QATAR PART OF UAE?  WELL... THERE IS A LITTLE HISTORY THERE.

Most know by now my interest in following what takes place with the GCC and those who interact with the organization.

It is also not new news the GCC has  recently struggled with it's image, more than usual, and large "cracks" in it's structure are now very visible.

Qatar's support, as insincere as I think it might be, for the Muslim Brotherhood, MB, seems to be the major point of contention, but I am still not sure that is real issue at hand.

Is Qatar more sympathetic, friendly, with Iran than Saudi would like them to be?

Yes.

In regards to the statement by General Khalfan; who is he and why would he make such a inflammatory comment?

"A top Dubai security official"?

Ok.... I don't know if I've ever met a Gulf State General who didn't present himself as a "top official...just about everyone over there that gets to wear "General", who is related to someone, is a "top official"!

Lets get past who he is and why he may be trying to have is fifteen minutes in the Sun,  but let's explore what he said and then more importantly, who had him say it?

Yes, it is true Qatar, at one point in time..... a very...very...short period of time...like days.... was part of a larger "territory"... a territory designed by Westerners and we all know how that ends up in the Middle East.

Yes, the story is General Khalfan is very anti MB... what Gulf State General is not?

Timing!

As is always the case in political event, timing is everything and if timing is everything, then who picked this point in time to have him make this statement?

Was it his idea?

If he is truly attempting to climb the status latter, an event that no Gulf State General overlooks or stops dreaming about, then it could have been his idea.

That's not my hunch here.

The relationship between the UAE and Saudi is a strong one and my bet is, this statement was well scripted by the General's leadership.

I'm not ruling out a "toot my own horn" here, but I would bet against it for one simple reason!

When someone over there does try to climb the latter too quickly, the rungs in the latter are cut even faster.

Nobody jumped up and said, " The General was way out of line and doesn't speak for the UAE"... at least not in public.....yet!

My theory is this statement was made to let Qatar know the threat of being abandon by the GCC is growing.

Who are Qatar's "real friends"?

The US with it's forward military footprint there?

Ask the Egyptian government if that really matters when it comes to your "friends" sticking with you!

It could be that Saudi, the Master of the GCC, learned a valuable lesson from the events in the Ukraine / Crimea.

Threaten to take back something that has some historical backing and then see how the rest of the region reacts!

The warning shot fired here was not at anyone but Qatar, but the history of "friends leaving with little notice is also part of the formulary!

Qatar's window to rejoin the fold of the GCC is closing and in reality, the relationship may never be the same.

What General Khalfan did was deliver a message and it's a message heard not only in Qatar, but in Iranian capital as well. 

You see; the real danger here is not a rouge Qatar, it's the Iranian's believing the GCC is ripe for the picking.

Saudi can ill afford to feel any more desperate over their standing in the region.

Qatar is hearing the famous, "ether you are with us or you are against us"!!!!

http://www.arabnews.com/news/549521