Analysis: The West owes Qatar a favour over Afghanistan. That was the point

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah arrive for a joint news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Qatar September 7, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) - Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world's top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the West tries to deal with the new Kabul government. This is no accident.

Analysts describe Qatar's emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.