“Yes, But Can I Be Trusted?" The Two Faces of Qatar
By Randy Pinsky
Since the 2000s, the tiny gulf state of Qatar has made international headlines for its mediating capability. From facilitating talks with the Taliban to being a key player in the recent ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, these diplomatic achievements beg the question: Who is Qatar and what do they have to gain? Are they truly the neutral players they claim to be? Or, given their active funding and housing of said terrorist organizations as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, is there something else going on?
Gaining Trust in a Volatile Region
One of the most famous skits of Canadian comedy team Wayne and Shuster was a parody of the murder of Julius Caesar called, “Rinse the Blood Off My Toga” (1958). Julius Caesar has been murdered and Brutus hires private eye Flavius Maximus, to identify Caesar's assassin. As each suspect is narrowed out, Brutus encourages Maximus to look out for the suspicious-looking guy standing next to him. “Wait, but that’s You!” he says, confused. “Yes,” is the reply, stating the famous punchline; "But can I be trusted?”
Similarly, while Western powers have lauded Qatar for being an honest broker and skilled mediator in the region, others point to its questionable associations. According to The Texas Public Policy Foundation, while “some see Qatar as a valuable strategic partner, others view it as a duplicitous actor, undermining American [and Western] interests behind closed doors."
Which is it?
How It All Started
As a small state, Qatar became independent from British rule in 1971. Striking natural gas reserves in the 1990s launched it onto the world stage and the empire status of oil barons. Fossil fuel extraction accounts for close to 86% of the state’s exports, and its gas reserves are the third largest in the world, accounting for 13% of the global total. This has “driven Qatar’s turnaround from what is often described as a poor pearl-diving economy to a major petro-state.” Within a couple of years, it rose in international fame, exporting barrels of the natural resource and acquiring one of the world’s highest GDP per capita.
According to The Guardian, “Qatar is a rich country with a poor man’s mindset, a powerful country with a weak one’s vigilance. Its focus on diplomacy is an effort to shore up its fragile position, as a small nation in a volatile region.” Though it has gained in international influence, it remains insecure about its status of protection. As a burgeoning power, it has thus partnered with powerful allies such as Iran.
In a perhaps surprising mix of policy, Qatar also has significant ties with the US and currently houses America’s largest military installation in the Middle East, the Al-Udeid air force base.
Additionally, it has steadily intensified its economic trade with the United States, dramatically increasing economic exchanges and aircraft purchases.
The Switzerland of the Middle East?
As a small country seeking to make its mark among much larger players, one of the ways that Qatar has raised its profile on the international stage has been to act as a mediator on some of the world’s toughest geopolitical contexts. Skilled trained mediating experts has resulted in the country gaining renown for bringing together sworn enemies when others have failed. Most recently, their involvement has extended towards being an intermediary in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as a potential bridge for Russia-Ukraine talks, acquiring the title of “the diplomatic capital of the world.”
Qatari minister of state and chief mediator, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, noted with pride, “Whenever there is a conflict or a crisis, you will see us [at] the negotiating table.”
For their work and involvement, they have been nicknamed the Switzerland of the region; a neutral intermediary body.
Yet are they?
Qatar: a Nation You Can Trust
In intractable conflicts such as with the Taliban and more recently with Hamas, Qatar has somehow managed to do the impossible. Mediating between the various parties, it has brokered tangible steps towards peaceful resolution. Specifically, in the late 2000s, it hosted the talks between the US and Taliban which resulted in the US withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2021.
Prior to that, its “rising reputation as a peace broker” was also displayed through fostering deals in Lebanon (2008), Yemen (2010), Darfur (2011) and Gaza (2012). In fact, its 2003 constitution explicitly notes that Qatari foreign policy “is based on the principle of strengthening international peace and security by means of encouraging peaceful resolution of international disputes.”
Qatar views its role as threefold; as a go-between, often hosting the various parties and leading the talk; as a persuader; working in a mediation position, and as a facilitator; keeping the conversations going and refocusing them whenever they derail. Diplomacy is at their core identity, self-describing as being both "energy provider and peace facilitator."
