What is the Qatar spat all about? And why have there been so many foiled and successful terrorists incidents in the UK recently?
In a perceptive article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper, Paul Mason examines “Britain’s game of thrones in the Gulf”.
On the clash between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, he agues:
“The issue torturing the Saudi monarchy is Iran. Obama made peace with Iran in 2015, in the face of Saudi and Israeli opposition. Qatar is diplomatically closer to Iran. It has also supported (outside Qatar) the spread of political Islam – that is, of parties prepared to operate within nominally democratic institutions. The Saudis’ strategic aim, by contrast, is to end the peace deal with Iran and to stifle the emergence of political Islam full stop.”
On the recent terrorist sure in Britain. he suggests:
“We do not know why Britain has suddenly become the target for a jihadi terror surge: five foiled attempts and three gruesomely successful ones in 70 days. One possible explanation is that, with the increased tempo of fighting in Mosul and towards Raqqa, it is becoming clear to the thousands of jihadi fantasists sitting in bedrooms across Europe, that their “caliphate” will soon be over. If so, the question arises: a) what will replace it on the ground and b) how to deal with the survivors as they fan out to do damage here?”