Qatar is per capita the richest nation on earth. its wealth, reflected in the gleaming skyline of its capital Doha, is derived from the world’s largest natural gas field. but the country’s very existence was threatened on June 5th when the blockade was imposed by four countries that loom over Qatar, a country that is smaller than Connecticut and has a population of three million, only 300,000 of whom are native citizens. in an instant, Saudi Arabia closed Qatar’s only land crossing. not long ago hundreds of trucks a day flowed through this border post. now, there is only dust. Sheikh Tamim, Qatar’s young Amir, had to steady a stunned and skittish nation…
Sheikh Tamim: more than 90 percent of our goods, food, medicine comes from the land. and this was blocked. students were kicked out from those countries. patients were kicked out from hospitals.
Charlie Rose: So Qataris who were in that country were ordered home?
Sheikh Tamim: Were ordered home, yes.
Charlie Rose: In an interview earlier this month in his office in Doha, the Amir told us he didn’t see the blockade coming…
Sheikh Tamim: Charlie, it was a shock. It was a shock because a few weeks before that, we were meeting, all of us together, in one room, including President Trump. And we were discussing terrorism, financing terrorism. And nobody brought any concern from those countries. Nobody told me anything.
Charlie Rose: So this is a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The President’s there…
Sheikh Tamim: Exactly.
Charlie Rose: And no one suggested they had reason to launch an attack against you?
Sheikh Tamim: Nothing. It was actually the opposite. We were praising each other, laughing with each other. Discussing, you know, how to solve this terrorism that is a threat for the rest of the world.
Charlie Rose: What do you think this is about? Because this is a conflict that has as much power to disrupt the region as anything that’s happened politically in a while. So why are they doing it? For what purpose?
Sheikh Tamim: They don’t like our independence, the way how we are thinking, our vision for the region. We want freedom of speech for the people of the region. And they’re not happy with that. And so they think that this is a threat to them.
Charlie Rose: Here’s what they are saying. That you’re supporting terrorism. That you support the Muslim Brotherhood, which they believe is against them. You’re too friendly with Iran. That Al Jazeera, which you own, stirs up trouble in the region. That you’re financing Islamist groups in Syria. That you allow the Taliban and Hamas to operate out of Doha. And that you are playing too many sides. And that the time has come to stop it. That’s what they are saying.
Sheikh Tamim: Charlie, Iran is our neighbor. And by the way, us as a country, we have lots of differences and foreign policies with Iran, more than them. But let me tell you one thing Charlie. When those countries, our brothers, blocked everything. Blocked medicine, blocked food, they only way for us to provide food and medicine for our people was through Iran. And when they talk about terrorism, absolutely not. We do not support terrorism.
Charlie Rose: They’re making demands of you. That you shut down Al Jazeera, that you give them your word that you’re not supporting any Islamist groups. Are you going to meet these demands?
Sheikh Tamim: Our sovereignty is a red line. We don’t accept anybody interfering our sovereignty. When you tell me to close a channel like Al Jazeera, history will write one day in 50, 60 or 70 years how it changed the whole idea of free speech in the region.
Charlie Rose: So you’re not going to shut down Al Jazeera?
Sheikh Tamim: No, we’re not going to shut down Al Jazeera.
Charlie Rose: This is what is at the core. You’re different from them. And they have finally said to you, “You have to stop playing all sides because it threatens us and it competes with us.’
Sheikh Tamim: Actually, what they’re saying in a very simple way, ‘Give up your independence.’
The Amir Explained Why One Foe, The Taliban, Was Invited From Afghanistan To Open An Office In Qatar…
Sheikh Tamim: The reason why they came here, it’s not because we asked them to come here, because other people…
Charlie Rose: Like the United States?
Sheikh Tamim: Yeah, yeah. America asked…
Charlie Rose: The United States wanted the Taliban here?
Sheikh Tamim: They wanted to have dialogue so they asked us if we can host them here and have the dialogue. So we hosted them here. This is the reason why they’re here.
when Arab streets exploded across the region in 2011, Qatar openly backed the uprisings that eventually toppled longstanding dictators. the upheavals unnerved Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.…
Sheikh Tamim: The difference between us and them during the Arab Spring is that we stood by the people.
Charlie Rose: And they stood by the regimes?
Sheikh Tamim: They stood by the regimes. It showed after that they stood by their regimes. Why did we stand by the people? Because they were asking for freedom, dignity. And I feel that we chose the right side when we stood by the people.
Qatar began punching above its weight under the Amir’s Father, Sheikh Hamad. He was a visionary who took over the nation in 1995. Sheikh Hamad pushed to make his country relevant and indispensable. Qatar, a soccer lightweight… Qatar Won the right to host the world cup in 2022 in a surprising and controversial decision. The most strategic move came soon after 9/11 when the united states military pulled out of Saudi Arabia. Qatar offered the Americans a home…
Sheikh Tamim: We told them, ‘Welcome to Doha. Welcome to Doha. Welcome to Qatar. We have a strategic partnership with you. And we want this to be very solid. So we’re friends. So you’re welcome to Qatar.
Charlie Rose: You have heard that the president said, ‘This cannot happen?’
Sheikh Tamim: I’ve heard that. I’ve heard that, ‘This cannot continue. It should end.’
Charlie Rose: And ‘We cannot tolerate an invasion from outside by our friends against another friend?’
Sheikh Tamim: He told me very clearly, ‘I will not accept my friends fighting amongst themselves.’
Charlie Rose: So you were actually fearful of that?
Sheikh Tamim: I’m fearful that if anything happens, if any military act happens, this region will be in chaos.
Charlie Rose: It is said that the president has asked you to come to Camp David. Have you accepted that invitation?
Sheikh Tamim: Yes. I had, I met with, with the president when I was in New York a few weeks ago…
Charlie Rose: For the United Nations…
Sheikh Tamim: For the United Nations. And the president showed that he is committed to find an end to this crisis. And yes, it is true, he, he suggested that we come. And I told him straightaway, ‘Mr. President, we are very ready. I’ve been asking for dialogue from day one.
Charlie Rose: And what did the other countries say?
Sheikh Tamim: It was supposed to be very soon this meeting. But I don’t have any response…
Charlie Rose: Do you believe that they want regime change?
Sheikh Tamim: Yes. They want, they want a regime change. It’s…so obvious. History as well tells us, teaches us they tried to do that before, in 1996 after my father became the Amir. So, and they made it also so obvious in the last couple of weeks.
Charlie Rose: What’s happened in the last couple of weeks that makes this obvious?
Sheikh Tamim: Well, they’ve been talking in the media that this regime should be more suitable with its neighbors. And they mean us being followers to them, not being independent. This is what they mean and this is what they want.
Charlie Rose: Have they underestimated you?
Sheikh Tamim: I think they underestimated the Qatari people. I’m so proud of the people.
Sheikh Tamim: Qatar after the 5th of June is not like Qatar before. We’re proud of what we were. We’re proud of our history. But after the 5th of June, it’s different. We are stronger.
Charlie Rose: How will this end?
Sheikh Tamim: We want it to end. Believe me, Charlie, we want it to end. But nothing is going to be above our dignity, our sovereignty. But we want it to end. I always say that. If they going to walk one meters toward me, I’m willing to walk 10,000 miles towards them.