The situation had been tense for years, but on June 5th, 2017, suddenly, the conflict
reached another dimension:
Saudi Arabia, the Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced the fulminating rupture of
their relations with the emirate of Qatar, including the closing of borders and the prohibition
of the use of ports and airspace.
Suddenly all communication was cut off, it was practically a total blockade.
The next night, planes and cargo ships bound for Qatar were forced to change course.
Not even the camels were spared: the Saudis immediately expelled no less than 12,000 camels
that were grazing in their country.
You heard that right.
So with their only land border closed up, in practical terms, the emirate of Qatar went
from being a peninsula to becoming an island threatened by its neighbors by land, sea and
air.
At that time, these questions were asked: How long can Qatar hold on for?
Are we facing the prelude to a military intervention?
Has this emirate’s splendor reach its end?
Well, my friends, in this video we’ll see exactly what happened, how things are and
what we can expect.
(THE RESULTS)
We are going to see the results, but first, you may be wondering, how did they get to
this situation?
What the hell happened?
As in almost all disputes, there are lots of reasons on the table, but... the truth
is that the Riyadh and Abu Dhabi governments were tired of Qatar always being free and
above all... they wanted to cut off their growing relations with Iran and close down
Al Jazeera once and for all.
In fact, these were the basic conditions they imposed on Qatar to start a dialogue after
agreeing on the blockade.
Conditions that Doha rejected outright.
But well, having said that, let’s get to the point.
At first everyone bet this whole mess would be temporary, and that it would resolve relatively
quickly one way or another.
After all, who would think that such a small country, a country that barely has more than
2 million inhabitants and that is practically a desert, would be able to resist without
giving up?
Seems impossible, right?
Well, my friends, that’s precisely what is happening.
( “It has not resulted in the way they wanted to.
They wanted to take control of our decisions and get us to comply with their demands.
That’s failed.
Qatar will never be for sale to the blockading countries or to anyone else.
We are a sovereign country, we will remain a sovereign country”.
Saif al Thani, Director of Qatar’s Government Communications Office.)
As you can imagine, throughout the first few hours, the emirate underwent a very, very
tense situation:
many supplies, including basic products such as food, stopped arriving; the Doha stock
market collapsed and... what the heck!
Even the option of a military intervention didn’t seem far-fetched.
After all, the small Qatari army was no match for the billion-dollar war machines of its
neighboring countries.
A successful intervention depended on the approval of the United States... which has
one of its most important military bases in the world, in Qatar.
And even though this approval was likely..
just in case, Doha decided to ask for Istanbul’s help.
(“Turkish parliament approves bill to deploy troops in Qatar”.
Don’t tell me that the situation didn’t look quite difficult...
But... wait a moment, because Qatar had another ace up its sleeve: as we told you in another
video, in recent years the emirate has done its homework.
Thanks to its oil and especially natural gas exploitation, the country has managed to accumulate
a fortune of more than 300 billion dollars.
A fortune that, by the way, it has invested all over the planet.
And not only that, it also managed to become a country that is much more open to the world
with a foreign policy independent of its neighbors.
And that’s precisely what made this blockade a complete failure...
("If the blockade strategy was to corner us economically, that completely failed and it
will not work."
Ali Shareef al-Emadi, Finance Minister of Qatar)
See, in recent months the stock market has recovered, investors have stopped running
away, and even though many prices rose due to the blockade, even the International Monetary
Fund, in a report it published recently on March 5th, 2018, stated that the Qatari economy
would grow by almost 3% this year.
The fact is that the country hasn’t only managed to open new commercial routes and
achieve alternatives to transport its merchandise, many multinationals located in Dubai, who
can no longer send their people by plane to Doha, have decided to open their own offices
there.
This means that, for example, the number of companies in the Financial Center has grown
by 70% in the last year.
( “For the past 15 years we were the fastest growing economy on the planet.
You are talking about a $6bn economy in 2000 turning into a $200bn economy in 2015..
The blockading countries tried to make businesses decide between them and Qatar, but they backed
away.”
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, the head of the Qatar Financial Authority.)
My friends…
this blockade may even end up reinforcing Qatar.
Wait a moment, this blockade could have positive consequences for the country?
Don’t believe me?
Well, listen up.
(CHANGES IN QATAR?)
The blockade has clearly been a challenge for the Qatari economy and society...
My friends, having an isolated country is a terrible deal.
Precisely due to that, during this time, one of the emirate government's biggest priorities
has been to compensate for the blockade’s negative consequences and convince investors
that Qatar is still a good country to invest in.
That... and to try to gain a lot of influence in the world.
