|
Qatar Defends Foreign Policy in Face of Gulf Anger
[An Nahar] Qatar defended its independent foreign policy Monday after Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and two other Gulf countries recalled their envoys from Doha accusing it of meddling in their internal affairs. "Our policy is based on openness towards all, and we do not want to exclude anyone," Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya said during a visit to Gay Paree, in remarks aired by Doha-based Al-Jazeera  ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula,as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... television. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors last week in a move widely seen as signaling their anger at Qatar's support for the Moslem Brüderbund of deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Timeprinciple, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... . Saudi Arabia and other conservative Gulf countries welcomed the military's overthrow of Morsi last July and pledged billions of dollars in aid while Qatar, which had strongly supported him, has seen its influence in Cairo evaporate. Doha said it "regretted" the decision to recall the envoys, which it said was based on differences concerning regional issues. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile towards Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund and its affiliates across the region, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority. The Brotherhood is widely banned in the Gulf, and the UAE has sentenced scores of alleged members to jail, while Qatar has served as a refuge for Brotherhood sympathizers from other countries. Posted by: Fred 2014-03-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=387218 |