Bahrain Qatar
Lieutenant General Charles Horner, commanding general,
United States Central Air Force, congratulates Major Hamad ibn Abd
Allah Al Khalifa, commander of Bahrain's Shaykh Isa Squadron, after
awarding him the Legion of Merit for his support during Operation
Desert Storm.
Courtesy United States Air Force
A Qatari air force pilot performs a preflight check on
his Mirage F1 aircraft before a mission during Operation Desert
Storm.
Courtesy United States Air Force
In company with other gulf amirates, Qatar had
long-standing
ties with Britain but had remained under nominal Ottoman
hegemony
until 1916, when the British took over the foreign affairs
and
defense of Qatar. During the next five decades, Britain
also
exercised considerable influence in the internal affairs
of the
amirate. When the announcement came that it would withdraw
its
military forces from the gulf by 1971, Qatari leaders were
forced
to consider how to survive without British protection.
Unable to
support a large military establishment, Qatar has placed
its
reliance on small but mobile forces that can deter border
incursions. Nevertheless, the Iran-Iraq War brought
attacks on
shipping just beyond its territorial waters, underscoring
its
vulnerability to interference with oil shipments and vital
imports. In addition to seeking collective security
through the
GCC, Qatar has turned to close ties with Saudi Arabia,
entering
into a bilateral defense agreement in 1982.
The ruler in 1992, Shaykh Khalifa ibn Hamad Al Thani,
had
taken control of the country twenty years earlier, when
the
leading members of the ruling family decided that
Khalifa's
cousin, Ahmad ibn Ali Al Thani, should be replaced because
of his
many shortcomings as amir. As supreme commander of the
armed
forces, Khalifa ibn Hamad issued a decree in 1977
appointing his
son and heir apparent, Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani, to the
post of
commander in chief. The same decree created the Ministry
of
Defense and named Hamad ibn Khalifa as minister. Hamad ibn
Khalifa was a graduate of Sandhurst and had attained the
rank of
major general.
At the time of independence on September 3, 1971, the
armed
forces consisted of little more than the Royal Guard
Regiment and
some scattered units equipped with a few armored cars and
four
aircraft. By 1992 it had grown to a force of 7,500,
including an
army of 6,000, a navy of 700, and an air force of 800. In
addition to the Royal Guard Regiment, the army had
expanded to
include a tank battalion, three mechanized infantry
battalions, a
special forces company, a field artillery regiment, and a
SAM
battery. The combined combat strength of these units,
however, is
estimated to be no more than that of a reinforced regiment
in a
Western army.
Initially outfitted with British weaponry, Qatar
shifted much
of its procurement to France during the 1980s in response
to
French efforts to develop closer relations. The tank
battalion is
equipped with French-built AMX-30 main battle tanks. Other
armored vehicles include French AMX-10P APCs and the
French VAB,
which has been adopted as the standard wheeled combat
vehicle.
The artillery unit has a few French 155mm self-propelled
howitzers (see
table 40, Appendix). The principal antitank
weapons are French Milan and HOT wire-guided missiles.
Qatar had
also illicitly acquired a few Stinger shoulder-fired SAMs,
possibly from Afghan rebel groups, at a time when the
United
States was trying to maintain tight controls on Stingers
in the
Middle East. When Qatar refused to turn over the missiles,
the
United States Senate in 1988 imposed a ban on the sale of
all
weapons to Qatar. The ban was repealed in late 1990 when
Qatar
satisfactorily accounted for its disposition of the
Stingers.
Three French-built La Combattante III missile boats,
which
entered service in 1983, form the core of the navy. The
boats
supplement six older Vosper Thornycroft large patrol
boats. A
variety of smaller craft are operated by the marine
police.
The air force is equipped with combat aircraft and
armed
helicopters. Its fighter aircraft include Alpha Jets with
a
fighter-ground attack capability and one air defense
squadron of
Mirage F1s, all purchased from France. All of the aircraft
are
based at Doha International Airport. The planned purchase
from
the United States of Hawk and Patriot missile systems will
give
Qatar a modern ground-based air defense. British pilots on
detail
in Oman remain on duty with the air force, and French
specialists
are employed in a maintenance capacity. Nevertheless, an
increasing number of young Qataris have been trained as
pilots
and technicians.
