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PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0401/01 1691256
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181256Z JUN 09 ZUI HCB1366 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9157
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000401 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO SOCI QA
SUBJECT: EXPATS SHARE VIEWS ON QATAR WITH FELTMAN 
 
DOHA 00000401  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
---------------- 
(SBU) KEY POINTS 
---------------- 
 
-- (SBU) Thoughtful expatriates shared their views about Qatar and 
its relations with the United States with NEA AA/S Jeffrey Feltman 
on June 16. 
 
-- (SBU) Brookings Doha Center director Hady Amr advised that 
Qatar's unique geography and demography drove much of its approach 
to foreign policy. 
 
-- (SBU) The Turkish Ambassador to Qatar explained that Qatar's 
energy relationships were an example of its tying the interests of 
key countries to Qatar's security. 
 
--  (SBU) RAND-Qatar Policy Institute Director Richard Darilek 
explained that Qatar was undertaking an ambitious reform of its 
entire K-12 education system by converting its schools to 
"independent" schools along the lines of charter schools in the 
United States, based on policy advice from RAND. 
 
--  (SBU) Al Jazeera English (AJE) Director Tony Burman rejected the 
idea that AJE reporting, particularly on Iran, was guided by Qatar's 
policy objectives.  AJ, he said, is more like a "country within a 
country" rather than an integral part of Qatar. 
 
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COMMENTS 
-------- 
 
--  (SBU) These views represent a good snapshot of how some 
thoughtful outsiders think of Qatar's national security strategy. 
Post is fortunate to have such distinguished American think tanks as 
Brookings and RAND to help us understand this country. 
 
--  (SBU) While Tony Burman may be correct in viewing Al Jazeera's 
3,000 employees in this small nation as almost a "country within a 
country," it was hard not to notice that AJ's coverage of Iran paled 
in comparison to its wall-to-wall, sensationalist coverage of events 
in Gaza in January, and to wonder what drives these different 
approaches. 
 
END KEY POINTS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) On June 16, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near East 
Affairs Jeffrey Feltman met over dinner at the Ambassador's 
residence with five thoughtful expatriates who have worked in Qatar 
for a number of years. Each offered his views of why Qatar pursues 
the foreign and domestic policies that it does. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Hady Amr, Director of the Brookings Doha Center, said that 
much of Qatar's behavior internationally can be explained by 
geography and demography.  Geographically, Qatar is a tiny country 
wedged between Saudi Arabia and Iran, both of which are many times 
larger.  Demographically, Qatar has only about 200,000 citizens; 
with an annual GDP of over USD 100 billion, that makes these 
citizens by far the richest in the world, in Amr's view. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Amr also encouraged Feltman to think about the changes that 
Qataris have seen over the past several decades.  "A Qatari in his 
60s can still remember when even the Amir didn't have electricity," 
he noted, "and when their entire population could fit into a 
medium-sized football stadium." 
 
¶4. (SBU) All of these factors give Qataris an elevated sense of 
vulnerability, Amr said, and drive the policies adopted by the 
Government.  He said Qataris had explained to him that their drive 
for international conferences, their hosting of U.S. military bases, 
and their relentless engagement with others were all part of a 
strategy to protect Qatar.  "We have no military," one Qatari told 
him, "so think of the conferences as our aircraft carriers, and the 
military bases as our nuclear weapons." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Turkish Ambassador to Qatar added that this same 
strategy was evident in Qatar's policy of building strong, direct 
energy relationships with key countries.  "The South Hook LNG 
terminal in the UK," he explained, "was financed 65 percent by the 
Qataris, and they are also helping to build the Golden Pass terminal 
in the United States."  These were examples, he said, of Qatar 
giving other countries a stake in its future. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  RAND-Qatar Policy Institute Director Dr. Richard Darilek 
stated that Qatar was active not only internationally, but was 
undertaking ambitious internal reforms as well aimed at helping 
Qatar transition to a knowledge-based economy.  One example are 
Qatar's K-12 educational reforms, which were based on RAND's 
analysis and policy recommendations.  Over the course of several 
years, Qatar is transforming its public schools to "independent" 
schools, which are based on the U.S. charter school model.  Many 
Qataris have found reforms such as these coming at an overwhelming 
 
DOHA 00000401  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
pace, but they are driven by the Amir and his Consort, Shaykha 
Mozah, so they are moving forward. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Turning to Qatar's relations with Iran, AJE Director Tony 
Burman rejected the notion that Al Jazeera's coverage of 
post-election violence in Iran was in any way related to Qatar's 
views of that country.  He noted that international journalists were 
under virtual house arrest in Iran, and that two AJ producers had 
been taken away by security forces in Afghanistan. Burman resented 
any suggestion that their courageous reporting was based on the 
policy considerations of Qatar.  After a year on the job, he said, 
he often felt that Al Jazeera, with more than 50 nationalities 
represented, operated almost as a "country within a country," not as 
part of Qatari society. 
 
¶8. (U) AA/S Feltman has cleared this cable. 
 
LEBARON