• IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here.

    The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.

Serious Saudi Arabia is chief funder of Islamic extremism in UK

duluxe

Alfrescian
Loyal
Saudi Arabia is 'at the top of the list' of several Gulf states engaged in an 'intentional and systematic' policy of exporting extremist ideology to the West, a new report claims.


420BC1DB00000578-4666732-image-a-22_1499245071387.jpg
+3





The report calls on Theresa May's government to hold a public inquiry into the financing of extremist groups in the UK, after the Home Office said the results of a previous inquiry might never be made public (pictured, Mrs May in Saudi Arabia earlier this year)


'A clear and growing link' can be drawn between this overseas money, which originates in several Gulf states and Iran, and atrocities in the UK and throughout Europe, the society found.

The report identifies what it calls 'an intentional and systematic policy' by these states to 'advance an illiberal and at times anti-Western version of the Islamic religion' in Western countries.

How much money has been allocated to this effort is unknown because the majority of it remains secret, the report admits, but the amount is though to have increased in recent years.

'Indications of the kind of influence that such funding can have... can be seen through the prevalence of Islamist extremist preachers and literature, including the use of Saudi school textbooks,' the report reads.



'This combined with scholarship programmes that bring clerics to Saudi Arabia for training, has gradually contributed to changing the climate of religious belief and practice in many of the West's Muslim communities.
'As well as promoting hardline Wahhabi practices to Muslim communities that formerly identified with other Islamic traditions, this phenomenon has created a challenge for moderate voices and empowered extremists.'
The Henry Jackson Society is calling for a public inquiry into the issue and asks the government to introduce laws forcing Islamic organisations to declare certain types of finance received from overseas, and any conditions placed upon its use.
The Home Office already commissioned a closed-door inquiry into funding for Islamic extremist groups in the UK back in 2015 as part of a Coalition deal to expand airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
20E537C400000578-4666732-image-a-2_1499240632682.jpg
+3




Saudi Arabia has engaged in a 60-year, multi-million dollar effort to export Wahhabi Islam - which forms the basis of extremist ideologies exploited by the likes of ISIS - to the UK, the report says (file image)

It was understood that the report would largely focus on Saudi Arabia, but in May this year the Home Office announced the research has yet to be completed.
Even if the report is finished, the findings may never be made public because of the 'very sensitive' nature of the material, a spokesman said.
Prime Minister Theresa May, who visited Saudi Arabia earlier this year, has been accused of 'kowtowing' to the kingdom by 'suppressing' the report.
Tom Wilson, who wrote the report for the Henry Jackson Society, said: 'There is a clear and growing link between foreign funding of Islamist extremism and the violent terrorism we have witnessed across the UK and Europe.
'The key now is to get ahead of the issue and find out the full extent of what has been going on. A public inquiry would go some way to informing the debate.
'While entities from across the Gulf and Iran have been guilty of advancing extremism, those in Saudi Arabia are undoubtedly at the top of the list.
'Research indicates that some Saudi individuals and foundations have been apparently heavily involved in exporting an illiberal, bigoted Wahhabi ideology.'
A Government spokesman said: 'Defeating the evil ideology of Islamist extremism is one of the greatest challenges of our time.
'The Commission for Counter-Extremism, which the PM announced earlier this year, will have a key role to play in this fight.
'We are determined to cut off the funding which fuels the evils of extremism and terrorism, and will work closely with international partners to tackle this shared global threat, including at the upcoming G20 summit.'
The UK's Saudi Arabian embassy says the claims are 'categorically false'.
Labour MP Dan Jarvis said: 'This report from the Henry Jackson Society sheds light on what are extremely worrying links between Saudi Arabia and the funding of extremism here in the UK.
'In the wake of the terrible and tragic terrorist attacks we've seen this year, it is vital that we use every tool at our disposal to protect our communities.
'This includes identifying the networks that promote and support extremism and shutting down the financial networks that fund it.
'I'm calling on the Government to release its foreign funding report, and guarantee that the new counter extremism commission will make tackling the funding of extremism a priority.'
 

