The Saudi Embassy in United States issued a statement through its official twitter handle.

The statement goes as follows:

“The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States welcomes the release of classified documents relating to the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

“Since that horrific day 20 years ago, the leadership of Saudi Arabia has consistently called for the release of all materials related to the United States’ investigation of the attacks. The Kingdom has always advocated for transparency surrounding the September 11 tragedy. And as past investigations have revealed, including the 9/11 Commission and the release of the so-called “28 Pages,” no evidence has ever emerged to indicate that the Saudi government or its officials had previous knowledge of the terrorist attack or were in any way involved in its planning or execution.

“Any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in the September 11 attacks is categorically false.

“As the administrations of the past four U.S. presidents have attested, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has unwaveringly condemned and denounced the deplorable crimes that took place against the United States, its close ally and partner.

“Saudi Arabia knows all too well the evil that al-Qaeda through its ideology and actions represents. Alongside the U.S., we have been Al Qaeda’s top target, even before the September 11 attacks. And alongside the U.S., the Kingdom has spared no effort in tackling the men, money, and mindset of terrorism and extremism in all its forms.

“Saudi Arabia is very proud of its anti-terrorism record, including its efforts to thwart terrorist financing, it’s comprehensive strategies to counter extremist ideology in both the public domain and online, and the degradation and defeat of terrorist organizations throughout our region.

“The Kingdom is an essential counterterrorism partner to the United States. Together, our two countries have countered ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and delivered severe setbacks to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS in Yemen, among other successes. The coordinated work of Saudi Arabia and the United States to disrupt and intercept terrorist plots over the last 20 years undoubtedly has saved the lives of thousands of Saudis and Americans, and made the world a safer place.

“As a victim of terrorism and a firsthand witness to the horror and lasting impact it has on innocent men, women and children, Saudi Arabia understands the indescribable pain and hardship of the families who lost loved ones on that unforgettable day. They remain in our thoughts and prayers.

“Previous declassification of materials relating to the September 11 attacks, such as the “28 Pages,” only have confirmed the 9/11 Commission’s finding that Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with this terrible crime. It is lamentable that such false and malicious claims persist.

“In response, Saudi Arabia can only reiterate its longstanding support for the full declassification of any documents and materials relating to the United States’ investigation of the terrorist attacks, with the hope that a full release of these documents will end the baseless allegations against the Kingdom once and for all.”

“28 Pages” is a long-classified section of report that raises questions about whether Saudi nationals who were in contact with the 911 hijackers knew what they were planning.

However, Former White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest clarified back in 2016 that there’s no evidence that the Saudi government or senior Saudi individuals funded Al-Qaeda, and that Saudi Arabia has no relations with the September 11 attacks.

The commission also said that Al-Qaeda terrorists received training from Hezbollah, the Iran-created terror army in southern Lebanon which works closely with Gen. Soleimani.

Iran facilitated the movement of Al-Qaeda terrorists through its country, including September 11, 2001 attackers and for years was a critical channel for money and arms, according to the 9-11 commission report and internal Osama bin Laden’s documents.

Experts say, Qassem Soleimani  directed the terror partnership as he has headed since 1998 Iran’s Quds Force a U.S. designated terrorist organization and an arm of the IRCG.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran has actively taken part in training, financing, and providing weapons and safe havens to the non-state militant actors, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, (PIJ) and the (PFLP-GC) B9.

Iran utilized these terrorist groups to further their expansionist agenda in the Middle East and to exert their influence on the world stage amidst a weak and undecided international community’s war on extremism during the late 20th century.

In 1995, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard held a conference with worldwide organizations accused of engaging in terrorism including the Japanese Red Army, the Armenian Secret Army, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the Iraqi Da’wah Party, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain and Hezbollah for the purpose of providing training to these organizations to help in the destabilization of Gulf States and aid assistance to militants in these countries to replace the existing governments with Iran-like regimes.

A deep, dark and troubling history of the Iranian regime is proven by Osama bin Laden who called Iran “our main artery” for men and money. Iran has been the life line of the terrorist group, let’s not forget KSM escape to Afghanistan with the aid of Qatar was done through Iran.

Michael Rubin, a Middle East scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said none of this would have happened without Gen. Soleimani’s blessings as he was the second in command and controlled the Quds forces that played a pivotal role in the Iranian regime’s expansionist plans.

