The Atlanta Journal and Constitution December 27, 2002
BACKGROUNDER QATAR: Reformist state a key base for U.S. in Persian Gulf
By Mark Bixler
With war looming, few countries in the Persian Gulf region have welcomed U.S. forces as eagerly as Qatar, a desert peninsula with a maverick ruler.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld toured a U.S. command center in Qatar this month just as Gen. Tommy Franks was conducting a computer war game from a mobile headquarters in the country. Franks would direct any campaign against Iraq.
The United States has troops and equipment in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but analysts say Qatar probably would play a unique role in any war with Iraq. For one thing, it has the longest runway in the Persian Gulf, a 15,000-foot strip that can accommodate large cargo planes and bombers, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Stephen Baker, a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information in Washington.
Perhaps more importantly, he said, Qatari authorities want the American military in their country. The country provided a base for allied troops during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and its military participated in the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq.
"The welcome mat is out for us in Qatar," Baker said. "We're there to stay."
An oil economy
Oil was discovered in Qatar in 1939 and exists in significant quantities on land and offshore. The industry has boomed since exploitation began in 1949. Oil money accounts for 80 percent of export earnings and is the main reason per-capita income in Qatar is almost as high as per-capita income in Western Europe.
About 770,000 people live in Qatar, with natives outnumbered nearly 5-to-1 by "guest workers" from places such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines.
The country has cast its lot with the United States in the last few years under the leadership of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, 52, a reformist who was educated both in Qatar and at Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
Emir Hamad succeeded first as a military leader --- his brigade was one of the best-trained units in the region and distinguished itself fighting the Iraqis in Kuwait in 1991 --- then as a politician. He was appointed deputy emir in 1993, second only to his father, the emir. In 1995, while his father was vacationing in Switzerland, Hamad seized power in a bloodless coup. (The two have since reconciled.)
Emir Hamad's move was well-received by the business community, who found the former regime too conservative in pressing for economic reforms, such as free trade. The emir's reforms have gone beyond economics, however, to include relatively rapid steps toward political democracy.
Emir Hamad allowed municipal elections in 1999 --- an anomaly in a part of the world dominated by authoritarian regimes. The elections were precursors to the formation of a constitutional parliament, to be established in 2003 or 2004.
Under Emir Hamad's regime, Qatari women can vote and run for office, said Rachel Bronson, director of Middle Eastern studies for the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Qatari women also work and drive. They enjoy more freedoms than women in Saudi Arabia, even though both nations follow Wahhabi Islam, a straight-laced brand of the religion that gave rise in Saudi Arabia to extremists such as Osama bin Laden.
Qatar also is home to the Al-Jazeera satellite television channel, which broadcasts reports that are critical of Arab regimes as well as U.S. policy. The channel angers Arab leaders accustomed to controlling news through state-run media outlets.
The channel was born in 1996 after the demise of an Arabic version of the BBC. Emir Hamad invited reporters and cameramen from the defunct channel to Qatar and launched Al-Jazeera with government funding. Its nightly newscast is seen by 65 million people across the Arab world.
Arab television stations traditionally have been government mouthpieces, with bland reports about official meetings, but Al-Jazeera promotes debate in closed societies, said Judith Kipper, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"Ordinary people have a window on the world. It's a substitute for political participation," she said.
It's difficult to imagine other Arab nations supporting an independent news medium such as Al-Jazeera, because so many of them worry that the free flow of information might stir dissent. The Qatari government, however, faces little internal opposition. It worries more about Saudi Arabia and Iran as potential adversaries, Bronson said.
Unfriendly neighbors
Qatar's strained relationship with Saudi Arabia dates back at least to 1992, when Saudi forces killed two Qatari soldiers in a border dispute. Relations suffered again in 1996, the year after Emir Hamad took power from his father. A failed coup that year would have restored the father to power, and some Qataris suspect the Saudis were behind the attempt.
Qataris also are acutely aware of neighbors with larger and more powerful militaries, such as Iraq and Iran.
Emir Hamad has sought superpower protection from the United States to balance those forces.
Several years ago, he began building a 15,000-foot runway at the Al Udeid Air Base, at a cost of more than $1.7 billion. It seemed unusual for a nation with only a dozen combat jets, but Emir Hamad apparently had an ulterior motive.
"They would never say, 'We're building it for the U.S.,' " said Bronson. "It was always, 'Wouldn't this be nice for the United States?' "
Emir Hamad's overtures came as the United States was "salivating" at the prospect of expanding its military presence in the Persian Gulf, said Baker, who was chief of staff for operations and plans for the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group during the Gulf War.
He said the United States relied heavily on bases in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in prosecuting the war against Iraq in 1991. Afterward, it sought to establish bases in other gulf nations in the belief that it was too risky to depend too heavily on any one nation, should the United States fight Iraq again.
