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22 Article 6. The Washington Institute Qatar's Quest to Become the Leading Arab State Simon Henderson March 31, 2011 -- The small Persian Gulf state of Qatar is emerging as a significant international player in the Libyan crisis and a crucial supporter of U.S. policy. But its relationship with the United States has often been difficult, and its standing in the rest of the Arab world is questionable. For Washington, the challenge is to achieve balance between U.S. expectations, Qatar's own regional ambitions, and the need to minimize any adverse impact on U.S. ties with other Arab allies. Background The Qatari peninsula is about the size of Connecticut, but most of its population -- around 200,000 citizens and 600,000 expatriate workers -- lives in and around the capital, Doha. A member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the emirate produces relatively little oil. Instead, its growing wealth is the result of having the third-largest natural gas reserves in the world (after Russia and Iran). Qatar is now the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas, with Asia particularly reliant on its supplies. Revenue from these sales has given Qataris the highest per capita gross domestic product ($88,000) in the world, almost twice the figure for Americans. In recent days, Qatar became the first Arab state to contribute to no- fly-zone patrols over Libya and recognize the Benghazi-based rebels as legitimate successors to the Qadhafi regime. It has also offered its status and experience in OPEC to help the rebels market the Libyan HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_025631