Shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a Harvard CAPS-Harris X poll found that 48 percent of Americans ages 18-24 supported Hamas over Israel. This is in direct contrast to 95 percent of Americans 65 years of age and older who sided with Israel. This stark difference begs the question: why do half of young Americans support a group that has been designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since October 1997? Our ongoing fight for transparency suggests at least some of the answers lie in Qatar’s pocketbooks.
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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Sends Four Letters to the House Appropriations Committee
Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent four letters to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday advocating for the defunding of “America-last directives” as the committee works on funding accounts for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2024.
In one letter to the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ogles requests that a provision be added to any upcoming spending legislation prohibiting President Joe Biden’s recent executive order granting Deferred Enforced Departure to Palestinians in the U.S. for 18 months.
Read the full storyCommentary: Do Not Let Hamas Escape into Exile
“NYC Public School Wipes Israel from the Map” reads the headline of Francesca Block’s article in The Free Press today (January 11). The map was supplied to the school, PS 261, as part of a program that is sponsored by the rulers of Qatar. The idea is, of course, to normalize to these children the idea of a Middle East from which Israel has been erased.
Read the full storyDemocratic Senator Charged with Aiding Qatar in New Corruption Charges
Embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing new federal charges alleging that he worked as an agent for Qatar in exchange for monetary bribes.
Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in a new superseding indictment made public Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department that alleges the bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, nearly a year longer than initially alleged by federal prosecutors.
Read the full storyRep. Andy Ogles Leads Letter Urging Qatar to Condemn Hamas
Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and Arizona U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) sent a letter to Qatari Ambassador Meshal Al Thani, urging Qatar to condemn Hamas and extradite their leadership from Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Read the full storyBiden to Axe Trump Investigations of Secret Foreign Money in Higher Ed, College Groups Say
The Biden administration plans to shutter its predecessor’s investigations into undisclosed foreign funding of U.S. colleges and universities, the subject of years of warnings from elected officials, law enforcement and academic freedom groups, according to higher education lobbyists.
The commitment was recorded in an August letter from a higher ed lobbyist recapping a June 23 virtual briefing by top Department of Education officials for the American Council on Education (ACE) and other university groups, including the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), which includes medical centers and independent research institutes.
Read the full storyIsrael, Middle East Countries Crafting Deal to Build Regional Defense Network: Report
Israel is in consultations with Middle Eastern countries to install Israeli-made defense systems on their territory, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.
Several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have reportedly negotiated with Israel to obtain a network of sensors that will combat the potential missile threat from Iran, according to Breaking Defense. A shared communications network would theoretically allow participating states to alert others when incoming missiles trigger the sensors, Breaking Defense reported, citing Israeli officials.
Read the full storyOfficials Spot Former Interior Minister Within Group of Refugees Fleeing Afghanistan
The former minister of interior affairs for Afghanistan was reportedly seen fleeing the country with refugees, Richard Engel, a chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, said Monday.
“Some Afghan officials from fallen govt escaping with refugees. A senior Qatari official told me among those they’ve identified are former interior minister Gen. Abdul Satar Mirzakwal, one of his deputies and a sr army official,” Engel tweeted.
Read the full storyHow a Fake Imam, the Krassenstein Brothers and a Canadian Played Roles in a Dubious Story About Ilhan Omar and Qatar
Foreign elements are pushing a dubious story, targeted at American conservatives, that Ilhan Omar is a secret agent of the nation of Qatar.
Read the full storyQatar-Funded Group Engages in ‘Propagandistic Activities’ While Divvying Out Millions to US Schools, Experts Say
A U.S.-based organization funded by Qatar and tasked with furthering the allegedly terror-linked country’s national vision is openly influencing K-12 public school curriculums across America. A legal loophole allows it to do so without registering as a foreign agent, but experts say the group has at times stretched that boundary by pushing overt propaganda.