As a result, the U.S. military has stockpiled billions of dollars of equipment in Oman. The Army stations soldiers in Kuwait --- several units from Fort Stewart are training there for possible combat in Iraq --- and air reconnaissance and refueling units are poised for action in the United Arab Emirates.
The United States has a sophisticated air base and command center in Saudi Arabia, but it might use similar facilities in Qatar if the Saudis balk at allowing use of their territory to strike Iraq.
GRAPHIC: Photo: U.S. and British soldiers test communications links during a war game this month at Camp As Sayliyah, south of Doha, Qatar. The base could play a major role in any war against Iraq./ NICHOLAS KAMM / Associated Press; Photo: Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al- Thani is a reformist who has sought U.S. ties.; Map: Map of Qatar pinpointing Camp As Sayliyah and Al Udeid Air Base / Area of detail of Qatar
QATAR
Ruled by the Al-Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for its pearls into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. Oil accounts for more than 30 percent of its gross domestic product, roughly 80 percent of export earnings and 58 percent of government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.7 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for two decades. Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP comparable to that of leading West European industrial countries.
Size: 4,416 square miles, slightly smaller than Connecticut
Population: 793,341
Infant mortality: 21 deaths per 1,000 live births (U.S.: 7 deaths per 1,000 live births)
Life expectancy: 73 years (U.S.: 77 years)
Literacy: 79 percent (U.S.: 97 percent)
Religions: Islam, 95 percent
Ethnic groups: Arab, 40 percent; Pakistani, 18 percent; Indian, 18 percent; Iranian, 10 percent; other, 14 percent
Government: Traditional monarchy
Chief of state: Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, since 1995
Gross domestic product per capita: $21,200 (U.S.: $36,300)
U.S. bases
The United States and Qatar have agree-ments that the Qataris supply infrastructure, and in the case of Al Udeid Air Base build state-of-the-art facilities for U.S. pre-positioning bases.
Camp As Sayliyah
Largest pre-positioning base outside the United States. Used by the Army and Air Force. Accommodates a heavy armored brigade.
Al Udeid Air Base
The premier air base in the Persian Gulf, it boasts a runway 15,000 feet long and can accommodate more than 100 aircraft.
Sources: CIA World Factbook, GlobalSecurity.org / Research by ALICE WERTHEIM / Staff; graphic by DALE E. DODSON / Staff; Graphic: KEY EVENTS
The flat, arid peninsula that is the modern nation of Qatar was little more than a collection of fishing villages for hundreds of years. Now it has emerged as a major base for a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq. Some key events in Qatari history:
* Late 7th century --- Islam spreads to the Arabian Peninsula.
* 1700s --- A strict form of Islam, known as Wahhabism, gains popularity in Qatar and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Conservative advocates urge a more rigorous adherence to the principles of Islam. Wahhabism later gives rise to Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
* 1800s --- The Al-Khalifa dynasty takes power in Qatar, ruling from nearby Bahrain.
* 1872 --- Qatar becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
* 1913 --- A surge in the popularity of Wahhabism weakens Ottoman power.
* 1914 --- Ottoman forces evacuate Qatar.
* 1916 --- Qatar and Britain reach an agreement that makes Qatar a de facto British protectorate.
* 1930s --- A rise in the popularity of Japanese cultured pearls reduces demand for pearls recovered from the waters off Qatar, devastating the economy.
* 1939 --- Oil is discovered in Qatar.
* 1949 --- Oil development begins.
* 1961 --- Qatar joins the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
* 1968 --- Qatar's agreement with Britain is terminated.
* 1971 --- Qatar becomes fully independent.
* 1972 --- Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani seizes power as emir in a bloodless coup.
* Late 1980s and early 1990s --- The emir pockets petroleum revenues, damaging the national economy.
* 1991 --- Qatar provides bases for allied troops in the war to liberate Kuwait from Iraq. Qatari troops participate in the successful campaign.
* 1995 --- Qatar agrees to let the United States station military equipment and troops on its territory.
* 1995 --- The emir is deposed in a bloodless coup led by his son, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. He embarks on a program of liberalization and modernization. He eases press restrictions, allows municipal elections and seeks improved relations with Iran and Israel.
* 1996 --- The Al-Jazeera satellite television channel debuts with some financing from the new emir. It causes a stir by airing reports critical of Arab regimes.
* 2000 --- The emir meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In response, fellow Arab leaders threaten to boycott a summit in Qatar. The emir cuts ties with Israel two months later, and the summit goes off as planned.
* 2002 --- Gen. Tommy Franks, who would direct a U.S.-led war on Iraq, conducts a major computer war game in Qatar.; Graphic: HOW TO SAY QATAR
To an English speaker, the word "Qatar" may look like it would be pronounced kuh-tar, sort of like "guitar." Not so. Arabic has several sounds that have no good English equivalents, including the "Q" and "T" in "Qatar." Better, though still imperfect, pronunciations for the Persian Gulf nation are "gutter" or "cutter."
Copyright © 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
