An Open Door to Peace

Qatar has the distinction of being one of the smallest nations on the globe. But thanks to one of the world’s largest gas fields we are also fortunate to be a wealthy society, and we are using our rich natural resources to create one of the most modern, sophisticated and cosmopolitan nations in the world.

We are a close ally of the United States, and our relationship has grown stronger over the past 18 years. But we don’t often find ourselves in the US headlines. That changed dramatically last week when the news broke about the “prisoner swap” that led to the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

To the public, Sgt. Bergdahl’s release appeared, understandably, to come out of the blue. But the reality – as all involved in the process know – was that it was the end of more than two years of hard work, delicate negotiations and considerable patience. The result was the release of an American citizen who had been kept away from his family, friends and country for nearly five years.

Serving as a mediator, looking for peaceful alternatives to conflict, and taking action to save lives have long been attributes of Qatar's foreign policy. So when we were asked by our ally, the United States, to see if we could assist in securing the release of an American citizen held captive by the Taliban, we were more than willing to play a part.

Qatar has often been criticized for its open door policy in our conflict-ridden region, and it is true that our approach has not always been popular. But as history has shown, our nation has always been an ally and a partner in the struggle against any form of terrorism. We have offered to provide a platform for peace talks on Darfur. We helped reach a compromise in the faction fighting in Lebanon. We cooperated with Egypt in its efforts to re-establish Palestinian unity. And most recently, we worked to help Syrian opposition groups find common ground in an effort to hasten the end of the Syrian conflict.

As part of the agreement for his release, five Taliban prisoners who had been detained at Guantanamo Bay were transferred to Qatar. This has been the subject of some controversy in the United States, with critics claiming that the former prisoners will now be free to plot attacks against the US and the West. To be clear, Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American government that spells out specific conditions for the detention of the former prisoners in our country for one year, and we will abide by those conditions in every detail. But it should also be clear that, like Sgt. Bergdahl, the Taliban are now former prisoners, so while they will be closely monitored and their movements carefully circumscribed, as per our agreement, they are not being “re-incarcerated” in Qatar.

The controversy over the Taliban detention rules is one reason fellow diplomats in Washington have questioned why Qatar got involved in these difficult negotiations in the first place. After all, there is no benefit for us, nor did we ask for diplomatic favors from any of the parties to the agreement.

We see ourselves as part of a great tradition of small nations playing a part in advancing world peace by providing a neutral platform for discussion, debate, and negotiation. The release of of Sgt. Bergdahl is an example of the success of this approach and evidence of the fact that, no matter how seemingly insurmountable the obstacles, peaceful solutions can be achieved if adversaries can find an open door.