Soleimani was the second most powerful man in Iran. He ran the overseas operations and those involving Iranian relations with terror groups, he formulated and developed them. There was not a single operation of any significance which he did not approve if not oversee.

The Osama bin Laden documents prove the 9/11 hijackers never would have been able to train in Afghanistan had it not been for Soleimani’s support and Iranian free-passage. The same holds true for Iran’s subsequent safe-haven to senior Al-Qaeda operatives in IRGC bases inside Iran.

The 9-11 Commission’s 2004 report paid close attention to how Bin Laden’s terrorists moved in and out of Afghanistan, its HQ in an alliance with the now-ousted Taliban regime. Its report said Iranian border officials were under orders not to stamp the visas of Al-Qaeda travelers.

KSM and other detainees have described the willingness of Iranian officials to facilitate the travel of Al-Qaeda members through Iran, on their way to and from Afghanistan,” the report said.

“For example, Iranian border inspectors would be told not to place telltale stamps in the passports of these travelers. Such arrangements were particularly beneficial to Saudi members of Al-Qaeda.”

KSM and Binalshibh confirmed that several of the 9/11 hijackers (at least eight, according to Binalshibh) transited Iran on their way to or from Afghanistan, taking advantage of the Iranian practice of not stamping Saudi passports.”

The report says, “They deny any other reason for the hijackers’ travel to Iran. The commission also said that Al-Qaeda terrorists received training from Hezbollah, the Iran-created terror army in southern Lebanon which works closely with Gen. Soleimani”.

There is a large amount of evidence of an Iran-Qaeda working relationship. It is found in millions of pages of documents seized by Navy SEALs when they raided Bin Laden’s Pakistan hideout and killed him in May 2011.

Iran and the Iran-backed militas are a fair target for the United States based on all the above. The Iranian regime is not a state nor does it wish to be a normal state that can coexist with its neighbors and the world.

Khaled Homoud Alshareef holds PhD in Business and he earned Masters in Philosophy. He often writes about Islamism, Islamist factions and modern Terrorism. He tweets under @0khalodi0.

These jihadi leaders execute such anti-U.S. activities while dining with American officials in Qatar’s luxurious hotels in the name of peace talks.

A detailed and well-documented report was published by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) about the Qatar’s role in sheltering and financing 911 Jihadi commanders and Afghan Taliban fighters meanwhile hosting American military bases. The report highlights Qatar’s deceptive role in facilitating peace-talks while hosting dreaded terrorists.

Introduction

This report examines Qatar’s relationships with jihadi organizations. Right through the 1980s, Afghan mujahideen – backed by the U.S., Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Arab donors – fought against the Soviet troops from their hideouts in the mountainous terrains of Afghanistan. Since the 9/11 attacks on New York, the Pentagon, and other American targets, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban, especially its Haqqani Network) has been fighting and killing American and NATO soldiers from its shelters in Afghanistan and in Pakistani cities such as Abbottabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Quetta. [While Quetta has served as the operational headquarters of the Afghan Taliban, it was in Abbottabad that U.S. special forces found and killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden]

While this situation has not changed, a new dimension has been added since 2013: As part of a highly ingenious plot, which the world is yet to realize, the Afghan Taliban leaders’ hideouts have moved to the safe haven of Doha, the capital of Qatar, from where the senior-most Taliban commanders plot, direct, and execute terror attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. These jihadi leaders execute such anti-U.S. activities while dining with American officials in Qatar’s luxurious hotels in the name of peace talks.

While American taxpayers bear the cost of the meals that U.S. officials have with the Taliban commanders in Qatar, it is disturbing to learn that three top commanders of the Haqqani Network – Anas Haqqani, Hafiz Rashid, and Haji Mali Khan – may soon settle in Doha, Qatar. Under a U.S. deal with the Taliban, the Afghan government reluctantly agreed to free the three terrorists in exchange for two Western professors of the American University of Afghanistan. [The two professors are U.S. national Kevin King and Timothy Weeks of Australia, whom the Haqqani Network abducted in Kabul in August 2016. It should be noted that King and Weeks were freed on November 19, 2019]. 

The attempt to move the Haqqani Network’s commanders to Doha is perfectly in tune with Qatar’s long-standing relationship with jihadi commanders, as this report will review.