duluxe

Alfrescian
Loyal
The same applicable to m&d muslims receiving 'free' scholarships to study at Saudi Islam universities. They will be religiously motivated to set up a sharia state or introduce sharia laws if the condition permitted.
 

eatshitndie

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
What talking you?????????

they chastised qataris for being supporters of terrorism when in fact they are lumber one right next to the iranians whom they hate. it's unfortunate that qataris are warming up to iranians due to entire royal family being spared by iranians in hunting trip but siding with iranians (thus shiites) means divorce with saudis. saudis can be unforgiving and rape all your daughters if they get the chance.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
The source of the report is the Henry Jackson Society (this tabloid article is not talking about the official UK report) - HJS are dubious and function as a mercenary think-tank - so relying on such a report to support a known unknown smacks of lack of credibility. If the KSA pivoted towards them and offered a substantial donation the report would have been very different - this report is as reliable as an attempt at pseudo-academic ransom.

Henry Jackson Society criticized for spurious Saudi report

The UK-based Henry Jackson Society’s recent report on foreign-funded Islamist extremism in the UK has come in for a lot of flak from leading and credible experts.

They have described it as a “cut-and-paste job” with no original reporting, and dismissed the allegations against Saudi Arabia as “unfounded.”

Oubai Shahbandar, a Syrian-American analyst and fellow at the New America Foundation’s International Security Program, told Arab News that the methodology employed by the report’s author Tom Wilson is extremely flawed.

“For example, take a look at some of the claims the report makes about Saudi Arabia, that it’s funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to fund extremist centers throughout the world, and specifically in England. They don’t back up that accusation with any accurate data,” he said.

“In the recent Manchester terror attacks, the perpetrator was associated with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which is connected to Ali Al-Sallabi, a Qatari-financed terror supporter. That’s the hard fact, and it’s unfortunate that the Henry Jackson Society didn’t look at the data as it exists.”

Sir John Jenkins, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies – Middle East, said the report lacks original research.

“Virtually all the things it says are taken from secondary sources. This means the report takes a lot of things from newspaper reports and from Innes Bowen’s book about mosques in the UK, which came out about four years ago,” Sir John told Arab News.

“As far as I can see, there’s very little, if any, original research. It’s a bit of a cut-and-paste job. It’s very superficial.”

He said the report fails to distinguish between funding from private individuals or semi-autonomous institutions such as the Muslim World League (MWL) and the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY), and official Saudi government funding.

“If you can’t distinguish between official funding and private, you’re confusing the issue rather than clarifying it,” he said.

Shahbandar defended Saudi Arabia’s solid track record in countering terrorism. “I’m a counterterrorism specialist and worked in the US defense sector for nearly a decade. The Kingdom was an important partner in countering the financial, operational and ideological foundations that international terror networks need to thrive,” he said.

It is “really unfortunate” that the Henry Jackson Society would take “such a lopsided, anti-Saudi position,” he said.

The report does not take into account the vast Saudi efforts over the past 16 years to actively counter radical extremist ideology, said Shahbandar.

“The religious leadership in Saudi Arabia has actively denounced foreign fighters, suicide attacks and groups such as Al-Qaeda and Daesh. Frankly, the accusations against the Kingdom don’t hold water.”



World News /19 Jun 2015
Is the Henry Jackson Society the most important think tank you have never heard of?

Formed in 2005 at Peterhouse College Cambridge and moving to London a few years later, it is perhaps best known for the views of Douglas Murray, its Associate Director who has made a string of anti-Muslim comments over the years including famously that conditions for Muslims would need to be made ‘harder across the board‘ in coming years. It brings together key US neoconservatives like William Kristol and Richard Perle – key architects of the disastrous invasion of Iraq – with UK allies in politics, academia and the defence and security establishment.

In our view the Henry Jackson Society is an important element of an elite social movement that attempts to push the interests and ideas of sections of the defence industry and ultra conservative hawks – best described as neoconservatives. When thinking of anti Muslim racism it is common to discuss the far right such as the BNP or newer street movements like the English Defence League, PEGIDA the ‘counter-jihad movement,’ which operates in almost every EU country, as well as in the US. Alternatively some point to the role of the government’s anti-terror policy Prevent which, arguably makes all Muslims a ‘suspect community.’

