Although it hasn't gotten much mainstream press attention, there was a coup in Qatar recently. This will seem like minor news to most people, but those of us who watch the War on Terror like a hawk found it unsurprising--indeed, almost predictable.

I sit next to a friend here at Comcast named Sal, which is short for Saleh. I won't reveal his last name, but he was born in Beirut and emigrated here when he was 18. He's quite a guy, but thoroughly apolitical. Indeed, he barely knows Republican from Democrat, and as a non-citizen, has never voted. He does not follow politics, except he reads Arab newspapers over the internet. He tells me that he cannot wait until America invades Iraq, because nothing would make the Middle East a better place. He believes it will cause the thugs who run his home country of Lebanon, as well as the thug-regimes in other places, to quake in their boots and be forced to change at least somewhat for the better.

What's so funny is that he says that everyone else in the Middle East also knows this to be so. They never say it out loud but it's quite obvious to him. It's why most of those regimes are fighting so hard to prevent Bush from attacking Iraq. Almost all the ruling thugs in the Middle East, even our "friends" the Saudis, are doing whatever they can to stop us--without being too obvious about it, of course!

They're almost hysterical about it. Because they see the handwriting on the wall too. If we go, the status quo changes, and life will be infinitely more difficult for most Middle Eastern despots.

Anyway, what's this got to do with Qatar? Qatar has infuriated both the Iraqi regime and the Saudis lately, because it has, almost alone, defied almost everyone else in the Middle East. They have bravely pledged support for American military efforts, much earlier and much less reservedly than anyone else in the region. They were even crazy enough to dispatch an envoy to personally suggest to Saddam Hussein that he step down and accept going into exhile. (Can you imagine the personal bravery of the envoy who agreed to suggest that to Saddam's face?)

They have been astonishingly brave in their support for us. They also have a record of trying to be the voice of moderation among other Muslims in the region.

It seems almost inevitable that various Islamofascist forces would try to take over Qatar. After all, it's going to be crucially helpful when we invade Iraq. I'm also deeply gratified to read that American forces were instrumental in helping to stop the coup attempt.