After Israeli strike, Trump declares US commitment to defend Qatar if it’s attacked again

The White House on Wednesday published an executive order from US President Donald Trump instructing the government to view any armed attack on Qatar as “a threat to the peace and security of the United States.”

The order, a notable American commitment to ensure the security of an Arab state, came some three weeks after an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha prompted criticism from Trump and outrage from the Qataris.

Trump subsequently promised that such an attack would not recur, and on Monday persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize to his Qatari counterpart for the strike and promise not to do so again.

“I want to assure you that Israel was targeting Hamas, not Qataris,” Netanyahu’s office said he assured Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. At a joint press conference with Trump later that day, Netanyahu stressed: “I said to the prime minister of Qatar, Israel was targeting terrorists. It wasn’t targeting Qatar. And of course, we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen. He wasn’t our target.”

“In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability,” the order declares.

After Israeli strike, Trump declares US commitment to defend Qatar if it’s attacked again

American president signs executive order stating that any military action against the Gulf state will be considered 'a threat to the peace and security of the United States'

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Andy C]

Bribes don't have to be given for a particular purpose. It is a very Middle Eastern point of view that uses bribes in advance to ensure good service.

You give them beforehand, and you DON'T say what they are for. A nod of agreement ensures preferential treatment. (tips are given AFTER a service is done, so it's a bit different- Bribes are in advance, and never are you so rude as to say I will give you this so that you will do that)

My late mil was well versed in the art of bribes- she learned from Russia and China where she grew up. When I married George I got a crash course in the ways to offer a bribe and the situations where this is needful. In Canada I have NEVER found it needful but I must admit she was able to get away with breaking minor laws about the amount of garbage she could stuff in her legally allowed cans in Vancouver BC.

Proverbs 17:8 speak of bribes in just that Middle Eastern context. -

Proverbs 17:8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

As mil taught, bribes give you success even when the city won't let you put more than the allotted garbage out. It cost her $50 a year and she could throw ANYTHING away. She also taught me how to bargain in yet another very Middle Eastern manner. It's an art. I've used that! I miss her so much.

Proverbs 19:6 Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

But the Bible frowns on bribes. These are just descriptions of the practice. Here is what God says:

Exodus 23: 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

The bribe is a gift given seemingly with no thought of return favours- but it is expected that you WILL return that favour if that gift is given. I know it's not a North American concept but in Middle Eastern (and Russian and Chinese) cultures, it is part of the fabric of life.

God says a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

I remember reading that Jaquie Kennedy was given some opulent gifts that the State Dept refused to let her keep (one of the biographies of her that I read)

When I looked it up (Jaquie was understandably bummed) this is what I found from the Ronald Reagan Library which explains it's a part of the US Constitution Article 1, Section 9 which I will only quote the first part. - for explanation of the amounts allowed, just open that link and read.

"Foreign Official Gifts
Even though heads of state have traditionally exchanged gifts as expressions of goodwill, the Constitution (Article I, Section 9) prohibits anyone in the US Government from receiving a personal gift from a foreign head of state without the consent of Congress.


Today, the handling of gifts from a foreign official to any Federal Government employee, including the President, is largely governed by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966 and further legislation passed in 1977.

Congress has allowed Federal employees to retain any gift from a foreign government, as long as the total US retail value of the gifts presented at one occasion does not exceed an amount established by the General Services Administration (GSA).[1] Foreign official gifts over this “minimal value” are considered gifts to the people of the United States, which the recipient must purchase from GSA, at fair market value, in order to retain. The White House Gift Unit sees to the disposition of foreign official gifts that the President and First Lady do not retain."

and here is the CIA busting expensive watches that their agents are gifted:

Why the CIA destroys $10,000 watches agents receive as gifts from foreign officials in which Fox Business explains the dollar amounts and how those are treated and why.

You know I rarely anymore post a lengthy response, and feel no need to now. Again, why would they need to bribe Trump? We are already in friendly relations with their country, and we need that base.

This is not directed at you, but some folks need to understand how diplomacy works, especially when dealing in the middle east. For example, the 21 point Trump plan likely took a lot of back door deals to get all the countries to sign on to the deal. Without all those countries, especially the ME countries, there would be no pressure on Hamas to end it.

Nobody has played Trump, Trump has proved so far to be a deal maker, and if the deal is broken by Hamas, Israels best friend (Trump) will give the green light to finish the job. And yes, they need the green light from Trump.

 

[Margery]

You know I rarely anymore post a lengthy response, and feel no need to now. Again, why would they need to bribe Trump? We are already in friendly relations with their country, and we need that base.

This is not directed at you, but some folks need to understand how diplomacy works, especially when dealing in the middle east. For example, the 21 point Trump plan likely took a lot of back door deals to get all the countries to sign on to the deal. Without all those countries, especially the ME countries, there would be no pressure on Hamas to end it.

Nobody has played Trump, Trump has proved so far to be a deal maker, and if the deal is broken by Hamas, Israels best friend (Trump) will give the green light to finish the job. And yes, they need the green light from Trump.

They don't need to bribe Trump. He should do what is right for the USA no matter what.

If that means being nice to Qatar great, but accepting a lavish gift in a Middle Eastern culture is the accepting of a bribe.

It is safest when things are clearly spelled out and agreed to in advance. We get an air force base, you get some but not all protection. No bribes, no jet.



Eastern minds view bribes as part of life. You give a great big impressive gift - and your social score soars. In return the person accepting the gift is accepting the obligation.

This is where it breaks down.

In Western thinking first off we don't bribe. Second when we give a gift we are culturally taught that we shouldn't expect anything in return - at least if our parents taught us our manners properly.

So here's where it falls apart a bit.

The Eastern oil sheiks don't understand that when a Westerner accepts a gift, there are no strings attached.

The Western leader doesn't necessarily understand that when the East offers a valuable gift, that there ARE strings attached.

Acceptance of the gift to the Eastern mind giving the bribe, means you know what is now expected. Favours. Accept the gift and you accept the obligation, the strings attached.

I'm not saying either party is in the wrong except whoever is in charge of making sure that Presidents don't keep expensive gifts- that much is quite clear from the Ronald Reagan library explanation of Article 1 Section 9 that I linked above.

If the President unwisely over ruled that provision, then he is committing himself and the US to "favours" or the cultural expectation of favours in future as yet unspecified, when he accepts a lavish gift.

Accepting the gift "to make them happy" is a profound misunderstanding of the gift and it's obligations in Middle Eastern culture. President Trump's Middle Eastern diplomats and advisors should have told him this in advance. That is their job.

Unfortunately the attack by Israel on Doha Qatar is making the oil moguls of the Middle East think that America doesn't keep it's promises.

To their thinking this is a handshake deal, good as your word when you accept a lavish gift.

 

[Amethyst]

Nobody has played Trump,

That's basically what Amir keeps saying. "Pay not attention to what Trump says, but to what he does."