The time has come to go by the suggestion calling for Arab-international forces to be sent to Syria», said Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani during the 137th meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Arab League which convened on March 10. Qatar lacks the independent potential to take a key role in the intervention, but calls for it are voiced on a regular basis by the leaders of the country relatively small in terms of the population and territory.
Qatar tends to maintain a fairly high profile on the international stage. Brookings Doha Center director Salman Shaikh cites as an example the fact that in May, 2011 the country brokered a peace deal in Darfur where the government forces were clashing with insurgents. In May, 2008, Doha was instrumental in bringing about an agreement which marked the end of a protracted standoff in Lebanon and paved the way for the presidential elections in the country. Qatar similarly contributed mediation to the internal conflicts in Yemen, Somalia, and Chad, as well as to the Djiboutian–Eritrean border dispute. An array of factors prop up Doha's ambition to handle geopolitical complexities:
1. Qatar's gas export revenues are surging (the sales of natural gas from Qatar have grown by 500% since the early 1990ies).
2. Al Jazeera, Qatar's global broadcaster, provides powerful propaganda support for the foreign policies pursued by Doha.
3. Qatar hosts two US military bases1 and, overall, enjoys a strong political partnership with Washington. Read More
