U.S. interests at risk in Arab allies’ bitter feud

 U.S. interests at risk in Arab allies’ bitter feud

 There’s an Arabic proverb popular in these parts: “The best answer will come from the person who is not angry.”
Unfortunately, the anger is long and deep in the nasty row dividing some of America’s closest allies in the Middle East, which means any quick answer to the Trump administration’s diplomatic and security headache is hard to see from here.

Nearly four months ago, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banded together to impose an economic and diplomatic blockade against Qatar, the tiny but wealthy country that hosts Washington’s most strategic military base in the Persian Gulf, over what they claim is its willingness to work with Shiite Iran and its suspected support for jihadi groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
While the Trump administration has attempted to cool tempers in the region, officials in the UAE say, the crisis is likely only to escalate.
Qatar, which sits atop some of the word’s largest proven natural gas reserves, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, claiming the accusations against it are driven less by legitimate security concerns than by regional jealousy over the nation’s massive economic prosperity in recent years.
But the Saudis, Emiratis and others aren’t yielding. The boycotting nations have cut off land, sea and air routes to Qatar, a small nation that sticks out like a thumb in the Persian Gulf.