Wealthy Qatar Weathers Siege, But Personal And Political Costs Grow

Of all of the ongoing geopolitical disputes in the world, the current feud between Saudi Arabia (backed by its allies such as the UAE and Egypt) and Qatar is certainly the most bizarre. Notwithstanding the fact that both countries are hereditary monarchies with similar ultraconservative Sunni Muslim societies, each appears to detest the other.

Both countries are incredibly rich, and both have in the past been implicated in the funding of extremist groups. Indeed, the current spat between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is based on this issue, with the Saudis accusing Qatar of funding terrorist groups and stirring up dissent through its Al-Jazeera news network. These accusations led the Saudis to lay down a series of punitive demands and effectively blockade Qatar from land-based trade.

But, as detailed in this article by Declan Walsh for NYT, things are not going as planned for the Saudis. Qatar is the richest country per capita on Earth, and where there is money, there is a way. Finding itself under blockade, Qatar is simply buying its way out of trouble. The country's national carrier has been chartered to bring in an immense amount of food and other supplies by air, while a newly built port is handling traffic from an array of new exports – all on the Qatari government's dime. The hyper-rich citizens of the small country continue to live a life of luxury – for now.

All of which begs the question – if the blockade and sanctions brought by the Saudis and their allies fail to hurt Qatar so much that it acquiesces to their extreme demands, what will happen next? The Saudis don't have the money, or evidently the political clout to bring Qatar in line, but they do have one card yet to play: their military.

With this in mind, the choices they make in the coming weeks and months could see this dispute go quickly from bizarre to dangerous.