The Trilateral Relationship Between Qatar, Pakistan, And The Taliban

A November 13, 2019 report in Roznama Ummat, a pro-Taliban Urdu-language daily, noted that the three Haqqani Network commanders will “be taken to Qatar within a week.” [Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), November 13, 2019] 

The Haqqani Network, founded by late jihadi commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, and now run by his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, is a highly effective terror organization within the Afghan Taliban. On September 22, 2011, Adm. Mike Mullen, the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Haqqani Network carried out a truck bombing at a NATO post and another attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul earlier that month. [The New York Times (U.S.), September 23, 2011]

Two of the three terrorists being freed are related to Sirajuddin Haqqani: Anas Haqqani is Sirajuddin’s brother, and Hafiz Rasheed is their maternal uncle. Of the third terrorist being freed, Roznama Ummat noted: “[Haji Mali Khan] has played an important role in the reorganization of the Haqqani Network and training of its commanders.” [Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), November 13, 2019]

Qatar and Pakistan are working in tandem to move the Taliban leaders to Doha. This suits Pakistan, which has been under scrutiny by the international community for supporting the Taliban. Further, not only do these commanders work freely from Qatar, but they also help Pakistan escape international scrutiny for its support to them. The Haqqani Network is a terror behemoth with up to 20,000 members. [MEMRI JTTM report, Pakistani Daily: ‘Haqqani Network: Another Behemoth In The Making’; It has 15,000 – 20,000 Active Sympathizers, February 14, 2011.]

In his 2011 testimony, Mullen clearly said that the Haqqani Network executed the terror attacks with the aid of the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), stating: “The Haqqani Network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency” and “with ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted that truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our [American] embassy.” [The New York Times (U.S.), September 23, 2011] 

America’s top military general added: “We also have credible evidence that they were behind the June 28th attack against the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations.” [The New York Times (U.S.), September 23, 2011]

In the years after 9/11, Qatar emerged as a preferred host for jihadi groups and their commanders. In 2016, a journalist reported: “In one western district [of Doha], near the campuses hosting branches of American universities, Taliban officials and their families can be found window-shopping in the cavernous malls.” [Nytimes.com (U.S.), July 16, 2017]

The report noted: “Officials from Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, work from a luxury villa near the British Embassy, and recently held a news conference in a ballroom at the pyramid-shape Sheraton hotel.” [Nytimes.com (U.S.), July 16, 2017]

Qatar’s critics say: “Doha, rather than the benign meeting ground described by Qataris, is a city where terrorism is bankrolled, not battled against.” [Nytimes.com (U.S.), July 16, 2017] 

Qatar is also host to the radical Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who radicalizes Muslims by issuing statements such as: “We have the ‘children bomb,’ and these human bombs must continue until liberation [Nytimes.com (U.S.), July 16, 2017]

Qatari Emir’s Role In Protecting “The Principal Architect Of The 9/11 Attacks”

Qatar also has a long-standing relationship with not only the Taliban and Haqqani Network but also with Al-Qaeda commanders and Pakistani jihadis such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. According to Richard A. Clarke, who served as National Coordinator for Security and Counter-Terrorism under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Qatar was instrumental in foiling the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad (KSM) – the Pakistani terrorist described in The 9/11 Commission Report as “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks” on American cities. [The 9/11 Commission Report. For further discussion of Qatar’s role involving the Afghanistan-Pakistan jihadis, see MEMRI Daily Brief The US-Taliban Negotiations: A Deadly Qatari Trap, by Yigal Carmon, September 1, 2019]

The 9/11 Commission Report observed: “In 1992, KSM spent some time fighting alongside the mujahideen in Bosnia and supporting that effort with financial donations. After returning briefly to Pakistan, he moved his family to Qatar at the suggestion of the former minister of Islamic affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Abdallah bin Khalid bin Hamad Aal Thani. KSM took a position in Qatar as project engineer with the Qatari Ministry of Electricity and Water. Although he engaged in extensive international travel during his tenure at the ministry – much of it in furtherance of terrorist activity – KSM would hold his position there until early 1996, when he fled to Pakistan to avoid capture by U.S. authorities.” [The 9/11 Commission Report]

However, it was the Qatari government that enabled KSM to flee. According to The 9/11 Commission Report, after an indictment against KSM was obtained from a U.S. court in January 1996, “an official in the government of Qatar” warned KSM about it and he successfully “evaded capture (and stayed at large to play a central part in the 9/11 attacks).” [The 9/11 Commission Report] 

