Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Qatar's the star – and Washington is worried


The latest cables released by Wikileaks show that the emirate's growing power is seen as a threat elsewhere

By Robert Fisk

"Despite the leaked US diplomatic reports on Qatar and their claim that it is a major source of "terrorist" funding, Washington would do well not to mess with the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

He is the only world leader to march out of an American vice-president's office in fury after just seven seconds. And his Al-Jazeera television station – for truly it does belong to him – has revolutionised reporting in the Middle East. Qatar may be tiny but in the region, it is very, very big indeed....."

No comments: