In the last two years, Qatar has been everywhere on the news. Qatar will host a World Football Championship, Qatar bought Amnesty International, Qatar lending huge amounts of money to many contries in the Middle East, this and that, being the underlying intention that this tiny Emirate desiring to become the next big thing and geopolitical pivot player in the Gulf, raising very much concerns in the main and longstanding player in this strategic region: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The thing is that Qatar has considerable resources to be an important player, most importantly by being within the top 3 world top natural reserves and exporters, and playing an important and decisive role in the foundation of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (its headquartes is located in Doha, capital of Qatar), having as well the largest broadcasting TV station in arabic (Al Jazeera, based in Doha, and now displayed worldwide in arabic, spanish and english, which have given Qatar a considerable role as a regional, and why not, a world player. And Qatar also has supported political parties and organizations on its behalf to pave the way for a more open influence, which the House Al Saud has seen not really with happiness. Many people could think that the important confrontation now is between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but also within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries both these countries are confronting each other to consolidate a very leadership at the religious and energy fields, in a general frame of a sunni-shiite grand divide that threatens to destabilize the whole MENA region. But beyond this, Qatar seems to want it all this time...
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