«Not many letters to the FT go viral», wrote Gideon Rachman on September 13, 2013 in the F. Times. «But KN Al-Sabah’s pithy explanation of the intricacies of Middle East politics, deservedly garnered a wide audience», he added. It read as follows:

Sir, Iran is backing Assad. Gulf states are against Assad. Assad is against Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood and Obama are against General Sisi. But Gulf states are pro Sisi! Which means they are against Muslim Brotherhood!

Iran is pro Hamas, but Hamas is backing Muslim Brotherhood! Obama is backing Muslim Brotherhood, yet Hamas is against the US! Gulf states are pro US. But Turkey is with Gulf states against Assad; yet Turkey is pro Muslim Brotherhood against General Sisi. And General Sisi is being backed by the Gulf states!

Welcome to the Middle East and have a nice day.

«This letter has now achieved the rare distinction of also being represented in graphical form, and is a timely reminder of the region’s complexities as negotiations continue over Syria’s chemical weapons programme», added Rachman.  Here it is: