In a particularly ludicrous article for the Washington Times on Tuesday, Rob Sobhani offers a love letter to Qatar.
While it reads like the work of a lobbyist, neither Sobhani or his company is listed as such with the U.S. government. So, we must assume the author’s assertions of love for Qatar’s government are heartfelt.
This is odd. After all, Qatar is a leading fundraiser for Salafi-Jihadist terrorists and an increasingly close ally of Iran. How these activities conform with U.S. security interests is not clear. Nevertheless, Sobhani has a track record of writing love letters to despots. He has previously written in favor of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian leadership.
But I digress. Because the most ludicrous element of Sobhani’s article is his contention that the “U.S. Congress must consider passing a resolution offering full support to Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in 2022. This act of solidarity is important because it sends a message to Sheikh Tamim’s regional rivals that Washington will not tolerate any efforts to sabotage Qatar.”
This is insane.
First off, Qatar is useless at soccer. Second, Qatar’s World Cup bid was defined by the stench of corruption from that most corrupt world soccer governing body, FIFA. But to understand how truly ridiculous the 2022 Qatari World Cup is, just listen to how English soccer coach Ian Holloway described the plans to move the Qatari World Cup from the summer to the winter.
“The world has gone completely on its head. Happy Christmas,” he said.
Holloway is right; the Qatar World Cup is a joke. But it’s not just a joke. It’s also a moral disgrace. After all, beyond the wafts of corruption, Qatar has built its World Cup stadiums with de facto slave labor. The only reason that worker conditions have slightly improved in recent years is due to journalistic attention.
All of this leads me to suggest a different course of action for Congress. Rather than passing a resolution supporting Qatar’s World Cup, Congress should pass a resolution condemning it with the sad ridicule it deserves.
