Why Qatar Is in the Naughty Corner

Despite the convenience of this narrative, there are other forces at play. In reality, Qatar has been ostracized by its “brotherly” neighbors, as the language of regional diplomacy has it, for not kowtowing to the collective vision for the Middle East now largely shared by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

.. The more heinous sin for which Doha is being punished is its willingness to acknowledge that Iran occupies a position as an important regional power and that political Islamists like Hamas and Hezbollah have a role to play in determining the future of the Middle East. To put it bluntly, Qatar is being penalized for refusing to accept the status quo of the past 40 years, and for daring to challenge the conventional wisdom in the gulf that bashing Tehran, buttressing military strongmen and suppressing political Islamism are the right path for the region.

.. For the governments in Saudi Arabia, United States and Israel, such divergent thinking is not merely undesirable but heretical. While these three powers pay lip service to the idea of peace in the Middle East, narrow self-interest increasingly drives their thinking.

.. the ruling al-Thani family and some 200,000 Qataris hold sway over a population of about two million foreign residents.

.. allegations that some family members had been involved in a Saudi-based plot to overthrow the current emir’s father in 1996.

.. it makes sense that the Saudis decided this was the moment to act. Punishing Qatar and isolating Iran also fit with the Israeli government’s assessment of its strategic interests