Updates | The Week of June 5, 2017
President Trump appeared to side with Saudi Arabia in its dispute with Qatar and to take credit for the former’s actions (Politico, NYT).
- The presence of a major U.S. military base in Qatar provides that country with significant leverage (WaPo).
- U.S. officials believe that Russian hackers planted fake news stories which have contributed to rising tensions in the Gulf region (The Hill).
Some U.S. diplomats are pushing back on President Trump’s straining of relationships around the world (NYT).
A Canadian minister said that country would begin building up its military in response to U.S. withdrawal from the world stage (WaPo).
The U.S. could unilaterally withdraw from NATO, argues Julian Ku at Opinio Juris.