GCC’s Qatar spat drives US military to “opt out” of some exercises: In what could be a bid to spur the GCC into taking more proactive steps to end the rift with Qatar, the US military appears to be scaling down its involvement in regional military exercises. ”We are opting out of some military exercises out of respect for the concept of inclusiveness and shared regional interests. We will continue to encourage all partners to work together toward the sort of common solutions that enable security and stability in the region,” read a statement from US Central Command spokesman John Thomas to Reuters.