Turkish president says Qatar isolation violates Islamic values

[webfact]

Turkish president says Qatar isolation violates Islamic values

By Ercan Gurses and Aziz El Yaakoubi

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, June 13, 2017. Yasin Bulbul/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

 

ANKARA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday denounced the isolation of Qatar by neighbouring states as a violation of Islamic values and akin to a "death penalty" imposed in a crisis that has reverberated across the Middle East and beyond.

 

Erdogan's comments marked the strongest intervention yet by a powerful regional ally of Doha eight days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and applied stringent economic sanctions on it.

 

Later on Tuesday, the UAE ambassador to the United States, which has an air base in Qatar, said there was no military component to the steps taken against Doha.

 

Qatar denies accusations that it supports Islamist militants and Shi'ite Iran, arch regional foe of the Sunni Gulf Arab monarchies.

"A very grave mistake is being made in Qatar; isolating a nation in all areas is inhumane and against Islamic values. It's as if a death penalty decision has been taken for Qatar," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in Ankara.

 

"Qatar has shown the most decisive stance against the terrorist organisation Islamic State alongside Turkey. Victimising Qatar through smear campaigns serves no purpose."

 

The measures against Qatar, a small oil and gas exporter with a population of 2.7 million people, have disrupted imports of food and other materials and caused some foreign banks to scale back business.

 

The UAE envoy, Yousef Al Otaiba, told reporters in Washington: "There is absolutely no military component to anything that we are doing."

 

"I have spoken and seen (U.S. Defense Secretary) General (Jim) Mattis four times in the last week; we’ve given them our complete assurance that the steps we have taken will not affect in anyway Al Udeid base or any operations supporting or regarding the base," Otaiba said.

 

Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is home to more than 11,000 U.S. and coalition forces and an important base for the fight against Islamic State militants in the region.

 

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, told a Senate hearing that the rift between Qatar and its neighbours was not affecting U.S. military operations.

 

Qatar, which imported 80 percent of its food from bigger Gulf Arab neighbours before the diplomatic shutdown, has been talking to Iran and Turkey to secure food and water.

 

The world's second largest helium producer, Qatar has also shut its two helium production plants because of the economic boycott, industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

 

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also criticised the measures imposed on Qatar, saying in Baghdad on Tuesday they were hurting the emirate's people, not its rulers.

 

SAUDI FOOD SUPPLIES?

 

Gulf Arab states have issued no public demands to Qatar, but a list that has been circulating includes severing diplomatic ties with Iran, expulsion of all members of the Palestinian Hamas group and the Muslim Brotherhood, the freezing of all bank accounts of Hamas members, ending support for "terrorist organizations" and ending interference in Egyptian affairs.

 

Some analysts say demands could also include closing down satellite channel Al Jazeera, or changing its editorial policy.

 

When asked what, if any, further steps would be taken against Qatar, the UAE's Otaiba said: "We’ve designated 59 people and 12 entities; it’s likely that you could see designations of their bank accounts, and perhaps of the banks themselves."

 

"The specific list is being drawn up and the reason it has not been completed and passed on yet is because there’s four countries involved," he added. "Each country has their own set of lists, their own specifications and so we’re trying to compile and curate that into one master list and it should be handed over to the United States fairly soon."

 

Otaiba reiterated the accusations that Qatar was supporting terrorism.

 

"Doha has become a financial, media and ideological hub for extremism. Then it must take decisive action to deal once and for all with its extremist problem," he wrote in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal published on Monday night.

 

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, talking to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said Riyadh was ready to send food and medical supplies to Qatar.

 

The minister, Adel al-Jubeir, defended the Arab powers' move against Qatar as a boycott, not a blockade, adding: "We have allowed the movement of families between the two countries ... so that we don’t divide families."

 

There has been no breakthrough in Kuwaiti efforts to mediate in the crisis, but a U.S. official in the region said Kuwait was continuing with what is seen as a "slow, painstaking, deliberate" process focussed inside the Gulf Cooperation Council.

 

"The parties are still defining what it is they want out of this confrontation ... It's difficult to conduct negotiations if you don't really know what everybody wants."

 

INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY

 

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Monday that Doha "still had no clue" why Arab states had cut ties. He denied Doha supported groups like the Muslim Brotherhood that its neighbours oppose, or had warm ties with their enemy Iran.

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Erdogan would discuss the Gulf rift in a telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump in coming days.