It was also from Qatar that KSM wired money to Mohammed Salameh, a co-conspirator of Ramzi Yousef, who had been involved in several other terror plots and was convicted in the U.S. for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. [The 9/11 Commission Report]

Clarke, who chaired the multi-agency Counter-Terrorism Security Group (CSG), noted that 9/11 attacks could have been prevented if KSM’s arrest was not foiled by Qatar. He wrote: “We could not trust the Qatar government sufficiently for us to do what otherwise would have been obvious: ask the local security service to arrest him and hand him over. The Qataris had a history of terrorist sympathies and one cabinet member in particular, a member of the royal family, seemed to have ties to groups like Al-Qaeda and appeared to have sponsored KSM.” [Nydailynews.com (U.S.), July 6, 2017]

However, a decision was taken to talk to the Qatari government to arrest KSM. “Within hours of the U.S. ambassador’s meeting with the Emir [of Qatar to seek the arrest], KSM had gone to ground. In tiny Doha, no one was able to find him. Later, the Qataris told us that they believe he had left the country. They never told us how,” Clarke noted. [Nydailynews.com (U.S.), July 6, 2017] 

In 1996, Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani was the emir of Qatar, succeeded later by his son Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani.

Qatar’s Long-Standing Relationship With The Afghan Taliban

In the years after 9/11 terror attacks, several Taliban commanders moved to Qatar, which was seen by them as a hospitable refuge for jihadis. Taliban leaders like Mullah Abdul Salam Zaif, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner and the Taliban’s ambassador to Pakistan in pre-9/11 years, moved to Doha, whereas some Taliban members arrived as Afghan laborers and businessmen to work in Qatar. [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013] 

Mullah Abdul Aziz, a former first secretary of the Taliban government’s pre-9/11 embassy in the UAE, moved to Doha, ostensibly as a businessman. [Thedailybeast.com (U.S.), April 24, 2017] 

 Tayyab Agha, a former official of the Taliban leadership office in Kabul, emerged in Qatar as the Taliban’s lead negotiator, though he resigned in 2015, over internal differences, as the head of the Taliban’s Doha-based Political Office. [Arabnews.com (Saudi Arabia), August 4, 2015]

Qatar’s hospitality of jihadi commanders was a result of its state policy pursued by the Aal Thani royal family. Around 2010, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, the emir of Qatar till 2013 and father of the current emir, Tamim bin Hamad Aa Thani, was being billed as “the Arab Henry Kissinger.” [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013] 

The United States shut its eyes to Qatar’s support for the terror organizations operating in and outside the Middle East, especially in Bosnia.[It appears the Qatari royal family did know of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11 attacks, since his days in the Bosnian jihad] 

According to one report, even before 9/11, Qatar “did have cordial relations with the [Taliban] militants” during 1996-2001 when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from Kabul. [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013]

Qatar’s deep influence among the Taliban was also evident in the release of Canadian citizen Colin Rutherford. For five years to 2016, Rutherford was held captive by the Afghan Taliban. When the militants freed him in 2016, Qatar’s envoy to Ottawa Fahad Mohamed Kafoud noted that “instructions” to help free Rutherford came from Qatar’s emir, adding: “We received direct instruction from our government and from His Highness the Emir to facilitate and to do our best.” [Nationalpost.com (Canada), January 11, 2016] 

According to the Qatari government’s website, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a personal telephone call to Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani “in which he expressed deep gratitude and thanks to HH the Emir for the efforts made by the State of Qatar.” [Mofa.gov.qa (Qatar), January 12, 2016]

Arrival In Qatar Of The Five Taliban Commanders From Guantanamo Bay

In 2014, the United States Treasury Department’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said: “Distressingly, Iran is not the only state that provides financial support for terrorist organizations… Qatar, a longtime U.S. ally, has for many years openly financed Hamas, a group that continues to undermine regional stability. Press reports indicate that the Qatari government is also supporting extremist groups operating in Syria.” [Cnsnews.com (U.S.), June 10, 2014] 

However, driven by a strong desire for talks with the Taliban, the Obama White House overlooked the Qatari government’s support for terrorist organizations.

