Trump Claims Responsibility for Gulf Crisis

[Dill]

(06-06-2017, 06:07 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Qatar is a shitty country. If it weren't for the fact they allow so many US troops there as a base, I doubt we would want them as our ally.

Since they were "awarded" (bribed their way to) the World Cup, hundreds of migrant workers per year have died building their stadiums since 2010, and we're just a little over half way through. They lure in migrant workers with promises of well paying jobs with good housing accommodations... and then will take their passports, housing them in shitty communal rooms with 20 people, working long hours in dangerous workplaces and constant 100+ degree temperatures with crappy pay. But they can't leave without an "exit visa".

There's a lot on it around the internet if you look it up. It was a pretty big story a couple years ago.

(Keep in mind London and Vancouver each had 1 death in the construction of their stadiums for the World Cup. South Africa had 2.)

I appreciate the response, Leonard. As someone who held a work visa in Qatar for five years and found out about the exit visa the hard way, someone who is familiar with the labor system from inside, top to bottom, I am not going to defend it. I add that in 2012 I was barred from entering the country for two years for failing to cancel my visa when leaving.

It should be said, nevertheless, that in addition to being a staunch ally Qatar is certainly the most progressive of the Arab Gulf states. Conservatives don't like progressive politics in the US, but they do demand it in Arab states. As in every country, including the US, there is a political struggle over labor/human rights, and money generally (not always) obstructs progress. In 2010, it looked like the country had really turned the corner on labor abuses, as pressure from within and without resulted in considerable money channeled into ultra modern workers cities outside Doha and Al Wakra. The awarding of the cup has upended that. 

(Based on personal experience of the summer heat there, I also predict a disastrous World Cup. Americans and Europeans have no idea what 120 degree heat is like, day after day, with the occasional spike to 135, and with 90 degree humidity. Even if they can manage stadium temperatures this will be a shock, especially to children and elderly.)

The US presence in Qatar also exerts some progressive pressure. And it is good for both parties, providing US with a sizable "aircraft carrier" in the Gulf, flying strikes on both the Taliban and ISIS. The US presence has also been a deterrent to Iran.

Which brings me to the central concern here. It is not "poor Qatar" we should be worried about so much as the architecture of US diplomacy in the region, which was managing some of the region's conflicts with moderate success, but which seems at risk now because the current administration has set in motion forces it cannot control.