While these are two important ‘pillars of Islamophobia,’ it is also clear that both the Neoconservative and Zionist movements (we take Zionism to be a transnational movement dedicated to setting up and maintaining a ‘Jewish state‘ in ‘Israel’) are active in this area. The HJS is a good example of how neoconservative, Zionist and even liberal-left pro-war and secularist views can come together to bolster anti Muslim racism and discredit those who take an anti-racist position on Islam/Muslims. It can also drag government policy in a more ‘muscular’ and illiberal direction as seen in the 2010 revision of the Prevent policy and in the new Counterterrorism and Security Bill (2015).

The HJS was named after the hawkish US Democratic Party Senator Henry Jackson in an attempt to allude to Jackson’s alleged social liberalism as a view of the senator arguably at variance with the evidence. The name was chosen after the idea of naming the think tank after Margaret Thatcher was dropped as potentially too divisive.

The impulse to weld together a coalition of neoconservatives and liberals and even left interventionists and supporters of Israel allowed the HJS to claim a bipartisan mantle. Within a few years of its formation, however, many of the liberals were removed in what has been referred to as ‘Mendoza’s putsch‘ so named after the director of the think tank Alan Mendoza. An unsuccessful prospective Tory candidate in the 2015 election, Mendoza, moved the think tank rightwards, especially after the 2010 integration of the Centre for Social Cohesion. Described in the Guardian as a purveyor of ‘relentless Islamophobia,’ its director Douglas Murray has a history of anti-Muslim statements. In the years following the integration of the CSC the HJS income increased markedly from about £0.3 Million in 2010 to around £1.3 million in 2013.

Where did this funding originate? This is difficult to tell because the HJS is not transparent. Last year, we complained it was not abiding by parliamentary rules in its sponsorship of two All Party Groups. Rather than disclose the source of all funding over £5,000, the Society elected to withdraw from the groups, which promptly collapsed.

Nevertheless , in our report on the HJS, we have been able to trace a significant amount of funding by trawling the financial reports of UK and US charities and foundations to locate key funders. Two examples of significant funders show the role of prominent conservative business operatives in providing the necessary resources for the production of the anti-Muslim ideas and policies of the HJS.

First is the Atkin Charitable Foundation headed by Edward and Celia Atkin. They made their money through the Avent baby feeding company and were responsible for nearly 10% of total HJS funding in 2013. Edward Atkin is a significant funder of the Conservatives. The foundation also gives money to the neocon connected International Centre for Research on Radicalisation at Kings College and several Israel related groups active in the Occupied Territories in breach of international law – like the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish National Fund.

The second is Conservative peer Stanley Kalms, the former treasurer of the Conservative Party and life president of DSG International (formerly Dixons). Kalms is a prominent member of Conservative Friends of Israel, though in 2009 he flirted with UKIP. He has supported the Henry Jackson Society and its predecessor the Centre for Social Cohesion through his Traditional Alternatives Foundation and the Stanley Kalms Foundation. His links with more mainstream conservatism are illustrated by his financial backing for the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Centre for Social Justice.

Kalms appears to have quite ‘radical’ views on Muslims and Islam. Tony Lerman, the writer and ‘lapsed’ Zionist, notes in his courageous memoir, The making and unmaking of a Zionist, that Kalms was present at a meeting on 17 November 2006 where he said: ‘Most Muslims didn’t want to integrate…Ultimately they would line up behind the fundamentalists.’ Social movements from above, including the far right and elements of the neo-conservative and Zionist movements, play an important active role in fostering anti-Muslim racism.

But, the HJS is not a creature of the so-called ‘Israel lobby,’ a term that can deter understanding of the complex reality of the Zionist movement. It is the child of an elite project among neoconservative activists, their supporters in the arms and defence industry and the hawkish defenders of US (and UK) military power. Yes many are self-identified Zionists, mostly supporters of hardline rejectionist Israeli governments. Sure, some of them are in the Labour Party, a few even still self-describe as being on the left. But we should not make the mistake of thinking that liberal or left ideas about a community of nations, about equality and opposition to racism has any place in their shrill, dangerous anti-Muslim worldview.

Report of HJS: http://spinwatch.org/images/Reports/HJS_spinwatch report_web_2015.pdf
 
Last edited:

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
they chastised qataris for being supporters of terrorism when in fact they are lumber one right next to the iranians whom they hate. it's unfortunate that qataris are warming up to iranians due to entire royal family being spared by iranians in hunting trip but siding with iranians (thus shiites) means divorce with saudis. saudis can be unforgiving and rape all your daughters if they get the chance.

Did you know that approximately 50% of Qatar's indigenous citizens (of 250k only in a country of 2m predominantly blue collar labourers and 300k Egyptian expats) are Shia anyway? Did you know that the oil wealth of Saudi Arabia is actually concentrated in the eastern province which is predominantly indigenous Saudi Shia?

Respectfully speaking anyone who buys into the story being peddled by the Qataris about supporting freedom of speech and human rights etc then they know very little about what has been going on and what is going on in the GCC let alone be in a position to authoritatively posit views on this topic. The Western view about the threat to Al Jazeera does not acknowledge the venomous approach of Al Jazeera Arabic which is the main problem, not the English channel which is vastly different as it has a very different agenda. One of the best discussions on this so far with alot of realistic insights:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p055c9hl
 
Last edited:

eatshitndie

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Did you know that 50% of Qatar's indigenous citizens are Shia anyway? Did you know that the oil wealth of Saudi Arabia is actually concentrated in the eastern province which is predominantly indigenous Saudi Shia?

that's why qatar is in a difficult position, on a rock and hard place. the u.s. will not abandon the base there but the base means shit when saudis assemble a coalition of blockade. a lesson for sg if neighbors becum radicalized and decide to gang up.
 
Last edited:

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
that's why qatar is in a difficult position and on a hard rock. the u.s. will not abandon the base there but the base means shit when saudis assemble a coalition of blockade. a lesson for sg if neighbors becum radicalized and decide to gang up.

The reason Qatar is in a difficult position is that they are in denial and thought they could call Saudi's bluff - but the most ardent and vocal criticism of Qatar is coming from the UAE not KSA. They got blindsighted after the non-event of 2014 that everything would be status quo - but they had cultivated their US relationship with Hilary instead of Trump - even then they thought everything was kosher/halal because they were invited to KSA for the big fete of Trump.

The Saudis and Emiratis are going to dig deep and from my understanding they are now going to play a long game because Qatar has shown that it will remain petulant. Things are going to get much worse for them and they know it despite heir brave claims.

Trump and his administration need KSA more than Qatar even if CANCOM is in Al Udeid. What the Qataris going to do? Ask the Americans to pack up and go?
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bro, heard from someone on the ground in AD that Khalifa is in bad shape medically and had not appeared in public for a while with a recent sighting shows a sickly man. Apparently the man has taken to the bottle some time go. Mohd has been in the driving seat for the last few years.

As to Qatar, the word is that they reneged on the 2013 agreement which was much milder than the current 13 demands which led to the withdrawal of diplomats in 2014. I think you are right - long game. The 2013 incident led to Turkey being offered the base but nothing done until this episode. Interesting times with young turks in the seat.

The reason Qatar is in a difficult position is that they are in denial and thought they could call Saudi's bluff - but the most ardent and vocal criticism of Qatar is coming from the UAE not KSA. They got blindsighted after the non-event of 2014 that everything would be status quo - but they had cultivated their US relationship with Hilary instead of Trump - even then they thought everything was kosher/halal because they were invited to KSA for the big fete of Trump.

The Saudis and Emiratis are going to dig deep and from my understanding they are now going to play a long game because Qatar has shown that it will remain petulant. Things are going to get much worse for them and they know it despite heir brave claims.

