The Glass Palace

When Americans read in today's news that Qatar is sending troops or arms to Syria, few of us have any idea what Qatar is or how it is run. Smarting at being outshone by neighboring Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh of Qatar is ambitiously propelling his realm from its perch in the sun-blasted desert north of Saudi Arabia to the center of the world's stage.

American businessman Nasser Beydoun found out for himself how quickly the Qataris are moving when he embarked on an exciting new career path, leaving his hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, to move to Qatar to manage the opening of several chain restaurants as part of the sudden economic boom there.

It didn’t take long for the deal to turn sour, but Beydoun didn’t realize the extent of his problem until he tried to leave the country—and was stopped at the border.