Brendan Thomas is correct: no sane American would think that Obama and company were strategic masterminds in the Great Game.  Allying with the tiny gulf nation of Qatar by sending the Taliban prisoners there seems no more than giving a boost to Al Gore’s favorite network, Al – Jazeera.  Or is it?

In an unprecedented move last March, three nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for what was viewed as a serious security violation.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain said on Wednesday they were withdrawing their ambassadors from Qatar because Doha had not implemented an agreement among Gulf Arab countries not to interfere in each others’ internal affairs.

In a joint statement, the three states said GCC members had signed an agreement on Nov. 23 not to back “anyone threatening the security and stability of the GCC whether as groups or individuals — via direct security work or through political influence, and not to support hostile media.”

Qatar had been a backer of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that is banned in most Gulf states.

Normally, Arab solidarity trumps all, especially if one’s coastline and a large chunk of vital infrastructure sit across the Gulf from Iran.  Yet, Qatar, which had (still?) backed the Muslim Brotherhood, was the sole holdout in implementing the GCC security agreement.

And the matter is still not settled.  A GCC conference was held Monday, June 2 in Riyadh to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and to discuss “ongoing reconciliation initiatives between Qatar and other member states.”

Obama’s support of the so-called Arab Spring in Libya and Egypt was simply geared to aid and abet a Muslim Brotherhood takeover, which so far, only Egypt has managed to successfully counter.  So the Taliban prisoner transfer to Qatar takes on a different light given the country’s backing of the Muslim Brotherhood (aka, FOB - Friends of Barack), and in fact, reflects a consistent strategy; just not in favor of the US and the GCC.

At this point the question must be asked: was this a prisoner transfer or was it sending in reinforcements?

John Smith is the pen name of a veteran member of the intelligence community