Trump and his administration need KSA more than Qatar even if CANCOM is in Al Udeid. What the Qataris going to do? Ask the Americans to pack up and go?
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.800400

Qatar Crisis Raises Questions About Who Is and Who Is Not a Terrorist

Qatar's foreign minister claims there is a danger in 'labeling political opponents as terrorists merely to silence them'

The Associated Press Jul 09, 2017 6:11 PM

Qatar crisis raises questions about who is and who is not a terrorist.

A diplomatic standoff between Qatar and four other Arab nations that accuse it of sponsoring terrorism has turned a spotlight on an opaque network of charities and prominent figures freely operating in the tiny Gulf country.

It also raises questions about what constitutes a "terrorist" in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have released a list of two dozen groups and nearly 60 individuals that they allege have been involved in financing terrorism and are linked to Qatar.

Qatar insists it condemns terrorism and that it does not support extremist groups.

The crisis began last month when the four Arab countries cut ties to Qatar. They demanded it end the alleged support of terrorism, and also that it cut its relations with Shiite power Iran and stop meddling in their affairs through support of Islamist opposition groups.

The energy rich nation is an important U.S. ally in a volatile region. It hosts about 10,000 U.S. troops at an air base used to launch coalition airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.

The list of the groups and individuals released by Qatar's neighbors reflects longstanding concerns raised by U.S. officials. At the same time, it also includes political dissenters and opposition voices.

"The allegation that Qatar supports terrorism was clearly designed to generate anti-Qatar sentiment in the West," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Wednesday in a speech in London.

As he spoke, foreign ministers from the Arab quartet met in Cairo to review Qatar's response to their demands. At the top of those demands is that Qatar end support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which briefly held power in Egypt and whose offshoots are active across the Middle East.

Though Qatar has cracked down on dissent at home, it views the Brotherhood as a legitimate political force. This has put it at odds with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, which have branded the Brotherhood a terrorist organization and see it as a threat to political stability and security.

In his speech, Al Thani said there is a danger in "labeling political opponents as terrorists merely to silence them."
"Our neighbors see change - those advocating for it and those reporting on it - as a threat, and they are quick to label anyone who opposes their governments as a 'terrorist,'" he said.

The Brotherhood's spiritual guide, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, was among those accused by Qatar's neighbors of having ties with terrorism. The 90-year-old Egyptian cleric, who has lived in Qatar for decades, previously was embraced by Gulf leaders and was seen alongside Saudi Arabia's top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, and the UAE's rulers.

In 2013, he joined a chorus of preachers in the Gulf urging young men to defend Sunni Muslims in Syria, calls that coincided with official backing of rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Al-Qaradawi differed from other Gulf preachers in that he strongly criticized Egypt's government when it ousted the Brotherhood from power. He also was critical of Gulf countries that backed the lethal crackdown.

Qatar's support of the Brotherhood has made it an outlier, as has its unique role as a mediator in hostage negotiations, helping to free Western captives held by al-Qaida in Syria and Yemen.

Christopher Mellon, a researcher with the New America Foundation who co-authored a report about ransom payments, said these negotiations have often involved paying extremist groups. He said European governments have similarly gone to extreme lengths to keep these transactions private.
"They're very deliberately nontransparent. They don't want anyone to know that they've paid," he said.

Reports emerged earlier this year that Qatar paid hundreds of millions of dollars to release members of its ruling family who were kidnapped in Iraq. Allegations were raised that the complex deal included Qatari payments to an al-Qaida-linked group in Syria, as well as to an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq.
Qatar said reports of ransom payments to these groups are false and that it provided Iraq's government with financial aid to support the release of the Qataris.

The Arab quartet's list names a number of Qatari nationals, including Khalifa al-Subaie, Saad bin Saad al-Kabi, Abdelrahman al-Nuaymi, Abdel-Latif al-Kuwari and Ibrahim al-Bakr. All have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as material supporters of al-Qaida. Four of the five appear to be living in Qatar - their assets are frozen, they are under surveillance and are barred from traveling abroad - but they are not imprisoned.