 

Turkey approved plans last week to deploy more troops to a military base it has established in Qatar under a 2014 agreement with the Gulf Arab state. The move was seen as support by regional power and NATO member Turkey to Doha.

 

In Moscow, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's King Salman discussed the crisis in a phone call on Tuesday. The Kremlin said the dispute was not helping to unite efforts to try to find a Syria settlement or fight terrorism.

 

(Reporting by Ercan Gurses and Ece Toksaba in Ankara; Additional reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Sylvia Westall in Dubai, Maria Kiselyova in Moscow and Yara Bayoumy in Washington; Writing by Sami Aboudi, Gareth Jones and James Dalgleish; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-14

[darksidedog]

Given the atrocities we have seen performed in its name, I am a little surprised to hear that there are any Islamic values.

[phantomfiddler]

Islamic values ? Is he pulling our plonkers ? One really good reason for getting out of the E.U. !

[rudi49jr]

And locking up 100,000 people because they may or may not have anything to do with the alledged 'coup' is of course totally not violating Islamic values. 

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"There is absolutely no military component to anything that we are doing."

Reckless caveat.

What about any component that supports Islamist militants and Shi'ite Iran such as safe haven, financial support, access to shipping, nonmilitary logistics support, transshipping/commercial air support, etc.

It's like saying "I never, with a few exceptions ..."

[ilostmypassword]

It looks like Prince Salman's plan is working out exactly like his others': badly.

I wonder if Qatar will be inviting Turkish or Iranian troops into it's territory as guarantors of its independence.

[jobwolf]

A typical case of the "MURDERER CLAIMING COMPENSATION"

Erdogan IS AS BAD AS TRUMP WITH HIS IMAGINARY ELEMENTS.

Good luck to both of them, none will survive for long.

.

[ilostmypassword]

I for one am shocked that any politician would be invoking religion to advance his or her political goals.

[coulson]

It looks like Prince Salman's plan is working out exactly like his others': badly.
I wonder if Qatar will be inviting Turkish or Iranian troops into it's territory as guarantors of its independence.

They apparently don't need an invite..

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/turkey-expedites-troop-deployment-to-qatar-as-gulf-rift-escalates.html

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

It looks like Prince Salman's plan is working out exactly like his others': badly.

I wonder if Qatar will be inviting Turkish or Iranian troops into it's territory as guarantors of its independence.

Already done. In December 2015 Turkey and Qatar made a treaty to locate 3,000 Turkish troops to be stationed at the base in Qatar. The troops will be supported by aerial and naval assets and their operations would be augmented by special forces units. http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/12/16/turkey-build-military-base-qatar/77421650/

 

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Already done. In December 2015 Turkey and Qatar made a treaty to locate 3,000 Turkish troops to be stationed at the base in Qatar. The troops will be supported by aerial and naval assets and their operations would be augmented by special forces units. http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/12/16/turkey-build-military-base-qatar/77421650/

 

And unlike Saudi Arabia, Turkey has armed forces that actually can fight.

[Dave67]

I work in Doha , nothing has changed, Went shopping with the missus last night Carrefour had its usual stocks of Farang food. Flying back to Thailand on 21st and apart from a swerve around UAE and a quick turn over Iran we'll be adding on about 30 minutes to the flight. Luckily I booked a direct flight with Qatari Airways if I'd have gone with the cheaper 1 stop with Emirates or Gulf I would have lost my money

Edited June 14, 2017 by Dave67

[anon4546543]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

And unlike Saudi Arabia, Turkey has armed forces that actually can fight.

Well, they know how to fight the rightful land owners of eastern Turkey and northern lands of Syria and Iran. The Kurds.

 I will mention another small nation within Turkey that they knew how to fight if you want. Well exterminate actually, not so much fight. 

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, spiderorchid said:

Well, they know how to fight the rightful land owners of eastern Turkey and northern lands of Syria and Iran. The Kurds.

 I will mention another small nation within Turkey that they knew how to fight if you want. Well exterminate actually, not so much fight. 

And this is relevant how?

[anon4546543]

26 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

And this is relevant how?

You mentioned that the Turks know how to fight. I am stating your case, they do know how to fight.  They also know how to lock up dissidents. They know how to pressure Turk citizens in other  countries.

 In recent history they have become great fighters. They know how to turn so called democracy into a farce.   They know how to threaten Europe with more Turk and Syrian economic refugees.   Oh yes, Turkey has an army that knows how to fight,  especially its own people.