In March 2009, then U.S. President Barack Obama – motivated by “the success of the U.S. strategy of bringing some Sunni fighters in Iraq to the negotiating table” – said that “there may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region.” [Aljazeera.com (Qatar), March 9, 2009] 

In fact, by then he had decided to talk to the Taliban. Speaking on International Women’s Day in 2009, then Afghan President Hamid Karzai noted: “Yesterday [March 7], Mr. Obama accepted and approved the path of peace and talks with those Afghan Taliban who he called moderates.” [Aljazeera.com (Qatar), March 9, 2009]

In and around 2010, the Taliban leaders had begun arriving “secretly” in Qatar as part of efforts to engage with American officials. [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013] 

In 2013, a report noted that “more than 20 relatively high-ranking Taliban members” lived in Qatar. [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013] 

It was estimated in 2018 that “about three dozen Taliban leaders” lived in Doha with their families. [Nytimes.com (U.S.), October 31, 2018]

While President Obama initiated the process of talks with the Taliban in 2009, another incident happened in Afghanistan that year. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl of the U.S. Army walked away from his unit in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for several years. The initial series of contacts between the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban involved the freedom of Sgt. Bergdahl in exchange for five top Taliban leaders being freed from the Guantanamo Bay detention center in 2014. Following their release these five leaders went to Qatar. According to a report, “Qatar played a role in brokering” Sgt. Bergdahl’s release. [Nationalpost.com (Canada), January 11, 2016]

The five Taliban prisoners who joined the Taliban’s Political Office in Doha are: Mohammed Fazl, the former Taliban army chief; Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former governor of Herat province; Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban’s deputy intelligence minister; Mullah Norullah Nori, a close confidant of the late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar; and Mohammad Nabi Omari, a Taliban communications officer. [Militarytimes.com (U.S.), October 30, 2018]

In 2010, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, a top Taliban leader, was arrested in a joint U.S.-Pakistani intelligence operation and was released in 2018. Following his release he went to Doha where he replaced Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai as the head of the Political Office in early 2019. [MEMRI JTTM report Afghan Taliban Appoint Mullah Baradar As Head Of Political Office In Qatar, January 31, 2019] 

Mullah Baradar Akhund – who has led delegations to Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in 2019 – also holds the post of the Islamic Emirate’s Deputy Emir for Political Affairs. Mullah Baradar Akhund, a key terrorist commander until 2018, now acts from his base in Qatar as the head of the state of Afghanistan, rejecting the existence of the elected Afghan government.

Qatar’s Violation Of Afghanistan’s Conditions For Hosting Taliban Leaders

In 2013, as the United States was pressing for a dialogue with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan, then Afghan President Hamid Karzai reluctantly agreed with the U.S. to allow for the Islamic Emirate’s Political Office to be established in Doha. However, Karzai laid down some conditions: “[The Political Office] would maintain a low profile and work only as a venue for peace talks… [And it would not] be used for other activities, such as the expansion of Taliban ties with the rest of the world, recruitment or fundraising.” [Bbc.com (UK), June 22, 2013] 

All of these conditions have been repeatedly violated by the Taliban on the watch of the Qatari leadership.

The Political Office opened on June 8, 2013, in Doha. The first condition that it would maintain “a low profile” was violated on the first day. It came as a shock to Afghans and the Afghan government that “an opening ceremony” was organized for this purpose while the Taliban were “yet to renounce” their “known ties to Al-Qaeda.” [Huffpost.com (U.S.), September 22, 2013] 

A former Afghan official noted that organizing such a ceremony for the jihadi terror group was “contrary to the careful policy agreements and diplomatic exchanges which had been worked in details between President Karzai, the United States and other relevant parties, including efforts by the Qatari government,” yet the main parties, being the U.S. and the host Qatar, allowed for it. [Huffpost.com (U.S.), September 22, 2013]

Subsequently, the Political Office did become the venue for peace talks. However, another of the three conditions set by President Karzai was violated routinely as the Taliban began using it for diplomatic outreach with other nations for holding bilateral talks, thereby undermining the role of the Afghan government in international relations. On the watch of the U.S. and Qatar, the elected Afghan government was undermined regularly and repeatedly.