The U.S. Treasury said in the case of al-Bakr, he was detained in Qatar in the early 2000s for his role in a jihadist network but that he was released from prison after promising not to conduct terrorist activity in Qatar. Treasury alleged that in 2006, he played a key role in a terrorist cell plotting to attack U.S. military bases in Qatar, and as of mid-2012 was serving as a link between Gulf-based al-Qaida financiers and Afghanistan. He is apparently now residing outside Qatar, according to experts closely monitoring these cases.

While some of those sanctioned by the U.S. have faced trial and may have been detained by Qatar at some point, there does not appear to be a single individual jailed in Qatar for terrorism financing, according to David Weinberg, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Weinberg, who has written extensively about terror financing in the Gulf, said Qatar has been "inexcusably negligent" when it comes to cracking down on such financiers.

"There's been a longstanding debate within the U.S. government about whether Qatar's lax enforcement is related to lack of capability or lack of will. My research leads me to believe it's the latter: lack of will," he said.

The Associated Press asked Qatari officials on Wednesday for information on the prosecution of individuals suspected of terrorism financing. The officials said they would look into the request but had not provided details by Thursday evening.

Also on the list is Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalid Al Thani, a senior member of Qatar's royal family and a former interior minister. The quartet accused him of giving shelter to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the 1990s as he actively funded al-Qaida operations abroad, but before he became the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

The allegations leveled against Qatar cut both ways.

In Britain this week, a right wing think tank released a study alleging Saudi Arabia has spent 67 billion pounds (nearly $87 billion) to export its austere Wahhabi interpretation of Islam around the world. The report by the Henry Jackson Foundation has increased pressure on the British government to make public a study on Saudi Arabia's role in inciting extremism in Britain.

The quartet list also names Kuwaiti national Hajjaj al-Ajmi, who is sanctioned by the U.S. for allegedly raising funds that led to the procurement of weapons for al-Qaida-linked fighters in Syria. The UAE and its allies say he raised some of that money through a Qatar-based fundraising campaign, but he appears to be living in Kuwait.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bro, heard from someone on the ground in AD that Khalifa is in bad shape medically and had not appeared in public for a while with a recent sighting shows a sickly man. Apparently the man has taken to the bottle some time go. Mohd has been in the driving seat for the last few years.

As to Qatar, the word is that they reneged on the 2013 agreement which was much milder than the current 13 demands which led to the withdrawal of diplomats in 2014. I think you are right - long game. The 2013 incident led to Turkey being offered the base but nothing done until this episode. Interesting times with young turks in the seat.

I checked with my contacts in the know on the ground and I received footage of Sheikh Khalifa holding court on the first day of Eid so I am surprised you have been told otherwise. I was reminded of the phrase "tribes with flags" which describes quite neatly the actual groundswell in the region at the moment.

As for Qatar, they did renege on their undertakings given in Riyadh previously but there were other demands that had not been publicised which has led to the current situation - the tipping point was the conspiracy hatched by Sheikh Hamad (the previous Emir of Qatar) and Gaddafi to topple the Al Sauds. And Al Jazeera was Sheikh Hamad's pet project.

As for the current FM of Qatar, imagine the scene when the previous PM, HBJ turned up with a posse 50 people strong in Washington last week to lobby for Qatar (and his interests obviously). This was the most powerful man in Qatar who overnight lost all his obvious titles and influence but went from being a Ministry clerk to a multi-billionaire who has his own private bank in Luxembourg. So the tripartite force of Sheikh Hamad, Sheikha Moza and Sheikh HBJ (who incidentally were behind the coup ousting the his own father, Sheikh Khalifa in 1995) all "disappeared" from the scene literally overnight.

If you trace the timeline with what had happened with KSA at the time of his abdication in favour of Sheikh Tamim it may give you a better idea what happened and why.
 
Last edited:

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Thanks for the checking and clarification. For some reason they gotten my attention. Reading up on Arab history to get context. Followed Middle East / Israel dynamics but not intra-Arab.

I checked with my contacts in the know on the ground and I received footage of Sheikh Khalifa holding court on the first day of Eid so I am surprised you have been told otherwise. I was reminded of the phrase "tribes with flags" which describes quite neatly the actual groundswell in the region at the moment.

