Robert Reich answers some of the questions regarding Trump’s Business Ties in the Persian Gulf and his allegiances:
Question 1: Why are the Pentagon and State Department refusing to join Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in blaming and isolating Qatar?
A. America's largest airbase in the region is in Qatar.
B. The Pentagon and State Department want our allies in the Middle East to remain united against the Islamic State.
C. There’s little evidence that Qatar is fueling terrorism and any more than Saudi Arabia and UAE are fueling it.
Question #2. So why is Trump saying he’s backing Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Qatar, because Qatar is “a funder of terror at a very high level”?
A. Trump just wants to take a position different from his Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense for no reason.
B. Trump has done business with royals from Saudi Arabia for at least 20 years, since he sold the Plaza Hotel to a partnership formed by a Saudi prince. And he has earned millions of dollars from the United Arab Emirates for putting his name on a golf course, with a second soon to open. But he’s never been able to enter the booming market in neighboring Qatar, despite years of trying.
Answers: Question 1: A, B, and C. Question 2: B.
It also answers why Trump wants to ease Qatar-Saudi tensions.
By Josh Lederman, Associated Press
