms of sovereignty and open energy markets. Today, the US failed their part of the deal for the first time ever. The US previously saved Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's Iraq, they assisted Saudi Arabia in both Yemen and Bahrain, and they made sure that Gulf interests were unharmed during the Iraq-Iran War. Today, an American ally used American weapons with American approval, which breaks the foundation of this understanding between the Gulf and America
Interesting post by Saudi propagandist Malek Al Rougi:
The Iranian-Israeli War
Attack on Abqaiq
The Bombing of Doha
Events and stances that raise strategic questions for decision-makers.
Those who read the context of Gulf security find that the Gulf Cooperation Council was established due to the Iraqi-Iranian War, welcomed American and European bases after Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, and after 2011, the Gulf intervened directly to protect Bahrain by deploying the Peninsula Shield Forces despite Western opposition and despite the presence of the U.S. Fifth Fleet on its soil. In 2015, the Gulf intervened in Yemen through Operation Decisive Storm to support Yemeni legitimacy against the Houthi coup, and there was also Western opposition to this at various stages. Years ago, we witnessed the attack on Abqaiq and Aramco and the Western stance, as well as what happened in the Iranian-Israeli War, Iran’s bombing of Doha, and the evacuation of Al Udeid Air Base. This week, Israel bombed a Gulf country for the first time in history by targeting Doha, which hosts the largest American base, and despite Israel being an ally of Washington, Netanyahu bombed in a criminal manner without regard, with a soft American stance toward what happened.
If those who intend to attack the Gulf knew that Kuwait’s borders extend to Jazan, Doha’s borders extend to Jeddah, and Tabuk’s borders extend to Muscat, they would not consider attacking. What reassures is that the Gulf is distinguished by flexible leadership that possesses bold and informed decision-making to understand and organize Gulf national security.
My own comment: the shift in rhetoric by Gulf propaganda figures has been very interesting to follow. It doesn't mean anything yet, but they're sensing that populations in the Gulf are livid, and a dominant theme within policy nerd discussions right now is "why not China if America can't protect us?".