A harsh truth about politics and leading a democracy is that you often have to cozy up to unscrupulous and deceitful despots
Qatar, the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, hosts the largest US Air Force base outside the 50 states and openly invests its energy wealth abroad — in what many call sophisticated bribery — to maintain outsized influence while funding Hamas and other Islamic extremists. Turkey’s NATO membership and strategic position at the Europe-Asia crossroads give cover for its regional ambitions, including the potential for armed conflict with Israel.
President Trump’s claim that Qatar is a “great ally” may reflect his tendency for hyperbole, and to his credit, he avoided lashing out publicly at Prime Minister Netanyahu after Israel attacked Hamas in Doha. However, Israel watched closely as the administration toiled to calm Qatar by hosting its Emir at the White House, reassuring him that Israel would never do it again, and sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio on an unplanned visit to Doha following his well-received and appreciated trip to Israel.
Qatar poses little or no military threat to Israel; in fact, Israel’s attack exposed vulnerabilities in Qatar’s American-supported air defenses. Where Qatar harms Israel is by posing as an impartial negotiator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, while continuing to fund Hamas, and providing luxurious accommodations for its leaders. The result is a diplomatic setback internationally and domestic political pressure within Israel. By engaging with Qatar and then rejecting their biased schemes, Israel appears intransigent, which damages its diplomatic standing and weakens the Netanyahu government domestically, as protesters and the “anyone but Bibi” crowd pressure the government to accept Hamas and Qatar’s terms.
Turkey poses an entirely different and more threatening challenge. The Israeli Hebrew-language website Netziv.net, which monitors open-source intelligence, cites reports from the Arabic-language Al-Modon network that Turkey is conducting intensive military training for hundreds of Syrian troops on Turkish soil. Erdogan has many reasons for turning Syria into a proxy and solidifying the rule of Ahmed al-Shaara along Israel’s border.
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