, Columnist
To Help Settle Qatar Feud, U.S. Needs to Understand It
Persian Gulf neighbors are estranged over how to confront Islamic radicalism. Resolution would strike a blow for moderation.
Not there yet.
Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesLast June, a quartet of staunch U.S. allies in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain — launched a boycott of another key U.S. partner, Qatar. President Donald Trump rushed to take the Saudi side with a tweet accusing Qatar of supporting terrorists, before eventually reversing course and positioning himself as a peacemaker.