DUBAI Qatar's hosting of a Taliban office for peace talks with the United States is the latest in a series of foreign policy gambits stretching over a decade - some peace-broking efforts, but others, notably in Libya and Syria, involving armed support.
U.S. officials are expected to meet delegates from the Afghan Islamist insurgency in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday to try to advance peace efforts in Afghanistan, where the United States has battled the insurgents for 12 years.
While Qatar itself is not a central player in the Afghan peace process, it is seen as a plausibly neutral party which can serve as a convenient host for sensitive discussions and has the trust at least of parts of the Taliban.
Neil Partrick, a Gulf security expert who contributes to the Gulf Studies Programme at the London School of Economics, said Qatar's involvement in Afghanistan was motivated by a need for security, leverage and prestige.
"Insecurity in central and south Asia is not in the interest of any of the Gulf states. And playing in the big boys' club, politically, economically, or in sporting terms, is also liked by Doha," he said.
Other political crises and wars Qatar has tackled include Yemen, Somalia, Lebanon, Darfur and the Palestinian territories, often hosting peace talks on its own soil to try to prove it can punch above its weight in international diplomacy.
Among its assets has been its ability to stay on friendly terms with a wide range of countries, including the United States and Iran, and to cultivate alliances with customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia hungry for its gas exports.
PACE TO SLOW?
But a planned leadership change reported by Arab and Western diplomats that could see the U.S.-allied Emir eventually ceding power to his son has stirred speculation its foreign activism could take a breather under a new leader.
The diplomats say the transition, motivated by desire for a smooth handover to a younger generation, is expected to start with Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, leaving his cabinet posts.
He has been a leading force, together with the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, in making the country not only a global investment powerhouse but also a bankroller of Arab Spring revolts in alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Under their leadership the country has sent arms and funds to Syrian rebels fighting a two-year-old war to try to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
Whether Crown Prince Tamim, 33, due to replace his father as emir under the reported transition, will apply quite so much energy to foreign power broking is for some an open question.
The Taliban talks, if they continue for any significant period, will likely claim Tamim's attention.
Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Centre, said he did not expect a wholesale shift in Qatar's foreign priorities under Tamim "because Qatari policy in the last few years has been very successful."
"You can say Qatar has overreached, but at the end of the day this is arguably one of the most influential Middle Eastern countries on the international stage. You cannot deny that."
"You might see some tinkering around the margins going forward but these types of initiatives (like the Taliban) are the sort of things that Qatar has no reason to stop doing."
(Reporting by William Maclean and Yara Bayoumy; editing by Janet McBride)
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