Facing the Truth About Qatar

Is America finally — really — pressuring Qatar? Secretary Blinken is calling on the emirate to tell Hamas that they must deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal, or risk getting kicked out of Doha, CNN reports. That would be a move in the right direction if indeed it signaled that President Biden expressed even the slightest criticism. As yet, however, the Hamas-allied Qatar is endlessly praised even as our most reliable ally, Israel, keeps being chastised. While in Israel today Mr. Blinken leaked to reporters the gist of his talks with Prime Minister Netayahu’s cabinet. “You need a coherent plan, or you’re going to be stuck in Gaza,” he kibitzed, according to Axios. He lectured Israel that its place in the world is in peril. “You might not realize it until it’s too late,” he condescended. If a similar rebuke were ever uttered at Doha, it would have been done quietly. Instead, Qatar, patron of Hamas, is America’s Mideast darling. In 2022, while Washington was in a snit over Saudi Arabia’s assassination of dissident Jamal Khashoggi, President Biden designated Qatar, Riyadh’s neighbor and rival, a “special non-NATO ally.” At the time Doha was all consumed by soccer, after it managed to finagle its way to hosting the World Cup. Mr. Blinken came to watch the beautiful game with nary a peep about slave laborers who died while building the very stadium he sat in. The Qatari regime has long championed jihadist causes. It uses its most powerful tool, the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network, to praise Islamist extremism. As Washington championed the secular-oriented Palestinian Authority, Doha backed its rival, Hamas, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot. In 2012, Qatar became host to the genocidal terrorist organization’s leaders. Qatar also started lavishing Hamas-controlled Gaza with funds. Israel tacitly supported Qatar’s cash deliveries to Gaza, believing that it could buy a respite from periodic attacks by Hamas. Money, though, is fungible. While Doha contended that it helped build only civilian infrastructure, by covering such costs it gave Hamas the means to beef up its military above and below ground. Israel’s error became clear on October 7. Qatar’s support of Hamas was partially responsible for the atrocities of that day. The Qataris feigned surprise. Following that fateful day, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani raised with Washington the idea of expelling the Hamas leaders, who enjoy lavish lifestyles at Doha. Mr. Blinken “at the time signaled that it would be better for Qatar to use its contacts with Hamas” to enhance diplomacy, the Times of Israel reports. As American-backed negotiations at Doha now stall, the secretary seems to have changed his mind. Perhaps a deeper reckoning is called for. Contrary to the frequent praise from Mr. Blinken and others, Qatar is more of a Hamas advocate than an honest broker. It should not be seen as an American ally. It is a friend to our worst enemies. America has enough leverage to lean on Qatar to twist the arms of the terrorists it champions. Start by rescinding that major non-NATO ally status that Qatar was erroneously given in the first place. In January, Washington extended for ten years our military presence at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Force base. Transferring the base to a neighbor, the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, might not be quick or easy, but the mere threat of doing so would concentrate some minds at Doha. Qatar needs America more than the other way around. Isn’t it time to start exerting real pressure on a faux ally and ease up on the harsh rebuke of a true friend?

Facing the Truth About Qatar

Facing the Truth About Qatar

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