On July 22, 2019, al-arabiyya TV news reported that a NYT radio cast reported on Qatar’s support for terrorism in Somalia. But, of course, at Americans for Intelligence Reform we have been reporting on Qatar’s (and Turkey’s) support for terrorism since the moment we joined.
This is a huge leap for the NYT which heretofore has been more than willing to overlook Qatar’s (and Turkey’s) support for terrorism in the Middle East/Africa sphere (and elsewhere). So, this raises the question as to why now? Why is the NYT suddenly so interested in reporting on Qatar’s support for terrorism?
The obvious answer is that just last week Trump warmly hosted the Emir of Qatar, and singed a “very nice” weapons deal with Qatar.
And, reporting on Qatar’s support of terrorism gives them a tool with which to bludgeon Trump now that the Russia hoax has dried up.
Of course, this places the NYT in a delicate position. Since many of their journalists have accepted payola from Qatar with the promise of never reporting anything bad about Qatar, what’s a self-respecting far Left rag supposed to do? Well, just find a journalist who has not taken money from Qatar. Or, perhaps the NYT felt that they would prefer risking Qatar’s ire if there is an opportunity to damage Trump.
Another interesting point coming out of this news story is that according to this al-arabiyya report, quoting the NYT story, this information came about from a phone call between a prominent Qatari businessman close to the Emir, and Qatar’s ambassador in Mogadishu. Now, to a retired NSA guy, this raises the obvious question as to where in the h*%$ would a failing newspaper like the NYT get the resources necessary to intercept phone calls? That’s a privilege (and skill) usually reserved for the intelligence agencies of major powers.
My guess is that someone from within the U.S. intelligence community intentionally leaked that information to the NYT for the express purpose of giving the NYT and the rest of the Left a new club with which to pummel Trump. My guess also is that this “someone” was someone very highly placed who might have a lot to lose when and if the FISA abuses and payments for the phony Steele dossier are investigated and made public. This is a defensive move on the part of elements within the “Deep State.”
From this standpoint I will make a couple of predictions: We will soon be seeing more articles in the NYT and/or other leftwing “news” entities tying Qatar (and possibly Nigeria and Turkey) to terrorism. These will be followed by other news items linking Qatar’s support for terrorism with Trump’s cozy relation with the Qatar Emir, and the weapons sale.
This is almost laughable coming from a NYT (and other leftist entities) who overlooked Obama’s massive support for terrorist regimes. But, all is fair in love, war, and politics. I guess.
As for the Trump administration, for months we’ve been trying to warn them against following the Obama example of having close military relations with terrorist-supporting nations such as Qatar, Turkey, and Nigeria, yet they persist.
The morale to this story is that any policy maker who fails to keep up on the postings by Americans for Intelligence Reform do so at their own peril.
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Barry Webb had a 25-year career as an NSA Arabist, holds two MA degrees in related subject matter, and is currently a Senior Fellow at Americans for Intelligence Reform www.intelreform.org He is also the author of Confessions of an (ex) NSA spy: Why America and its Allies are Losing the War on Terror. His website is: www.barrywebbauthor.com
Brad Johnson, President, and retired CIA Senior Officer and Chief of Staff. Insight into current events from an intelligence angle.