Qatar: A tiny country asserts powerful influence

Qatar is a sliver of a country wedged between Saudi Arabia and Iran, yet Qatar has avoided the chaos, violence and killing of the Arab Spring. There have been no protests, no unrest. Ironically, many Arab leaders believe the engine behind the region's violent revolution is Al Jazeera, a 24-hour satellite television network based in Qatar. The man behind Al Jazeera, the man who created the influential channel, is the emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Why are Qataris so tranquil? Maybe it's because Qatar's 250,000 citizens are, quite literally, the richest people in the world and very content with their lives in this oil-and-gas-rich speck of a nation. Bob Simon reports.

The following script is from "Qatar" which aired on Jan. 15, 2012. Bob Simon is the correspondent. Harry Radliffe, producer.

The Arab revolution keeps spreading, leaving chaos and turmoil in its wake. But one country has been untouched by all that: The tiny speck of a nation called Qatar, wedged between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There have been no protests or demonstrations there. That might be because the 250,000 Qatari citizens are the richest people in the world and there are no taxes. There isn't much democracy either, but Qataris don't seem to mind. The same family has ruled them for 150 years and life couldn't be much better.

Today, Qatar is not only wealthy, it's powerful, admired or feared by everyone in the Middle East. That's because of its television network, Al Jazeera, which has been the engine of the Arab Spring. The man behind it, the man behind everything there, is His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar.

The emir is the master of everything he surveys. All around him revolutions are swirling, regimes are teetering, dictators falling. Yet his desert country is an oasis of tranquility.

Bob Simon: You are surrounded, emir, by revolution. We call it the "Arab Spring." How have you managed to avoid it?

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani: We started our "Qatari Spring" a long time ago.

To be precise, 16 years ago, when the emir overthrew his father in a palace coup and started creating a country which could startle anyone living anywhere else.

Bob Simon: I think Americans are going to be shocked about a few things here: That there are no taxes. That electricity is free. Health care is free. Education is free. Sounds like a paradise.

Bin Khalifa: Well, I welcome you in this paradise.

The emir's "paradise" is rising from the sands along the western edge of the Arabian Gulf. In Doha, Qatar's capital, entire new neighborhoods have been built on land reclaimed from the sea. And the buildings have one thing in common: Bling.

Doha's skyline looks like it was designed by architects who didn't talk to each other, didn't like each other, and engaged in experiments they could never get away with at home. And a Qatari can live anywhere without ever leaving home. A virtual Venice is around the corner. Rodeo Drive is down the block. And there are world-class restaurants in the ancient Arab souk, which was built five years ago.

Fahad al Attiyah, one of the royal family's army of advisers, took us for a drive.

Simon: You were born here?

Al Attiyah: Yes, born in Qatar.

Simon: There wasn't any of this?

Al Attiyah: There wasn't, yes.

Bob Simon: Nothing?

Al Attiyah: Nothing.

Simon: How far back do you have to go? Your grandfather or your great grandfather lived in tents?

Al Attiyah: My father.

Simon: Your father lived in a tent?

Al Attiyah: Yes. The amazing thing: It is my father's generation that transitioned from living in a tent to living in an urban environment, from commuting on a camel to commuting in a 747. And that transition, within such a short period of time, is astonishing.

The work is being done by a million man army of immigrants: 94 percent of Qatar's labor force is foreign; Filipinos, Indians, Nepalese mainly - creating a home for a mere 250,000 Qataris. Paying for it? No problem. Qatar sits on top of the third largest natural gas reserves on the planet.

A new plant called "The Pearl" turns those reserves into liquid fuels. It cost $18 billion and took five years to build. It is the largest, most sophisticated plant of its kind and the centerpiece of the emir's strategy to keep Qatar rich. When we ran into him at its inauguration, he seemed genuinely proud.

Simon: Well, congratulations. Now you've got the biggest plant in the world.

Bin Khalifa: Oh, that's great, and I'm happy that they finish it.

Simon: Indeed. On time too.

Time is a precious commodity here; everything's happening at once. They're finishing a new hospital - the Qataris say will be one of the most advanced in the world. There's a new concert hall, with a new symphony orchestra. The emir imported the musicians. Six American universities have built campuses here, offering American degrees in the heart of the Middle East. The Museum of Islamic Art, with a billion dollar collection, opened last year. Admission, of course, is free.

Sheik Hamid bin Jasim: Everything is free. That become, like, a part of our culture.

Sheik Hamid bin Jasim is Qatar's prime minister.

Bin Jasim: Even when the-- people died, they were-- we take care of them.

Simon: Free funerals.

Bin Jasim: Yes.

Simon: From cradle to grave--

Bin Jasim: Yes, yes.

Simon:--everything's taken care of.

Bin Jasim: That's-- we can make a logo.

Simon: This is a pretty good place to live.

Bin Jasim: Yes. We are living in good environments. Let us pray that problems around us cool down.

Those "problems" - the chaos, violence and killings throughout the Middle East are not cooling down at all - and many Arab leaders say, to a large extent, it is the emir's fault.

That's because of the television network he created 15 years ago. It's called Al Jazeera and it does something unprecedented in the Arab world. It covers the news. It's on the air 24 hours a day, broadcasts in Arabic and English and is widely considered to be the engine of the Arab Spring.

