American author Thomas Friedman has said he believes that Qataris are trying to “showcase their power like children do with their toys,” as they are population of around 300,000 with $300 billion in funds.

During a panel on the Saudi Crown Prince’s upcoming US visit at the Arabia Foundation last week, he said that Qatar will not be able to change the Middle East.

Friedman also said that the region needs peace between Sunnis and Shiites and noted that it’s enough to compare graduation photos from Cairo’s University in the 1960s and now to see how the Islamic revolution in Iran and the Juhayman al-Otaybi incident in Mecca affected the region.

Meanwhile, Princeton University Professor Bernard Haykel said Qatar funds most of those who oppose Saudi Arabia and wants to overthrow the regime in Riyadh.

He added that Qatar feels empowered because it is home US army base there and therefore acts freely and “sets fire” in regional countries.

 

Source english.alarabiya.net