This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DOHA 000077 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON QA UNSC
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR A/S SILVERBERG'S VISIT TO QATAR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Embassy Doha is pleased to welcome you. We expect that 
you will find the Qatari leadership welcoming -- in principle 
-- of cooperation with the United States on UN Security 
Council issues. Our goals for regional security largely 
coincide with those of Qatar; the number two in the foreign 
ministry recently told A/S Wayne that U.S. success in Iraq is 
also a success for Qatar. But at the same time, Qatari 
leadership is drawn to roles that enhance its international 
prestige and will likely view its new seat on the UN Security 
Council, and its perceived responsibility toward a range of 
"clients," with that optic. Qatar continues to seek 
opportunities to get beyond the diplomatic estrangement over 
Al-Jazeera that has dogged relations with the U.S. in recent 
years. Qatar's high-level dialogue with Syria is increasingly 
troubling, however. On other fronts, the bilateral energy 
relationship is strong, with U.S. investors playing major 
roles in the economy, and Qatar is making steady progress in 
establishing democratic institutions. 
 
¶2. (C) We have requested meetings with the Amir's wife 
Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Misnad (addressed as Your 
Highness), the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign 
Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (addressed as Your 
Excellency or Mr. Minister), and Assistant Minister for 
Follow-Up Affairs Mohamed al-Rumaihi. 
 
¶3. (U) The paragraphs that follow provide background on key 
current political economic issues in Qatar. 
 
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Iraq 
---- 
 
¶4. (S) Qatar has been a pillar of support for our efforts in 
Iraq and Afghanistan. We continue, for instance, to fly 
unimpeded combat missions out of Al-Udeid Air Base. The Amir 
shares our view that restoration of order and a successful 
democratic transition are of paramount importance not only to 
Iraq but to the region. However, there is some feeling that 
Qatar's efforts over the past two years are not fully 
appreciated in Washington. The Foreign Minister has promised 
the Ambassador recently that the GOQ would provide debt 
relief to Iraq "at the right time." While the Foreign 
Minister has expressed concerns of civil war in Iraq, he has 
stated publicly that the coalition needs to stay in the 
country to establish wider security. The GOQ also points to 
the importance of establishing a power structure in Baghdad 
that is fully inclusive of the Sunni bloc. 
 
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Syria 
----- 
 
¶5. (C) Over the past year, Qatari officials have maintained a 
behind-the-scenes dialogue with their Syrian and Lebanese 
counterparts in an attempt to bring about stable 
disengagement and to defuse tensions with the United States. 
The relationship with Syria includes announcements of 
investment projects aimed at the Syrian real estate sector. 
Despite our protests, the high-level dialogue continues and 
President Bashar al-Asad visited Doha from January 15 to 
early on the 17th. 
 
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Terrorism and Security 
---------------------- 
 
¶6. (S) Foreign and Qatari residents alike were shocked by the 
March 19, 2005 bombing of a British-run amateur theater. Had 
the vehicle,s angle not shifted just before the detonation, 
over 100 people could have been killed; it was a powerful and 
lethal explosion. The vehicle was laden with explosives and 
ball bearings. Qatari officials, prominent business leaders, 
and religious figures all condemned the attack. The only 
public demonstration in Qatar in the last 18 months occurred 
several days later when several thousand Qataris gathered to 
condemn the attack and express support for the expatriate 
community. The investigation continues, but most recently 
detainees were released from custody. The government's public 
line is that the bomber Omar Ali, a long-time Egyptian 
resident of Qatar, acted alone. However, evidence suggests 
the contrary. Business activity has not been hindered. 
 
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Political Reform 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Qatar's own program of reform, launched by the Amir 
after he assumed power in 1995, took a significant step 
forward last June when its first constitution came into 
force. The constitution calls for a two-thirds elected 
national legislature. These elections have not been scheduled 
but are expected to take place sometime in early 2007. Qatari 
women will have the right to vote and will be encouraged by 
the government to run for office. In municipal elections in 
1999 and 2003, women here were the first in the Gulf region 
to cast votes, and one woman was elected to the council. 
 
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Dramatic Changes in Education 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Education reform, headed by the Amir's wife, Sheikha 
Mozah, is a becoming a showcase. This reform includes a 
sweeping revamp of Qatar's pre-university and higher 
education system based on Rand Corporation recommendations. 
Also as part of this effort, Qatar has brought to its 
"Education City" the branch campuses of Texas A&M University, 
Virginia Commonwealth University, Carnegie-Mellon, the 
Weill-Cornell Medical College, and Georgetown University's 
School of Foreign Service. These have been ground-breaking 
efforts that have been hailed by many as models for other 
states in the region. 
 
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Al-Jazeera 
---------- 
 
¶9. (C) Al-Jazeera remains a blight on our otherwise robust 
relatioinship. In response to our repeated protests and 
appeals, Al-Jazeera's management claims to have reduced the 
air time given to Al-Qaida and kidnappers' videos and have 
made efforts to address the inflammatory nature of its 
reporting from Iraq. The channel has stressed to us its 
coverage of pro-democracy movements in Lebanon and Egypt as 
well as broader coverage of Middle Eastern politics. The Al 
Jazeera managing director told the Ambassador, "If the 
Americans want to find a proper partner in its effort to get 
democracy and reform, they won't find a better one than Al 
Jazeera." 
 