[coulson]

They must be looking forward to playing with some new toys too...

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-14/qatar-said-to-sign-deal-for-u-s-f-15s-as-gulf-crisis-continues

[Redline]

Oh, a dictator and his values

[Redline]

On 6/14/2017 at 3:34 PM, ilostmypassword said:

I for one am shocked that any politician would be invoking religion to advance his or her political goals.

That has been his platform since he has been in power though

[ilostmypassword]

5 minutes ago, Redline said:

That has been his platform since he has been in power though

I just cannot believe that any politician, ever, would cite his or her religious values as a justification for any policy. I mean, if that were the case, that would mean that hypocrisy and self-serving rhetoric play a large part in the discussion of domestic and international affairs.  Seems hardly likely.

Edited June 15, 2017 by ilostmypassword

[Redline]

4 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

I just cannot believe that any politician, ever, would cite his or her religious values as a justification for any policy. I mean, if that were the case, that would mean that hypocrisy and self-serving rhetoric play a large part in the discussion of domestic and international affairs.  Seems hardly likely.

That's why my Turkish friend left Turkey.  All powerful positions, and even business connections now require (unoffically) that you have strong Islamic views that mirror Erdoğan's views of the religious future of Turkey.

[RickBradford]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

I just cannot believe that any politician, ever, would cite his or her religious values as a justification for any policy. I mean, if that were the case, that would mean that hypocrisy and self-serving rhetoric play a large part in the discussion of domestic and international affairs.  Seems hardly likely.

Well, there goes the US Declaration of Independence ....

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

.. the Gettysburg Address ...

 

"..we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 

.. and the Pledge of Allegiance ...

 

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

How odd, then, that all that "hypocrisy and self-serving rhetoric" gave rise to the freest and most successful society the world has ever seen.

[ilostmypassword]

26 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Well, there goes the US Declaration of Independence ....

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

.. the Gettysburg Address ...

 

"..we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 

.. and the Pledge of Allegiance ...

 

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

How odd, then, that all that "hypocrisy and self-serving rhetoric" gave rise to the freest and most successful society the world has ever seen.

And the legal authority of those various texts is....non-existent. However, as you seem not to be aware, the Constitution of the United States of America is that nation's supreme legal document. The one from which all legal authority of the USA derives. And in the body of that text God is mentioned how many times? More than 10? No. More than 5? No. More than 1? No. More than 0? No. Not once.  The people who created the founding document of the USA didn't mention God once. Do you think they forgot? 

And by the way, "under God" wasn't put in the Pledge of Allegiance until the Red Scare of the 50's." And the original version of the Pledge was written by a Socialist.

[Morch]

On 6/14/2017 at 2:01 PM, ilostmypassword said:

It looks like Prince Salman's plan is working out exactly like his others': badly.

I wonder if Qatar will be inviting Turkish or Iranian troops into it's territory as guarantors of its independence.

It looks like you're obsessed.

As mentioned above, Turkish troops are present. So are US troops. Both serve as a shield from aggression (unlikely as it is), just by being present. I wonder if you gave much thought to the prospect of Qatar inviting Iranian military presence - doubtful they would wish to complicate things further, both vs.the US, and Qatar's immediate neighbors. In other news, US will sell Qatar a bunch of F-15 - not sure how that stacks with your perception of events.

 

On 6/14/2017 at 8:37 PM, ilostmypassword said:

And unlike Saudi Arabia, Turkey has armed forces that actually can fight.

 

Do tell. Other than fighting the Kurds, and a bit of messing about with neighbors - what major successful warfare operations does the Turkish military boast?  Not only that, what makes you imagine that their supposed fighting capabilities will be put to the test?

 

[Morch]

On 6/14/2017 at 2:27 PM, jobwolf said:

A typical case of the "MURDERER CLAIMING COMPENSATION"

Erdogan IS AS BAD AS TRUMP WITH HIS IMAGINARY ELEMENTS.

Good luck to both of them, none will survive for long.

.

 

Hyperbole.

Trump, for all his supposed sins, got some ways to go before reaching Erdogan's level.

He is not a religious nutter, and the Turks could only dream of having a fraction of the liberties Americans take for granted, even under Trump.

[ilostmypassword]

19 minutes ago, Morch said:

It looks like you're obsessed.