From the Doha-based Political Office, the Taliban commanders began acting as the sole government of Afghanistan on the international stage. Since 2013, the Taliban have sent delegations to Japan, Iran, Norway, Russia, China, Germany, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and formally to Pakistan. [MEMRI JTTM report Photos: Taliban Delegation Led By Mullah Baradar Akhund Meets With Uzbek Officials In Tashkent, Visits Tomb Of Ninth Century Islamic Jurist Imam Bukhari, August 14, 2019] 

Their objective was to achieve international legitimacy as the sole representative of the state of Afghanistan.

At least one of the five Guantanamo Bay detainees freed by the U.S. had “contact with members of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani Network during the past year [in 2015] while in Qatar,” whereas “the U.N. acknowledges their sanctions have been circumvented” by the Taliban leaders based in the Doha office. [Voanews.com (U.S.), June 1, 2015] 

These are not the only violations by the Doha-based Taliban leaders of the conditions set by President Karzai.

In November 2019, it emerged that the Taliban run religious schools in Qatar: Abdullah bin Abbas Dar-ul-Huffaz and Abdullah bin Masood Dar-ul-Huffaz. Evidently, a terrorist group, given an office to hold talks with the U.S., is being allowed by the Qatari government and the U.S. to spread its tentacles. On October 31, 2019, the Taliban also organized a graduation ceremony for the students which was attended, according to a Taliban website and a video report, by 20 people, including the Taliban and other Afghans based in Qatar. [Alemaraenglish.com (Afghanistan), November 4, 2019; AlemarahVideo.org (Afghanistan), October 31, 2019]

In recent years, questions have been raised about Qatar’s role in facilitating and legitimizing the activities of the Afghan Taliban. In 2018, Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani – Qatar’s special envoy for counterterrorism and conflict resolution – was asked specifically about this and, while arguing that it was the U.S. that wanted Qatar to host the Taliban’s Political Office, noted: There was “no military solution” to the Afghan situation. [Nytimes.com (U.S.), October 31, 2018]

It is unfortunate that a terrorist organization, which was operating more like a guerrilla force from its hideouts in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, has moved to the safe haven of Doha. In September 2013, a former Afghan official warned that in addition to deriving legitimacy through the Political Office, the Taliban “hope to kill their way back to power in Afghanistan and help create the same state which gave rise to a safe home to Al-Qaeda.” [Huffpost.com (U.S.), September 22, 2013] 

This prescient remark appears more real than ever as the world moves into the year 2020.

Tufail Ahmad is a British journalist and political commentator of Indian origin. He has been the Director of the South Asia Studies Project at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C. His research is focused on jihadist movements in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh as well as the counter-terrorism policies of the countries. (Source: Wikipedia)

So, did these news agencies name their sources of info who as you said work for CIA?

I just wanna vent to you all something happened to me many times here on Twitter.

So, this is a typical dialogue with enemies of KSA and MBS—whom I like to call ignorants by choice, ignorants by default, or most common type “paid gold diggers and barking dogs”.

He/She: Saudi Arabia was behind 9/11 terrorists’ attack and the killing of Khashoggi!

Me: Not true! What is your source that proves your claim?

He/She: Everybody is saying so!

Me: So, you’re just a parrot who repeats what he/she hears without validation?

He/She: No, I’m not! A friend of mine heard it in the news like CNN, BBC, ..etc! Btw, I heard it too and these news outlets said that their info are based on CIA reports!

Me: Ok, cool. So, did these news agencies name their sources of info who as you said work for CIA?

He/She: victory laugh .. Are you serious? Of course not & why would they?

Me: So, if I own a news agency and I’m powerful enough to not being held accountable for saying CIA is my source of info. Then, I publish an article that says “you are a lunatic”. Then, I say in the same article that my source is anonymous but works in CIA, would it be fair?

He/She: victory laugh again that doesn’t make sense because these news outlets won’t burn their cards by naming their CIA’s sources for the sake of intelligence sensitivity!

Me: Ok, fair enough! But, what if I ask you to google and read the full report that proves KSA had nothing to do with 9/11 attacks which was published by CIA (same source that your news outlets claim having info from and won’t show us any proof), would you still believe them?

He/She: You are lying!

Me: Ok, obviously you don’t want to google it. So, here you go (then I show him/her CIA report that’s available in Google). Now, that I showed you everything, it’s your turn! Please, show me any proof of your claim other than “news outlets said so!”

He/She: Bu..bu..but what about Khashoggi? MBS ordered his murder and this time CIA said so! Not just the news outlets and they have tapes!