¶10. (C) The station has shown some signs of improved 
broadcasting but still remains unacceptably sloppy in its 
journalist practices. In December, the percentage of its 
"negative" reports (as calculated by the Defense Intelligence 
Agency) notched down for the second straight month, to 15%. 
(DIA's calculations of AJ's broadcast coverage of U.S. 
involvement in Iraq in 2005 ranged from as high as 20% 
"negative" to as low as 7%.) The Al-Jazeera issue has cast a 
long shadow, affecting cooperation on a variety of bilateral 
initiatives floated by the U.S. The GOQ wants to find ways to 
put U.S.-Qatar relations on a stronger, more positive 
foundation. We anticipate that your Qatari interlocutors will 
welcome your visit as a chance to move toward that objective. 
On 17 January, Ambassador told the foreign minister, "The 
good news is that Al Jazeera will no longer be the chief 
irritant i U.S.-Qatari relations. The bad news is that Syria 
will be." 
 
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Energy Sector 
------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Qatar's economy is one of the fastest-growing in the 
world, achieving a 20.5% increase in GDP in 2004 and is 
expected to record equal or better growth for 2005. Per 
capita income is nearing $38,000, exceeding that of the U.S. 
and soon to be the highest in the world. Qatar's vast wealth 
has resulted from the successful development of its natural 
gas resources over the past 10 years with plans for even 
greater expansion over the next decade. Under the leadership 
of the minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar Petroleum is 
maximizing use of Qatar's natural resources to diversify the 
economy and provide business and employment opportunities to 
Qataris. Since 1999, there has been $60 billion in foreign 
investment in Qatar's energy sector, about $40 billion of it 
coming from U.S. companies. Qatar plans to invest $70 billion 
in the natural gas sector over the next seven years. 
 
¶12. (U) The GOQ estimates Qatar's oil reserves are at 27 
billion barrels. Qatar's daily average production is 
currently estimated to be 806,000 barrels per day; at current 
production rates, oil reserves are expected to last 20 to 40 
years. Qatar's goal is to increase overall production 
capacity to over one million bpd by 2006. Occidental and 
Anadarko are the two U.S. companies operating in this sector. 
 
¶13. (U) The majority of Qatar's current development in the 
energy sector is focused on its natural gas reserves. 
Discovered in 1971, Qatar's North Field contains 15.3% of 
world natural gas reserves, third behind Russia and Iran. 
Estimated at 900 trillion cubic feet (tcf), the North Field 
is the largest non-associated gas field in the world. The 
North Field extends over an area of approximately 6,000 
square kilometers is expected to support planned production 
for over 200 years. 
 
¶14. (U) QP manages the natural gas sector through its two 
major joint ventures, Qatargas and RasGas. The GOQ's primary 
goal is to supply 78 million tons of LNG annually to the 
international market by 2012 in order to meet about 30% of 
the global energy needs for LNG. GOQ officials have said that 
QP would increase its LNG output from 15.1 million tons per 
annum (mtpa) in 2003 to 20.2 mtpa by the end of 2004. In 
October 2004, Minister al-Attiyah said that Qatar plans to 
invest $70 billion in the natural gas sector over the next 
seven years. The production facilities for Qatargas, Rasgas 
and other natural gas related projects are located at Ras 
Laffan Industrial City. 
 
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Trade Issues 
------------ 
 
¶15. (U) Qatar signed a Trade and Investment Framework 
agreement with the U.S. in March 2004, but progress toward a 
Free Trade Agreement is moving slowly at best. The minister 
of Economy and Commerce has expressed his commitment to 
achieving a FTA, but doing so will require Qatar to remove 
such trade obstacles as mandatory majority Qatari ownership 
of most businesses, the government telecom monopoly, 
restrictions to foreign investment in the financial services 
sector, labor issues, and lack of transparency in government 
procurement. 
 
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Regional Reconstruction 
----------------------- 
 
16.(C) Qatar has begun to use its wealth more intensively for 
development and reconstruction purposes while seeking 
leadership roles. One recent example is that establishment of 
the "Reach Out to Asia" foundation, headed by the Amir,s 
daughter, Sheikha Miyassa. The importance of the foundation 
is part of the leadership,s looking forward to the December 
2006 Asian Games, which Qatar will host. 
 
17.(C) Qatar has contributed as expected to reconstruction 
and development in Iraq and the Palestinian Territories. In 
Iraq, it sought a leadership position with the establishment 
of a $15 million higher education fund through UNESCO and has 
pledged $100 million at Madrid. Nevertheless, Qatar has not 
been proactive in pursuing reconstruction efforts. This may 
be due in part to U.S. pressure over Al Jazeera and to the 
perception that Qatar is already doing its share by hosting 
U.S. forces here. 
 
18.(C) In the Palestinian Territories, Qatar makes use of 
personal contacts when setting up bilateral programs. For 
example, Qatar built a soccer stadium for an Arab team in 
Israel and is donating 100 vehicles for the Palestinian 
police. The Amir has close relations with Mahmoud Abbas, who 
visited Doha earlier this month and lived here in exile for 
many years. 
UNTERMEYER