What to make of Qatar's diet Article 5 protections

"The new U.S.-Qatar dynamic is the result of executive order, not Senate ratification. Its unilateral nature peeved some on the Hill while also rendering it susceptible to the whims of the next - or even current - president. "These guarantees only go so far as the executive branch. That's significant, because Qatar has had huge issues in Congress, too," Yacoubian said. (Qatar has been accused of human rights abuses as well as associating with terrorists, which Doha denies.)"

"The latter required so many Patriot interceptors that the Joint Chiefs chairman publicly marveled at the exchange. "I've been reading a lot of the Gulf responses as a Gulf realization that the Iranians are not their friends and the Israelis are also not going to be their friends," Brian Carter at the American Enterprise Institute told Axios. Beyond Qatar, "I think the Saudis and the Gulf states, overall, were very frustrated with how Israel's been operating in Syria after the fall of the [Assad regime].""

"Not once is the word "mutual" written in Trump's executive order. Only once is "our" used. "This deal with Qatar basically shows that checkbook diplomacy can be more successful than doing the actual burden-sharing that we officially ask - and even demand - of our allies," Jonathan Ruhe at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America told Axios. "We're putting our necks on the line much more than Qatar is.""

A presidential executive order grants Qatar US protection without Senate ratification, producing a unilateral, politically vulnerable commitment. The timing followed recent regional strikes, including Israel's attack on Doha and Iran's attack on Al Udeid Air Base, prompting Gulf states to reassess alliances. Gulf responses indicate growing distrust of both Iran and Israel, and frustration with Israeli operations in the region. The agreement contains no explicit mutual obligations and places disproportionate risk on the United States. Lawmakers have pursued measures against Qatar, and the executive-only guarantee does not resolve pending Congressional concerns.

Read at Axios