Me: Again with the CIA thing?! Of course you didn’t hear the tapes nor anyone did (especially the news outlets).

But, here you go:

1. MBS didn’t order it (no tapes or any sort of evidence was released).
2. “Typical Anonymous CIA source” is again the news outlets’ source.
3. Mattis, former US Secretary of Defense, stated “No smoking gun MBS ordered Khashoggi’s murder!” (only official US statement).

He/She: you are a pro-Saudi and MbS troll!

Me: No, I’m n….

(your message can’t be sent! Do you want to save it in drafts)

(You can’t see this account’s tweets because you’re blocked)

And life goes on.. another day.. another ignorant.. same dialogue repeated…

Taken from Adel Again’s Twitter handle.

Nordic Monitor, the Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network, has in an article written by Abdullah Bozkurt, states that Turkey has laid out its own version in the 12th grade modern history book that is being used in public schools in Turkey.

The article goes on to say that the textbook is full of anti-American and anti-EU references, mirroring what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been preaching at public rallies and meetings.

The 2018 edition, authored by Emrullah Alemdar and Savaş Keles and produced by the government printing office, appears to justify Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks in the US on Sept. 11, 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people, brands the European Union as a Christian club led by the pope and criticizes the NATO alliance.

“The United States, which has more say with the self-confidence it gained in the aftermath of the Cold War but complies less with international agreements, has started to see itself as one above equals in international relations. From that point forward, deciding which countries would be punished and what systems would be changed relied on definitions and references made by the US. These practices by the US are one of the reasons behind the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization’s attack on 9/11,” the book states on pages 262 and 263.

Post-9/11, the US adopted a policy of thwarting possible rivals and securing absolute dominance of the international system, the book says. “The US became the main source of problems in the world with what it did in the aftermath of Sept. 11.”

The book described all members of the European Union as Christians and said denial of membership to Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation, while accepting democratically and economically weak states as members of the union raised questions about the identity of the EU.

The book features a photo of the leaders of the European Union and the pope on March 24, 2017 as they gathered in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which led to the formation of the union. The photo caption includes a statement by British-Polish historian Norman Davies, who said, “I am talking about the common tradition of Christianity, which has made Europe what it is.”

Not surprisingly, the book mirrored the perspective of President Erdoğan, who said in April 2017 that a picture of the pope posing with the leaders of EU was evidence that the EU was a Christian bloc.

During the presidential referendum rallies, Erdoğan started bashing the pope and the EU in public speeches and repeatedly said the West was hostile to Islam and touted the picture as evidence that showed the EU was a single nation of infidels.

Pointing out that what he had been saying all along was proven right with this gathering in Rome with the pope, Erdoğan declared that the EU was nothing but a Crusaders’ alliance.

With respect to Turkey’s decades-long alliance with NATO, the textbook is full of criticism as well. It claimed NATO membership killed Turkey’s multilateral foreign policy, destroyed the domestic defense industry and made Turkey dependent on US military aid.

The book recalled incidents that took place at NATO’s Joint Warfare Center (JWC) in Stavanger, Norway, in November 2017 during the Trident Javelin 2017 exercise as evidence of the bad intentions of NATO.

In the drills both Erdoğan and the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, were portrayed as hostile figures, which prompted Turkey to quit the drill and recall 41 officers deployed to Norway.

Similar to what Erdoğan claimed, the book describes corruption investigations in December 2013 that incriminated Erdoğan, his family members and his business and political associates in a multibillion-dollar graft scheme as a “coup.”

A similar characterization was made for the anti-government protests during the Gezi Park events of summer 2013. Erdoğan’s derogatory and hatred-filled talking points about the Gülen movement, a civic group that is highly critical of the Erdoğan regime due to its corruption and Erdoğan’s aiding and abetting of armed groups in Syria and Libya, was repeated in the textbook.

The book is a worrying example of how the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric adopted by Turkish President Erdoğan and his associates have taken a toll on education in Turkey with 12 graders being taught to parrot the same false narrative in school from the early years of their education.

The content of the textbook and its design was approved as study material for the 12 grade by the Ministry of Education in decision No. 12254648 on June 25, 2018, and 359,141 copies were printed in its first edition by the government in July 2018. — Courtesy Nordic Monitor

Story is taken as it is from Saudi Gazette, however headline is changed.