Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Abstract:

Qatar, a small peninsular country in the Persian Gulf, has emerged as an important ally of the United States since the late 1990s and currently serves as host to major U.S. military facilities for command, basing, and equipment pre-positioning. Qatar holds the third largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, and its small population enjoys the highest per capita income of any Middle Eastern country. The Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has embarked upon a limited course of political liberalization since replacing his father in a bloodless palace coup in 1995. The Emir also has undertaken several projects to diversify Qatar's economy and improve educational opportunities for Qatari citizens. As part of Qatar's liberalization experiment, the Qatari monarchy founded Al Jazeera, the Arab world's first all-news satellite television network, in 1995. In an April 2003 referendum, Qatari voters approved a new constitution that officially granted women the right to vote and run for national office. Under the new constitution, elections for a partially elected national assembly will take place some time in late 2006 or 2007.

Following joint military operations during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Qatar and the United States concluded a Defense Cooperation Agreement that has been subsequently expanded. In April 2003, the U.S. Combat Air Operations Center for the Middle East moved from Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia to Qatar's Al Udeid airbase south of Doha, the Qatari capital. Al Udeid serves as a logistics hub for U.S. operations in Afghanistan as well as a key command and basing center for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nearby Camp As Sayliyah is the largest pre-positioning facility of U.S. military equipment in the world.

In spite of serving as the host to a large U.S. military presence and supporting U.S. regional initiatives, Qatar has remained relatively secure. A shooting attack took place at Al Udeid airbase in November 2000, and on March 19, 2005, an Egyptian national carried out a suicide car bomb attack at a theater popular with Western expatriates on the outskirts of Doha. The car bombing, the first terrorist attack in Qatar to target civilians, killed one British citizen and wounded twelve others. Recent terrorist statements indicate that U.S. facilities in Qatar remain potential targets.

U.S. officials have described Qatar's counterterrorism cooperation since 9/11 as significant; however, some observers have raised questions about possible support for Al Qaeda by some Qatari citizens, including members of Qatar's large ruling family. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Qatar's current Interior Minister provided safe haven to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed during the mid1990s, and press reports indicate other terrorists may have received financial support or safe haven in Qatar after 9/11, including a Chechen terrorist financier who was assassinated in Doha in 2004 and Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.

This report was originally written by Jeremy Sharp, and has been revised and will be updated by Christopher Blanchard to reflect significant developments. For further information, see CRS Report RL31889, The Al-Jazeera News Network: Opportunity or Challenge for U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East?;and CRS Report RL31533, The Persian Gulf: Issues for U.S. Policy, 2004.