In fact, due to their critical role as an intermediary in the Israel-Hamas war, Biden designated them as a non-NATO ally. It was the mediation facilitated by Qatar and Egypt in 2023 and 2024 that resulted in the initial hostage returns.
Behind Closed Doors
In spite of what appears to be a stellar record, many question Qatar’s motives. Paramount among them is the paradox in which the Qatari mediating team facilitates talks with terrorist organizations such as the Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah under the claim of being a neutral third party, yet have funded their actions and housed many of their members.[1]
A concern which is often brought up is Qatar’s closeness with Iran, funder and leader of these terrorist proxies. In fact, several of Qatari government members were found to have celebrated Iran’s June 2024 attack on Israel.
Additionally, there have been covert yet powerful financial links to Western campuses, fueling much of the protests and encampments. The main funders of the Al Jazeera media outlet, often quoted for shedding local light on the region, it has been found to misrepresent coverage and foster an anti-Israel and anti-Western slant in order to influence public opinion. Qatar also funds Western universities, sending billions of dollars with dictated conditions about hiring procedures and policy and program approvals. In fact, it is the single largest foreign donor to American universities, with at least $4.7 billion being sent between 2001-21.
The links between Qatar, anti-Western sentiment and much of the well-orchestrated protests seen in the West further calls into question their claimed neutrality. It was barely the day after October 7th when protesters charged the streets with virtually identical chants and signage - a coincidence?
Qatar’s Neutrality Put into Question
In “The U.S. Should Beware Qatar”, The Middle East Forum noted, “Qatar is not a neutral agent, despite its attempts to portray itself as such. Time and again, it has supported the region’s most radical nations and paramilitaries, all to the detriment of American and Western interests.”
Such an appraisal is also not merely a suspicion espoused by Western countries.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed relations with Qatar, accusing it of “adopting various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region.” The Arab states issued certain demands to the monarchy, top of which was to break military and political relations with Iran. Qatar has also been found to finance Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, in addition to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Money Talks
Critics have accused Qatar of using its financial influence to undermine and ‘buy off’ American influencers. Financial statements have revealed extensive funding towards members of the government, as well as involvement in national security companies where billions were not accounted for.
Qatar has invested millions in Jared Kushner’s (Trump’s son-in-law and key Middle East mediator) investment company and bailed out Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy to the Middle East, in a development project gone awry. In May 2025, moreover, Trump was offered a $400m jet, although Qatari officials tried to reinforce this was a government transaction as opposed to a gift. For this reason, The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) calls the petro-empire “enabler of Islamist terrorism and a dishonest broker.”
It was mentioned that the largest American air force base is located on Qatari territory. Some security experts are wary that its strategic location may serve as an “effective means for convincing American policymakers to ignore [Qatar’s] mischief…as a state sponsor of terrorism.” In a harsh parallel, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies cited the Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism’s interview with The Jerusalem Post in 2023, “It’s as if the U.S. would turn to Pakistan, which once harbored Bin Laden, for moderation on behalf of itself…I find this notion quite implausible.”
So Neutral Mediator…or Covert Influencer?
Under his first presidential mandate, Trump said he would not work with Qatar, accusing them of being behind terrorist groups and disseminating Islamist ideology, yet in 2025, commended them for their mediation efforts. He publicly thanked them alongside Egypt and Turkey for their instrumental role in the "momentous" Israel-Hamas peace deal.
Could this endorsement be because of his desire for a ceasefire and stability in the region, or to protect the American army base and trade interests?
Dependent on the US for its security, Qatar seeks to ingratiate itself to the country. The increase of trade interests has manifested itself in changes in US policy responses.
According to Ben Freeman, research fellow at The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft who focuses on foreign lobbying in the United States, “less than a decade ago, Qatar was ‘an afterthought’ as far as US foreign policy went. Today, it is ‘riding high’.”
Many political pundits point to this perceived as beneficial support by the US as being a key motivator for Qatar’s more intense involvement in peace negotiations. Indeed, they are continually “working to reshape the image…from backer of Islamist movements [accusations they contest] to diplomatic power broker and U.S partner.”
A dual identity of complex natures, Qatar remains a critical actor in the region. Regardless of motive, the hard work of peacemaking now starts.
[1] Although they claim this was done at the request of the US.
