Steve LeVine: The CIA May Be Repeating its Afghanistan Mistakes in Libya

Steve LeVine is the author of The Oil and the Glory and a longtime foreign correspondent.

For six months -- ever since the rebel movement took shape in Benghazi -- one of the liveliest guessing games in Libya has been deducing the whys of Qatar's deep intervention in the uprising. After all, for the last decade or so, Qatar ruler Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani's main preoccupations have been the accumulation of a fabulous natural gas fortune, and the creation of a wondrously successful all-news TV channel. But now, Sheikh Hamad has deployed jets, military and political emissaries, and tens of millions of dollars to project the influence of his ultra-tiny sheikhdom.

This sudden high profile has generated concern, particularly among those familiar with how similar well-meaning Arab largesse went wrong in 1980s Afghanistan, leading to that nation's long period of jihadism.

Conjecture about Sheikh Hamad's motives has included a desire for regional cachet and an economic payoff (the BBC); a hope to "secure influence and make good friends" (Bloomberg BusinessWeek); and an aim to be a leading voice in Arab nationalism (the New York Times).

But, in a piece this week, the Wall Street Journal delivers contextual reporting that appears to be better anchored...