Read the full storyDemocrats Hid Gifts from a Notorious Foreign Meddler
by Luke Rosiak Six Democrats took an all-expenses-paid trip paid for by the government of Qatar in December, but two of them did not disclose it, annual ethics forms reveal. Democratic Reps. Donald Norcross of New Jersey and Jim Himes of Connecticut did not report taking the trip to Doha, Qatar, on their mandatory disclosure forms, but Buzzfeed said they were there at the elaborate Doha Forum gathering in December. The congressmen hold sensitive positions that make them targets of influence for Qatar, a wealthy Arab nation. Himes is on the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence, and is chair of its Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research subcommittee. Norcross is on the House Armed Services Committee and chairs its Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee. The U.S. has a military base in Qatar and the country also purchases military equipment from the U.S. Despite Democrats’ rhetoric on the dangers of “foreign meddling,” Hines did not respond to questions from the Daily Caller News Foundation about the hidden gift. Norcross’ spokeswoman Ally Kehoe merely stated, “my office is aware of this oversight and we will be filing an amendment.” Most of the other politicians who Buzzfeed said were there did…
Read the full storyDepartment of Education Going After Elite Colleges for Allegedly Taking and Hiding Foreign Cash
by Luke Rosiak The Department of Education is going after U.S universities over supposed ties to foreign governments, after some allegedly took huge quantities of foreign cash and hid it from regulators. At the top of the list are Georgetown University and Texas A&M, which have taken hundreds of millions of dollars from the government of Qatar, a middle eastern nation with suspected links to international terrorism. Both schools received letters from the Department of Education Thursday saying they should have disclosed that funding but their filings “may not fully capture” the activity, the Associated Press reported. The letter warned that they could be referred to the attorney general to “compel compliance.” Georgetown was also asked about possible ties to Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, as well as Saudi Arabian money. Both schools were ordered to disclose funding from Huawei and ZTE, Chinese firms suspected of spying. Top Foreign Funders of U.S. Universities, 2011-2016 (Source: Department of Education) Country Amount Qatar $1,024,065,043 England $761,586,394 Saudi Arabia $613,608,797 China $426,526,085 Canada $402,535,603 Hong Kong $394,446,859 China In February, a Senate investigative subcommittee released a bipartisan, 100-page report that found that not only had China been pouring money into the U.S. for a…
Read the full storyElite Universities Hide Information on Funding From Ultraconservative Nation of Qatar
by Luke Rosiak The nation of Qatar, a Sharia-law monarchy that has been accused of trying to influence other countries’ governments, gave $1 billion to elite American universities since 2011, according to Department of Education data. Some universities have refused to discuss where strings are attached to that money. The Qatar Foundation, for example, filed a lawsuit against the Texas attorney general Oct. 12 to hide information about the $225 million Qatar has awarded to Texas A&M University since 2011. The Qatar Foundation hired the politically connected powerhouse law firm Squire Patton Boggs for the suit, which was filed in response to a researcher’s public information request regarding the foreign funding. The biggest recipient of Qatar’s educational funding, Georgetown University, repeatedly ignored requests from The Daily Caller News Foundation for basic information about the funding and whether it implicates academic independence. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have accused Qatar of meddling in other nations’ internal affairs as well as funding terrorism. Qatar also wields influence through its media group, Al Jazeera. Top Foreign Funders of U.S. Universities, 2011-2016 (Source: Department of Education) Country Amount Qatar $1,024,065,043 England $761,586,394 Saudi Arabia $613,608,797 China $426,526,085 Canada $402,535,603 Hong Kong $394,446,859 For a nation…
Read the full storySenator Bob Corker Continues to Undermine President Trump, This Time Over Qatar
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) continued his recent history of publicly undermining President Trump this week, allowing himself on Tuesday to be portrayed as “speechless” over President Trump’s recent tweets about the country of Qatar. “President Trump set off a firestorm Tuesday when he conducted diplomacy-by-tweet, with key lawmakers stunned at the president’s flippant approach to a growing Middle East crisis and even the Pentagon saying it couldn’t explain the president’s comments,” the Hill reported: Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was left stunned and speechless when told by reporters of Trump’s tweets. Told by a reporter that Trump accused Qatar of being a state sponsor of terrorism, Corker responded, in a notably lower register, “The president?” Reporters caught Corker a few hours after Trump’s morning tweets, in which he took credit for the decision by Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries to cut off ties with Qatar, an ally that is home to a large base with as many as 10,000 U.S. military personnel. “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “So…
Read the full storyTrump Doctrine: Saudis Lead Crackdown on Qatar Over Terror-Ties
While the Trump administration is saying it wants to help resolve the dispute between Qatar and seven Arab nations, the White House may have encouraged Arab allies to take action against Qatar, a small Arab state known for its suspect foreign policy. The encouragement may have been unknowing. But Trump’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia, where…
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