Another revolution in the land of Al-Jazeera

Balancing act
Since the overthrow of Saddam, Qatar has fallen off the media map. The hundreds of journalists who flooded into Doha have left, but the U.S. Central Command — the reason the media showed up in the first place — still keeps over 1,000 troops on a base outside Doha.

On a daily basis, CENTCOM’s forward operations in Qatar play a crucial role in the war in Iraq, facilitating the exchange of information between military planners, commanders on the ground and bombers in the air. Many of the warplanes used over Iraq take off from the Al-Udeid Airbase on Qatar’s southern shore, where another 1,000 U.S. troops are based.

What’s striking about the U.S. presence in Qatar is that it’s almost impossible to detect. By agreement with the Qatari government, U.S. troops are confined to their bases. The few who are allowed off do so in civilian clothes. Out of sight, the U.S. troops stay out of Qatari minds.

The stealth U.S. presence in Qatar is part of Sheikh Hamad’s balancing act. On the one hand, he has welcomed U.S. troops, which serve as a deterrent to aggressive actions by Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, Sheikh Hamad’s refusal to reign in fiery Al-Jazeera angers his American protectors.

High-stakes reforms
Qatar recently claimed a small victory in its longstanding rivalry with Saudi Arabia. The conservative desert kingdom has banned Al-Jazeera from reporting in the country and views Qatar’s reforms with suspicion and apprehension.

In January, Azzaman, a U.K.-based Arabic daily newspaper, agreed to pay Sheikha Moza more than $1 million to settle a libel suit. The case stemmed from a series of reports by Azzaman that said Sheikha Moza, among other political activities, engaged in secret dealings with Israel. Her lawyers say Saudi intelligence officials were funding Azzaman as part of an orchestrated campaign against Sheikha Moza, underscoring the controversy over Qatar’s reforms.

Sheikha Moza says the reforms were developed only with Qataris — not Saudis — in mind. But when asked whether free speech and co-education will spread, she appears to launch a salvo in Qatar’s battle for the future.

“I don't think that there is a sovereignty over people's minds,” she said. “What's happening here in Qatar could affect the rest of the region. This is a possibility that we shouldn't deny.”

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