As mentioned above, Turkish troops are present. So are US troops. Both serve as a shield from aggression (unlikely as it is), just by being present. I wonder if you gave much thought to the prospect of Qatar inviting Iranian military presence - doubtful they would wish to complicate things further, both vs.the US, and Qatar's immediate neighbors. In other news, US will sell Qatar a bunch of F-15 - not sure how that stacks with your perception of events.

 

 

Do tell. Other than fighting the Kurds, and a bit of messing about with neighbors - what major successful warfare operations does the Turkish military boast?  Not only that, what makes you imagine that their supposed fighting capabilities will be put to the test?

 

Obsessed about what exactly?

I didn't know that Turkish troops were there. Now that I do, I am confident that with them there not even someone as reckless and foolish as Prince Salman, one of the 2 chief authors of this embargo on Qatar,  would do anything. Again, now that Erdogan, a Sunni ideologue, has enlisted Turkey even more strongly on Qatar's side, the nation has no need of taking the extraordinary step of open their nation up to Iranian Armed Forces. For what it's worth the U.S. troops seem to be mainly air force so they wouldn't be threatened and I doubt they would be threatening in the case of an invasion. They are safely out of the way on their air base.

As for the Turks being a threat, they seem to be highly rated by the people who are interested in such things.

http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=turkey

In addition, they have been throughout their history a martial people as has been proved time and time again when they are competently led. And they are very tenacious as their struggle with the Kurds, for better or worse, has revealed.

 

 

[coulson]

Obsessed about what exactly?
I didn't know that Turkish troops were there. Now that I do, I am confident that with them there not even someone as reckless and foolish as Prince Salman, one of the 2 chief authors of this embargo on Qatar,  would do anything. Again, now that Erdogan, a Sunni ideologue, has enlisted Turkey even more strongly on Qatar's side, the nation has no need of taking the extraordinary step of open their nation up to Iranian Armed Forces. For what it's worth the U.S. troops seem to be mainly air force so they wouldn't be threatened and I doubt they would be threatening in the case of an invasion. They are safely out of the way on their air base.
As for the Turks being a threat, they seem to be highly rated by the people who are interested in such things.
http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=turkey
In addition, they have been throughout their history a martial people as has been proved time and time again when they are competently led. And they are very tenacious as their struggle with the Kurds, for better or worse, has revealed.
 
 

Not only in military but a small make up of the working expatriate population before the crisis.

Given that 200,000 Egyptians among others will have now left, it leaves a gap in the working population that Turkish people will be more than happy to fill.

A recent expo was specifically set up between the two countries to focus on trade. Turkish companies are already involved in major infrastructure components for 2022. Looks like they will significantly increase their working population alongside their military presence.

http://m.gulf-times.com/story/545329/Expo-Turkey-by-Qatar-concludes

[Morch]

13 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Obsessed about what exactly?

I didn't know that Turkish troops were there. Now that I do, I am confident that with them there not even someone as reckless and foolish as Prince Salman, one of the 2 chief authors of this embargo on Qatar,  would do anything. Again, now that Erdogan, a Sunni ideologue, has enlisted Turkey even more strongly on Qatar's side, the nation has no need of taking the extraordinary step of open their nation up to Iranian Armed Forces. For what it's worth the U.S. troops seem to be mainly air force so they wouldn't be threatened and I doubt they would be threatening in the case of an invasion. They are safely out of the way on their air base.

As for the Turks being a threat, they seem to be highly rated by the people who are interested in such things.

http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=turkey

In addition, they have been throughout their history a martial people as has been proved time and time again when they are competently led. And they are very tenacious as their struggle with the Kurds, for better or worse, has revealed.

 

 

 

Obsessed with inserting supposed nefarious plots by a select list of personas. Almost same on any vaguely related topic. Same catchphrases. Same generalized nonsense statements.

 

Quote

the nation has no need of taking the extraordinary step of open their nation up to Iranian Armed Forces.

Other than in your imagination, was there any credible indication that this is even on the cards? To put it otherwise, do you have any shred of support for the assertion that the Turkish move averted such a scenario?

 

And forgive me if I do not place a whole lot of faith in your understanding of military matters - not when it comes to the assertions regarding the role and perceived safety of US troops if things go south. Not with regard to relying on the linked website as a source for your groundless claims (same also ranks Thailand at 21. Globally). And not while attempting to shore failed arguments by such nonsense as alluding to supposed history as "martial people" as being relevant.