The lack of sufficient indigenous manpower to staff the
armed
forces is a continuing problem. By one estimate, Qatari
citizens
constitute only 30 percent of the army, in which more than
twenty
nationalities are represented. Many of the officers are of
the
royal family or members of leading tribes. Enlisted
personnel are
recruited from beduin tribes that move between Qatar and
Saudi
Arabia and from other Arab groups. Many Pakistanis serve
in
combat units. In 1992 there were still a number of British
officers, as well as Britons, French, Jordanians, and
Pakistanis
in advisory or technical positions. More young Qataris are
being
recruited, and the number of trained and competent Qatari
officers is steadily increasing.
Although official data on military expenditures are not
published, the defense budget estimate of US$500 million
for 1989
was 8 percent of the gross domestic product
(GDP--see Glossary).
The estimate of US$934 million for 1991, an increase of 80
percent over 1989, was presumably attributable to the
costs of
the Persian Gulf War. During the hostilities, the Qatari
tank
battalion was deployed to the Saudi-Iraqi border as part
of Joint
Forces Command East. Saudi and Qatari forces that had dug
in to
defend the road leading south from the border town of Ras
al
Khafji were forced to withdraw when the Iraqis made their
only
incursion onto Saudi territory on January 29, 1991. The
three
Saudi battalions and the one tank battalion from Qatar
maintained
contact with the Iraqi forces and participated in the
coalition
counterattack two days later that drove the Iraqis out of
the
town with considerable losses. The Qatari contingent,
composed
mostly of Pakistani recruits, acquitted itself well. The
Qatari
battalion also formed part of the Arab forces that
advanced
across Iraqi positions toward the city of Kuwait during
the
general coalition offensive on February 24, 1991.
Beginning on
January 22, 1991, Qatari aircraft joined other countries
in
carrying out strikes against Iraqi forces. United States,
Canadian, and French fighter squadrons flew daily missions
from
Doha during the gulf war. One Qatari tank was lost in the
engagement, and a number of Arab soldiers were killed or
wounded.
No Qatari combat deaths were reported during the war.
Although the amirate has experienced little internal
unrest,
the large number of foreigners--forming 80 percent of the
work
force--are regarded as possible sources of instability.
Qatar is
determined to maintain control over their activities and
limit
their influence. A significant number of resident
Palestinians,
some of whom included prominent businessmen and civil
servants,
were expelled after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Iranian
Shia
have not been the source of problems but are nevertheless
looked
on as potential subversives. Foreigners are liable to face
arbitrary police action and harassment and often complain
of
mistreatment after their arrest.
The Ministry of Interior has controlled the police
force of
about 2,500 members since 1990. The local police enforces
laws
and arrests violators. The General Administration of
Public
Security, which in 1991 replaced the Criminal
Investigation
Department, is a separate unit of the ministry charged
with
investigation of crimes. The Mubahathat (secret police
office), a
nearly independent branch of the Ministry of Interior,
deals with
sedition and espionage. The army's mission does not
include
internal security, although the army can be called on in
the
event of serious civil disturbances. Nevertheless, a
separate
agency, the Mukhabarat (intelligence service), is under
armed
forces jurisdiction. Its function is to intercept and
arrest
terrorists and to keep surveillance over political
dissidents.
Qatar has both civil and sharia courts, but only sharia
courts have jurisdiction in criminal matters. Lacking
permanent
security courts, security cases are tried by specially
established military courts, but such cases have been
rare. In
sharia criminal cases, the proceedings are closed, and
lawyers
play no formal role except to prepare the accused for
trial.
After the parties state their cases and after witnesses
are
examined by the judge, the verdict is usually delivered
with
little delay. No bail is set, but in minor cases, charged
persons
may be released to a Qatari sponsor. Most of the floggings
prescribed by sharia law are administered, but physical
mutilation is not allowed, and no executions have occurred
since
the 1980s.
The police routinely monitor the communications of
suspects
and security risks. Although warrants are usually required
for
searches, this does not apply in cases involving national
security. The security forces reportedly have applied
severe
force and torture in investigating political and
security-related
cases. Suspects can be incarcerated without charge,
although this
is infrequent. The United States Department of State noted
that
standards of police conduct have improved in spite of a
1991
incident in which a group of Qataris were detained without
charge
for two months in connection with the unauthorized
publication of
tracts and letters critical of the government; at least
one
member of the group, which included several members of the
ruling
family, is said to have been beaten.
Data as of January 1993
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