The author has an eerie inside knowledge of GCC affairs. None of this information would be available to even the most veteran Western journalists involved (the Seymour Hirsches for instance), and so Sultan Al-Qassemi's coverage is crucial for an in-depth understanding of the Middle East for policymakers and readers everywhere.

There is no guarantee that Saudi Arabia and Qatar will continue to be nice to each other, given the tumultuous diplomatic history. Iran can exert quiet influence, US might be worried about an alliance it may think could threaten its own hegemony, and Syria's Bashar Al-Assad might do a complete about face and announce a "short" vacation abroad while affairs are negotiated behind closed doors, much as with Yemen as we speak. Both Iran and Saudis have many trump cards, as the US struggles to redefine its Iran policy, with growing Iranian regional influence and its recently rejuvenated economy along with new (same old) players like China and Russia, and now Turkey, peeking in as well.

The Arab Spring, now Summer, becoming Fall, is undergoing its own dynamic with fits and starts, like any other revolution in history. Most likely the Arab Spring will turn out to be less about regional or global influence as the world again becomes multi-polar, and more about what its own masses want. The Brotherhood has been around long enough and seems open enough to partnerships that its leadership role will be assured.

The somewhat myopic view in Qatar and Saudi Arabia of the pros and cons of dictators being overthrown by their peoples can of course be explained by the fact that their Royal families were not exactly elected either. So you cannot expect them to be singing the benefits of Arab Springs from the rooftops. Why are they friends again? Because they realize they may be next to fall. After all ruling Royal families are a bit of an endangered species in that neck of the woods if current events are anything to go by. Do we want these regimes to face the
music? Not if they are going to be replaced by an Islamic or Islamic biased government. Ditto alas for Syria.

And as regards the Qatari Olympics - at PR corporate events in years to come I suspect it will be a case study as the most expensive and most disastrous public relations event ever. Having 10,000 Western journalists in your backyard is not a good idea especially if they have visited Amnesty International's page on Quatar's human rights violations and conditins for foreign workers. Oh dear!.

Syria faced a groundswell of international condemnation over its deadly crackdown on the city of Hama but NATO's chief on Monday ruled out a Libya-style intervention to halt the bloodshed.Russia, which has threatened to veto any UN Security Council resolution against the government of close ally President Bashar al-Assad, joined a long list of nations to condemn the kayden kross regime's brutality. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the "use of force against both peaceful civilians and representatives of state structures is unacceptable and should be stopped immediately."Global leaders fiercely attacked Assad's government after reports that his security forces killed nearly 140 people in an assault on pro-democracy protesters in Hama. But NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen ruled out military support for anti-Assad forces, on the grounds that there is no international consensus in favour of intervention. "In Libya, we're carrying out an operation based on a clear UN mandate. We have the support of countries in the region. These two conditions are not met in Syria," he told France's Midi Libre regional daily.The Security Council was due to meet at 2100 GMT on Monday, but British Foreign Secretary William Hague agreed that there was no prospect of achieving a UN mandate for a military operation."It's not a remote possibility, even if we were in favour of that, which we're not," he told BBC radio."There is no prospect of a legal, morally sanctioned military intervention. And therefore we have to concentrate on other ways of influencing the Assad regime and of trying to help the situation in Syria," he said."It is a very frustrating situation."European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton meanwhile looked to the UN as the 27-nation bloc tightened the screws on Damascus by beefing up sanctions."It is time for the Security Council to take a clear stand on the need to end the violence," Ashton said.In a statement on Sunday she said it was the duty of Syrian security forces to protect citizens, "not massacre them indiscriminately."

You need the experience at the top not at the bottom. All presidents have experience people to give them advice. RIO In the end the president makes the final decision..

Qatar, which like Saudi Arabic officially practices the Wahhabi version of Islam, obviously feels more comfortable with the actual Brotherhood sharing hojo motor plans compared to the Saudis. Saudi Arabia can also be concerned for the balance of Lebanon, which would undoubtedly be affected by a routine collapse in Syria. Possibly Qaradawi's influence and existence in Qatar, where he has resided since 1961, describes why Doha was prepared to publicly break along with Assad while Saudi Arabia offers maintained some degree of support. The Syrian revolt, such as Egypt's, has been partially brought by the country's banned Muslim Brotherhood, which frequently meets with liberals and other competitors factions to arrange for a post-Assad Syria.

And why their rapprochement could mean an early end for the Arab Spring. Qatar, which like Saudi Arabic officially practices the Wahhabi version of Islam, obviously feels more comfortable with the actual Brotherhood sharing hojo motor plans compared to the Saudis. Saudi Arabia can also be concerned for the balance of Lebanon, which would undoubtedly be affected by a routine collapse in Syria. Possibly Qaradawi's influence and existence in Qatar, where he has resided si car donation Syria faced a groundswell of international condemnation over its deadly crackdown on the city of Hama but NATO's chief on Monday ruled out a Libya-style intervention to halt the bloodshed.Russia, which has threatened to veto any UN Security Council resolution against the government of close ally President Bashar al-Assad, joined a long list of nations to condemn the kayden kross regime's brutality.

However, in subsequent contacts Qatari overtures managed to calm the Saudis and relations improved further after al-Jazeera was ordered "not to tackle any Saudi issue without referring to the higher management," Qassemi said, citing e-mail sent by an al-Jazeera employee to The New York Times. Recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar led to the Qatar television channel softening its media coverage of Saudi political developments, in particular those concerning Saudi dissidents, ashlynn brooke said.Qatari and Saudi ties are growing warmer, he said. For instance, in the past few weeks, Qatar Airways has been allowed to operate a lot more flights to Saudi Arabia -- from 35 to 60 per week. In September, a delegation of 100 Saudi businessmen will visit Qatar to discuss joint business opportunities, including the establishment of a Saudi-Qatari bank and joint industrial zone.Al-Jazeera, long-banned in the kingdom, has also been given the green light to set up a Saudi bureau.The friendly relations are likely to continue at least till 2022 when Doha will play host to the FIFA World Cup, for which it has earmarked $65 billion-$100 billion and invested considerable political capital, Qassemi said.