Bin Khalifa: I believe we made a good reform.

Simon: This was the first and the only network in the Arab world that was independent. Everyone else was just doing what their government told them to do.

Bin Khalifa: Of course, it caused us a lot of problem with the top people in the Arab countries.

Simon: You say that Al Jazeera created problems for some leaders in the Middle East. It created big problems. It got them overthrown.

Bin Khalifa : Well I-- I'm not sure if it's Al Jazeera was behind this.

He may not be sure, but others are. Egyptians watched the Tunisian revolution "live" on Al Jazeera, discussed it on Facebook, and took to the streets. Libyans watched the Egyptians. Yeminis watched the Libyans and the Syrians watched them all. Al Jazeera has become the region's only real reality show.

Faisal al Qasim: We Arabs have been fond over the years of hiding our dirt under the carpet.

Faisal al Qasim is the host of one of Al Jazeera's most popular talk shows.

Al Qasim: We are here to reveal everything, to cover everything. That's why they don't like us. We are talking here about Arab governments, Arab regimes. I'm not talking about the Arab people. The Arab people love Al Jazeera.

Egyptians sure loved it last February. Thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square watched themselves and their own revolution "live" on Al Jazeera.

Al Qasim: And nobody can negate the fact that Al Jazeera played a big role in what happened in Egypt at the time.

Simon: Here at Al Jazeera, are you covering the news or do you have an agenda?

Al Qasim: What is wrong with transforming the Arab world from tyranny and despotism into a democracy? What's wrong with that? If there is an agenda, it's a very good agenda.

Critics charge that Al Jazeera is not completely independent, that it's part of the emir's plan to increase his clout in the region, something he's hesitant to admit.

Bin Khalifa: Actually, we don't have the influence. We are supporting the people of those countries who is asking for justice and dignity.

Simon: That's influence.

Bin Khalifa: Okay, if this influence, I think this is a healthy influence. I think all the world should support this.

It was the emir's support that made it possible for the French, the British and the Americans to form a NATO coalition to overthrow the Libyan tyrant Muammar Qaddafi. The allies said they wouldn't do it without an Arab partner. The emir deployed six war planes to help enforce the no-fly zone, gave the rebels millions of dollars of weapons and military hardware, and didn't conceal where they came from.

When Qaddafi's compound finally fell, Qatar's flag could be seen flying over the ruins.

Bin Jasim: This is the first fruitful coalition between the Arabs and the NATO to help an Arab country.

Simon: How did you feel when you saw the Qatari flag go up over Qaddafi's old compound?

Bin Jasim: Well I believe that leaders should limit their stays. That's where the problem is happening.

That didn't really answer our question, so we tried again.

Simon: How did you feel when you saw the Qatari flag go up in Tripoli?

Bin Jasim: I was trying to get out of this question.

Simon: No kidding.

Bin Jasim: Yes. Seriously, I was trying to get-- well, I'm proud that we-- we help the Libyan people. Let us put it this way.

Simon: Must've been a great moment for you.

Bin Jasim: It is-- it is a new experience for us.

So is the emir's emergence as the most influential leader in the Arab world. In England, he was hosted by the queen. And last April, President Obama thanked him for helping promote democracy in the Middle East.

But the emir also has good relations with Hamas - the militant Palestinian group that runs Gaza - which the U.S. labels a terrorist organization.

Simon: Do the Americans ever come to you and say, "Hey, will you cut it out with Hamas, it's really bothering us?"

Bin Khalifa: They didn't like our relation with Iran, with Hamas, with Hezbollah. But maybe if you go to the other side, the Iranian, they don't like to see our relation with Israel. Hamas, they don't want to see our relation with Israel. So it's-- it's completely mixed.

The emir appears to have no ideology and, critics say, no loyalties. When his close personal friend Syrian President Assad refused to stop killing his people, the emir abandoned him. Today, he talks tougher than any other world leader on what should be done in Syria.

Simon: Would you be in favor of Arab nations intervening in Syria?

Bin Khalifa: I think for such a situation to stop the killing, we have some-- some troops should go to stop the killing.

The killing is worlds away from Qatar. What you see here is contentment. There have been no protests, no calls for democracy. After all, what could an opposition offer that Qataris don't already have? But the emir just bought himself some additional insurance. He raised the salaries of all Qatari government workers by 60 percent. Soldiers and policemen got 120 percent. The prime minister insists this has nothing to do with politics.

Bin Jasim: We have one obsession-- is how to continue to let the people live in the same standard. That's very difficult target. We are trying to do that target.

Simon: Excellency, can you think of any other country in the world that has a better standard of living?

Bin Jasim: Well there is good living standard in many places in the world. But the main thing is what sort of quality of people you produce. We would like our people not to be spoiled by this. We need our children not to be spoiled by this. That's, I think, the big challenge for us.

And, there's a bigger challenge. Here is Qatar's military on parade at last month's National Day celebrations. Picturesque, but not very intimidating, not when your next door neighbors are Iran and Saudi Arabia. So how does the emir keep his island of happiness afloat when the seas are getting rougher every day?

Simon: It often seems as if the basis of your foreign policy is to be friends with everyone.

Bin Khalifa: Don't you think this is a good policy for a small country?

Simon: Yes, it is if you can pull it off.

Bin Khalifa: Well, we are trying.