Qatar The Ambitions of a Rich Small Nation Micol Briziobello - Misna

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In the Arab World One is completely justified in asking how the tiny Qatar has been able to play such a major role on the Arab scene given this absolute monarchy’s importance is on par with that of its powerful neighbour and “rival” Saudia Arabia, to the point that they decide whether a country as strong as Syria is allowed to remain part of the Arab League or not. It’s important not to forget, as has been mentioned before, that Qatar played an integral role throughout the Libyan civil war, pushing the Arab League to give the green light to a military attack by the willing NATO army against Muammar Gheddafi. Doha also provided, first in secret and then openly, weapons (and maybe even men) to the rebels of the National Transitional Council. Russian political scientist Vjacheslav Matuzov has underlined Qatar’s negative effect on the Arab League, adding the United States want to see Syria’s collapse as an independent Arab state. “The West has only one request for the mission of the Arab observers, and that is to gain their solidarity against radical Islam, without any concern for the events happening on the ground.” It should also be taken into consideration that the opening of a Taliban Office in Qatar puts an end, officially to the American war against terrorism, with the enemies of yesterday now becoming today’s allies. The power of this tiny country does not solely depend on their deposits of gas, which is not even comparable to the importance of Saudi Arabia’s reserves of crude oil.
However, what has brought them to the helm are some notable developments: the reconciliation (at least in appearance) of the Emir al-Thani with the Saudi monarchy; the fall of Egypt’s powerful ex-president Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan’s decreased role, due to King Abdallah’s concerns about the threat on his own power by the wave of Arab protests and the pressure exerted by the crisis (now, a civil war) in the bordering Syria and the unresolved Palestine issue. The improving of relations with Saudi Arabia has convinced Emir al-Thani to fully abandon his old allies in Hezbollah and Syria so as to become part of America’s inner circle, thus completing its objective of gaining closer ties with Washington, a process started in the past with the opening of important bases and American military command centres on Qatari territory. Qatar has also replaced Egypt as one of the most influential countries in the Arab League, taking advantage of Mubarak’s exit from the political scene and because of this has taken the opportunity offered through less tense relations with the Saudis to gain more clout at the summits of the Council for Gulf Co-operation, having worked solidly over the last two years to open up policies aimed at containing Iran’s influence in the region. In fact, in recent months, Qatar has been fundamental in approving the Saudi’s armed intervention in helping Bahrain’s King, Hamad Khalifa, placed under pressure by his population’s demands for democratic reforms and for
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Qatar The Ambitions of a Rich Small Nation Micol Briziobello - Misna

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