Qatar, playing all sides, is a nonstop mediator

Qatar, playing all sides, is a nonstop mediator : In the past month, after Qatari diplomats brokered a landmark peace deal for Lebanon in talks here, this tiny emirate on the Gulf has enjoyed a brief moment of giddy celebrity. Editorialists praised the Qatari emir as a modern-day Metternich. Huge billboards went up on the road to the Beirut airport, proclaiming, "We all say: Thank you Qatar." An ice cream shop in central Beirut put out a sign offering a Doha Agreement Cone. But the Qataris did not linger over their diplomatic triumph. They were too busy trying to solve every other conflict in the Middle East. In the past year alone, the Qatari foreign minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (widely known as HBJ), has flown his jet — repeatedly — everywhere from Morocco to Libya to Yemen, using charm, guile and large... [read full story]