When Qatar’s meddling backfires, and ethnic cleansing is the result: Here in Egypt, we are no strangers to the direct and oversized political machinations of the statelet known as Qatar. Much of the instability in neighboring Libya can be laid on Doha’s doorstep. But the New York Times’ in depth report on an ethnic cleansing operation in Syria, masterminded by Iran, may be one of the most horrific episodes in Qatar’s history of regional interference. And it all starts with a group of hapless Qatari royals, arrogant enough to go hunting in the deserts of war torn Iraq. Of course, they were kidnapped by Iranian-backed Shiite militias, then used as pawns to pressure Qatar to use its influence to stage a “population swap” in Syria. It involved the forceful population exchange between four villages caught up in sieges by various sides in the war. Not the mention the funds that went into the pockets of armed militias, which could have run into USD 1 bn, to secure the royals’ release.