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by Richard Miniter • August 28,
2018 at 5:00 am
- "Iran's continued
support of the Hezbollah terrorist organization with both
financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and
tactical training, deserves close examination. Western diplomats
and Lebanese analysts estimate that Iranian financial support
for Hezbollah averages around $100 million each year, sometimes
reaching amounts closer to a quarter of a billion dollars....
All of these activities pose a direct threat to U.S. security
interests, contribute to the prolonging of conflicts across the
Middle East, and pose threats to our key allies in the
region." — US Representative Ted Budd, member of the Financial
Services Committee and its Terrorism and Illicit Finance
Subcommittee.
- Why not consider
expanding the US deployment at Al-Dhafra airbase in the United
Arab Emirates as a replacement for the airbases used by the US
in Qatar and Turkey, if the UAE accept the idea?
- If one nation is able
to defy or undermine U.S. policy while still pocketing the
benefits of America's friendship, many others may follow Qatar's
example. Why should other Arab nations endure domestic criticism
,
for supporting America's war on terror if they can subvert
America but still enjoy America's military protection and their
access to the world's largest market?
An expanded
US deployment at Al-Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirates could
be considered as a replacement for the airbases used by the US in
Qatar and Turkey. Pictured: A U.S. Air Force Memorial Day ceremony at
Al Dhafra Airbase, May 28, 2018. (Image source: U.S. Air Force/Staff
Sgt. Erica Rodriguez)
These days, America has more trouble with its allies
than its enemies.
Consider the strange case of Turkey and Qatar, two
putative American allies. Both nations host essential U.S. air bases
while supporting Islamist political parties, increasingly cooperating
with Iran, America's most determined enemy in the region, and
actively subverting U.S. policy in the region.
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