Qatar in the Crosshairs: Saudi Media Attacks Qatari First Lady. Of Mice and a Woman
Gulf battle of the potentates:“On the visit of the wife of the Qatari Emir, Shaikha Mouza, to Baghdad and her photo-op with prime minister al-Maliki in Baghdad: The deputy Iraqi foreign minister said that there will certainly be political implications for the visit…..The question here is which direction will the Qatari changes be? What will be the results of Shaikha Mouza’s visit to Baghdad? …..If it is aimed at a new regional alignment which will be an expansion of older alignments, supporting one side against another….” Chief Editor of Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat.
Interesting lead editorial: objecting to a visit by the first lady of Qatar to Iraq. I am certain the Iraqis will welcome visits by the first ladies of all Arab potentates. Some of them are welcome to send all their wives at once. So what is the problem here?
This is the first time media in the Arab world have stooped to attacking a rival leader's wife- even the Saudi media never stooped this low before. Needless to say, the lady Shaikha Mouza al-Misnad has braved a war zone where the editor of Asharq Alawsat and his bosses dare not go- it looks like they cannot even get enough of their diplomats to open an embassy.
Saudi satellite daily newspapers in other Gulf states have also been signaled to attack the Qatari first lady in the past year, and they have periodically done so, usually through their columnists. This is the first time the chief editor, no less, has taken up arms against a first lady. Maybe he needs to find a hobby to fill his time?
Expect their columnists to start adding their voices to the attack. This follows, immediately, frustration by the Saudis and their allies on the Asian FIFA Soccer federation to unseat the Qatari president in the last election. The Saudis had thrown their weight behind the Bahraini Shaikh Salman al-Khalifa, and had campaigned strongly and heavy-handedly against the Qatari incumbent. On Friday, the Asian Federation vote picked the Qatari Bin Hammam and handed the Saudi prince who heads his country’s federation a stinging defeat. He will represent Asia in the world FIFA executive committee. Qatar, which hosts the headquarters of the US Central Command in the Middle East, has been one of the few countries that follow an independent regional foreign policy- independent from the Saudi line. It also hosts the al-Jazeera television network, which irritates many Arab rulers.
Cheers
mhg
m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com
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