Something that’s indispensable to prevent its neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia, from
getting future expansionist temptations.
But...
How can they achieve all this?
Well... one way to do it is by pushing reforms.
And that’s been done.
In recent months, the Qatari government has promoted several changes to improve the country’s
image in the world and to be more competitive for international investors.
For example, visas have been removed for more than 80 countries;
the rights of foreign residents have increased; more free zones are being established;
and two very important changes have been announced.
For one, they called for elections for the first time, to elect members for the Consultative
Assembly, something like a local parliament...
well, a somewhat limited parliament... but it’s a step… and not precisely a small
one if we take into account that we are talking about a place that still works with a political
system based on an absolute monarchy.
And for another, the more than reprehensible Kafala System will be coming to an end.
This is a system that makes foreign workers, especially the poorest, have to rely on their
employers for their visa and legal status, and has very few legal repercussions for exploitation...
making working conditions very, very bad in some cases.
Have you heard of the allegations about slave workers in the Persian Gulf?
Well, that’s what you were hearing about.
However, now, with the latest labor changes, all these workers will have better protected
rights, and will be able to change jobs or leave the country whenever they want.
( “All of these reforms would have taken a lot longer of it were not for the blockade.
It’s been a blessing in disguise when it comes to business.”
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, the head of the Qatar Financial Authority.)
In other words, the blockade is achieving things that the international community had
been demanding for years.
But having said that... we still have a very, very important question to answer...
Do you know what Qatar's strategy has been to gain influence in the world and strengthen
its position?
Listen up.
(THE STRATEGY)
I think we all know it:
There are very influential economic sectors in the world.
Well, two industries in particular stand out.
One, due to its ability to influence politics and another to influence society.
My friends, I’m talking about the military industry and the entertainment industry.
And, you know what?
It’s precisely in these industries that Qatar has concentrated its strategy.
In recent months, the Qatar government has announced military contracts for more than
25 billion dollars.
And yes, one of their objectives is to equip their army to, if necessary, make invasions
more difficult...
but the truth is that no matter how much they invest in weapons, Qatar won’t be able to
replicate Saudi Arabia’s military power.
But…. wait a moment... because there’s another objective, what better way to influence
Washington and get support than by making an industry, that practically every government
in the world considers strategic, happy?
In this case most of the contracts went to the United States and to European countries
that didn’t support the blockade, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Planes, tanks, helicopters, missiles...
Qatar is buying everything.
Of course, it will never reach Saudi Arabia’s level, but it has suddenly become a very prominent
client.
Yes, the truth is that the Qataris are true experts in contracting security policies.
And that’s not all.
By the way, Doha has also announced that it wants to invest more money in Al-Udeid, the
base that the United States has in the country.
A base that, with more than 10,000 soldiers and a hundred deployed aircrafts, including
B-52 bombers, is one of the most important US bases in the world.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s from Qatar, where the United States projects its strength in the area, for its
incursions to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc., etcetera.
By the way, the base, cost 1 billion dollars and was a "gift" from the Qatari government,
who also contributes to their expenses every year.
Quite a bargain for Washington.
And just in case…
("Qatar signs an agreement with Turkey to establish a naval base in its territory".
Arabia Watch.)
In the other industry, the entertainment industry...
Qatar has been moving like a fish in water for years, especially as far as sports are
concerned.
In 2022 the country will host the World Cup, in 2012 it bought PSG, France’s most important
football team, and Doha, the country’s capital, has been an Olympic contender several times.
Always, of course, due to their checkbook.
And not only that, they also created Bein Sports, an Al Jazeera subsidiary that has
become one of the largest sport competitions broadcasting rights owners in the world.
Well, after announcing the blockade, the Qatari authorities decided to reinforce this strategy...
which for example led the PSG to spend billions and billions of dollars on signings.
( “Along with joining PSG on a five-year contract and $354 million, Neymar also committed
to act as spokesperson for the Qatar World Cup.
In this way, not only did PSG acquire the player who could elevate the team's presence
on the European stage, but Qatar obtained a symbol of its defiance in the face of its
attempted isolation”.
Abdullah Al-Arian is assistant professor of history at Georgetown University, School of
Foreign Service in Qatar.)
Well... with the military industry, with football and by pouring millions of dollars into Washington
lobbies, the Qatari government hopes to reinforce its position and improve its image.
Of course, now their rivals are also moving... so the battle isn’t over yet.
But we’ll talk about that some other day.
Now, it’s your turn.
What country do you think will be reinforced by this blockade?
Leave us your answer in the comments and in this survey.
We really love knowing your opinion.
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Also, don’t forget to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided
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