Russians are now getting involved backing Qatar and RT Pravda on full swing.

Thanks for the steer on the individuals, very helpful, did not know where to start. Also heard that Qatar has stopped its citizens and expats on residency visa from leaving. Not sure how true it is. Btw HBJ linked by friendship and business to Barclays exec who was recently charged by the UK for Fraud and deal was facilitated by HBJ.

As for Qatar, they did renege on their undertakings given in Riyadh previously but there were other demands that had not been publicised which has led to the current situation - the tipping point was the conspiracy hatched by Sheikh Hamad (the previous Emir of Qatar) and Gaddafi to topple the Al Sauds. And Al Jazeera was Sheikh Hamad's pet project.

As for the current FM of Qatar, imagine the scene when the previous PM, HBJ turned up with a posse 50 people strong in Washington last week to lobby for Qatar (and his interests obviously). This was the most powerful man in Qatar who overnight lost all his obvious titles and influence but went from being a Ministry clerk to a multi-billionaire who has his own private bank in Luxembourg. So the tripartite force of Sheikh Hamad, Sheikha Moza and Sheikh HBJ (who incidentally were behind the coup ousting the his own father, Sheikh Khalifa in 1995) all "disappeared" from the scene literally overnight.

If you trace the timeline with what had happened with KSA at the time of his abdication in favour of Sheikh Tamim it may give you a better idea what happened and why.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
Also heard that Qatar has stopped its citizens and expats on residency visa from leaving. Not sure how true it is. Btw HBJ linked by friendship and business to Barclays exec who was recently charged by the UK for Fraud and deal was facilitated by HBJ.

That was a fake rumour spread by the other Gulf news outlets....the press wars are quite hilarious - did you hear the one from Saudi about the Qataris enlisting Jinns to lift the siege?

https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/artic...re-is-no-travel-ban-on-Qataris-or-expatriates

http://www.gulf-times.com/story/556089/Gulf-crisis-Latest-Twitter-war-conjures-up-genies


And then the claims of fake news plants are cutting both ways: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/icc-denies-qatar-media-reports-of-condemning-arab-bloc-1.2056164



This latest statement sheds light on the broken promises: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-crisis/documents-show-qatar-violated-commitments-1.2056351

Documents show Qatar violated commitments

Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have issued a joint statement concerning Qatar-related documents broadcast by CNN.

The statement reads as follows:

“The four countries assert that the documents published by CNN, including the Riyadh Agreement (2013), its Executive Mechanism and the Riyadh Supplementary Agreement (2014), confirm beyond any doubt Qatar’s failure to meet its obligations and its violation and full disregard of its commitments.

“The four States emphasize that the 13 claims submitted to the Government of Qatar were to fulfill their previous obligations and that the original claims were stated in the Riyadh Agreement, its Mechanism and the Supplementary Agreement and are fully in line with the spirit of what has been agreed upon.”
 
Last edited:

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
So it is the 2013 agreement after all. A decent PR outfit would have roiled out the cause of the angst without even needing to spin this. Save the trouble of people speculating over weeks what the concerns are. Is this a cultural thing where issues are not directly identified. I recall UAE MOS for FA repeating over the first two weeks Qatar conduct but not the actual issues.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
So it is the 2013 agreement after all. A decent PR outfit would have roiled out the cause of the angst without even needing to spin this. Save the trouble of people speculating over weeks what the concerns are. Is this a cultural thing where issues are not directly identified. I recall UAE MOS for FA repeating over the first two weeks Qatar conduct but not the actual issues.

There were additional terms agreed in Riyadh around the 2014 agreement which were deemed critical as well - anyway its all in the public domain now:

https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/revealed-the-secret-pledges-qatar-made-and-then-broke-1.484155

The "leak" was timed perfectly to coincide with Tillerson arriving in Kuwait for a week of shuttle diplomacy - embarrassing all around especially since Qatar's FM had not made any admission that they had been in breach after agreeing at the highest level. Qatar will probably try to position this as an encroachment of their sovereignty now but it is more a loss of face of its citizens - twitter the preferred tool of provocation should be going into overdrive.
 
Top