The Two Faces of Qatar, a Dubious Mideast Ally Doha undermines U.S. security by sponsoring Islamic radicalism. By Charles Wald and Michael see noteMakovsky
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-two-faces-of-qatar-a-dubious-mideast-ally-1493075654
THE COGNOSCENTI PRONOUNCE THIS CASH REGISTER POSING AS A NATION…..AS “GUTTER” WHICH IS VERY APPOSITE…RSK
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited several of America’s Middle Eastern partners last week—including a dubious one. Qatar hosts an important air base but also undermines American security by sponsoring Islamic radicalism.
Nearly all coalition airstrikes against Islamic State are commanded from America’s nerve center at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which also supports missions in Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force stations many of its larger aircraft there—refueling tankers, advanced surveillance and early-warning aircraft, and heavy bombers. Al-Udeid also houses the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, which commands all coalition air operations in the region. With all these key assets in one place, the Pentagon expects to stay through 2024.
But the host nation supports some of the groups the base is used to bomb. According to the State Department, “entities and individuals within Qatar continue to serve as a source of financial support for terrorist and violent extremist groups,” including al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. Qatar has also supplied advanced weaponry to militants in Syria and Libya.
Doha poured billions into the radical Muslim Brotherhood government of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who urged supporters “to nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred for them: for Zionists, for Jews.” The Brotherhood’s supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, has called jihad against Israel and America “a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded.”
After Mr. Morsi’s government fell in 2013, Qatar offered safe harbor to many Brotherhood leaders. Pressure from neighbors eventually forced Doha to eject them, but Qatar still hosts Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood-affiliated preacher who once declared, “Those killed fighting the American forces are martyrs.” Qatar is also a key financier of Hamas, a Palestinian spinoff of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has repeatedly attacked Israel with rockets.
Qatar wields tremendous soft power on behalf of radical Islam through its state-funded Al Jazeera news channel. Mr. Qaradawi has a weekly show, and the network became notorious in America for broadcasting Osama bin Laden’s videos, repeatedly and uncut, far exceeding their news value. CONTINUE AT SITE
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