|
Al-Thani's of Qatar are Paying Off Al Qaeda
According to the Sunday Times, the government of Qatar—home of Al Jazeera—is paying protection money to Islamic terrorists.
THE government of Qatar is paying millions of pounds a year to Al-Qaeda in return for an undertaking to spare it from
further terrorist attacks, according to official sources in the wealthy Gulf state.
A senior government source said that the agreement was renewed in March after an Egyptian suicide bomber — thought to be
associated with Al-Qaeda — struck a theatre in Doha, Qatar’s capital, killing a British teacher during a performance of
Twelfth Night.
“We’re not sure that the attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda, but we ratified our agreement just to be on the safe side,”
said a Qatari official. “We are a soft target and prefer to pay to secure our national and economical interests. We are not
the only ones doing so.”
Seen here is H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State Of Qatar. The Emir (from the Arabic word for prince)
is the Head of State of Qatar. All the rulers of the State of Qatar since its independence in 1971 belong to the traditional
ruling family of the area - the Al-Thani.
Qatar is the global headquarters of Al Jazeera the pro-Jihad, pro-terrorist TV news channel, that has direct lines of
communication with Al Qaeda and a host of other Islamist terrorist outfits.
(Photo credits : Qaaf2000) _____________________________
The money, paid to spiritual leaders sympathetic to Al-Qaeda, is believed to be helping to fund its activities in Iraq.
In a recent message broadcast via the internet, Osama Bin Laden told followers that operations in Iraq were costing Al-Qaeda
more than £500,000 a month.
The sources said a deal between Qatar and Al-Qaeda was first made before the 2003 invasion of Iraq amid fears that the
oil state, a close ally of Washington, could become a terrorist target. The US Central Command for the invasion was based in
Qatar.
A senior government source said that the agreement was renewed in March after an Egyptian suicide bomber — thought to be
associated with Al-Qaeda — struck a theatre in Doha, Qatar’s capital, killing a British teacher during a performance of
Twelfth Night.
“We’re not sure that the attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda, but we ratified our agreement just to be on the safe side,”
said a Qatari official. “We are a soft target and prefer to pay to secure our national and economical interests. We are not
the only ones doing so.”
Qatar is one of the richest Gulf states and many of its 840,000 inhabitants have a high standard of living. It is also an
important base for business.
The financial pressures on Al-Qaeda would be a great incentive for it to offer protection to anybody willing to pay. But the
deal with Qatar is not purely financial. Qatar has offered a haven for a number of extremists. Federal prosecutors in Miami
recently indicted Kifah Jayyousi, a former Detroit school administrator, on charges of conspiring to murder, kidnap, and maim
people in other countries, and of providing financial support to Islamic jihadists overseas. He was arrested at a Detroit
airport after returning from Qatar.
Security in Qatar is noticeably relaxed compared with that in many Gulf states. While patrol cars and armed men are seen
throughout much of the Arab world, they are not obvious in Doha. Even around hotels there are few guards. Locals in brand-new
German and Japanese cars drive freely along the city’s wide boulevards.
But it may not be advisable to be too complacent. Al-Qaeda was widely believed at one time to have an unwritten pact with
Saudi Arabia. If so, the deal lasted only until it suited the organisation to renege.
The second point to ponder is to what extent are such pay-offs done involuntarily, and to what extent is there a
sneaking sympathy for the terrorist outfits that fight to create mayhem against Americans and other enemies of the (Islamic)
faith?
Story Credits: Times Online and Little Green Footballs
|
