Craig Schamp points to the Kevin at the Large American uh... Doinker, who points to this Stratfor article on tension between the Soddies and Qatar.Saudi daily al Watan called Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani, a "dwarf" July 29 after he met with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in Paris. The insult is just the latest in a string of sour notes sounded between Riyadh and Doha.
Layers of resentment are contributing to the tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. At the surface, Riyadh is genuinely angry about the negative press coverage by Doha-based Al Jazeera, a satellite TV network that broadcasts relatively uncensored material throughout the Arab world. Beneath this outrage over Qatari press freedoms is the fear that Qatari support for a U.S. military campaign against Iraq could result in Washington's advancing its war plans.
Tensions between the two Gulf neighbors could create an unstable environment for U.S. troops deployed in the region in the short- to mid-term. In a worst-case scenario, Saudi Arabia might pressure Qatar to oust the U.S. forces, or it might stir dissidents inside its tiny neighbor to try to destabilize the Doha regime or even launch assaults against American military. personnel. Seems the Soddy hatred for the Merkins is becoming a bit more inescapable. As they get grouchier, they're becoming clumsier, more arrogant, and their true colors become more bilious. Personally, I think that's a good thing. It's probably occurred to an emir or two that they'd make perfectly good Guardians of the Holy Mosques, too. |