Thursday, February 26, 2015

Arabs: Why is Obama Siding with Supporters of Terrorism?


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Arabs: Why is Obama Siding with Supporters of Terrorism?

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  February 26, 2015 at 5:00 am
Many Arabs and Muslims see the meeting between Obama and Qatar's al-Thani as a gift to Qatar for its continued support of Islamic radical groups across the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
On the eve of Obama's meeting, Egyptian sources revealed that Qatar was providing weapons and ammunition to members of the Islamic State in Libya. The sources said that 35 Qatari aircraft were involved in transferring munitions.
Arab political analysts are also concerned about Obama's ongoing attempts to appease Iran, which continues to expand its presence in Arab countries such as Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon -- as well as in Syria, where it is deeply involved in backing Hezbollah and operating along the border with Israel. A Reuters report revealed that Iran also has hundreds of advisors in Iraq.
Qatar is also one of the biggest funders of Hamas, whose leader, Khaled Mashaal, is based in Qatar's capital, Doha. During the past few years, Qatar has provided Hamas with hundreds of millions of dollars -- money used to purchase and develop weapons to attack Israel.
By the time Obama leaves the White House, Iran will most likely be in control of more Arab countries, and Qatari-backed terror groups will be much stronger.
U.S. President Barack Obama shares some laughs with Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the White House, February 24, 2015. (Image source: C-SPAN video screenshot)
The Egyptians are furious with U.S. President Barack Obama for meeting in the White House this week with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. They say that the Obama Administration has once again turned its back on moderate Arabs and Muslims by endorsing those who support and fund Islamic terror groups.
The meeting between Obama and the emir of Qatar came shortly after Egypt accused the emirate of supporting terrorism.
Obama was quoted as saying that "Qatar is a strong partner in our coalition to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL. We are both committed to making sure that ISIL [ISIS/Islamic State] is defeated, to making sure that in Iraq there is an opportunity for all people to live together in peace."
Obama's decision to host the emir of Qatar and his ensuing statements in praise of the emirate's role in "combating" the Islamic State have drawn sharp criticism from the Egyptians and other Arabs and Muslims.

Turkey's Illusions Hit Realities

by Burak Bekdil  •  February 26, 2015 at 4:00 am
Apparently, the Turkish government does not want to confront ISIS.
Instead of taking modest pride in managing to have averted a crisis, the Turkish leadership portrayed the historic tomb's relocation as if Turkish special forces had abducted Syrian President Bashar Assad, rather than rescuing their own besieged soldiers and the roaming tomb of a pre-Ottoman Turkish commander.
Turkish soldiers prepare the new site for the relocation of Suleyman Shah's tomb in Syria, Feb. 21, 2015. (Image source: CNN video screenshot)
Turkey's dramatic miscalculation over Syria is pushing it into weird acts. The latest was the forced relocation of a pre-Ottoman Turkish commander's tomb from its spot in Syria to another spot in Syria, this time a stone's throw away from the Turkish border. Relocating the tomb seems to have been prompted by the fear of an attack from radical Islamists -- who, ironically, Turkey wanted discreetly to support.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who in 2001 authored the 600-page book, "Strategic Depth," hoped at the start of the Arab Spring, when he served as Foreign Minister, that a belt of (Sunni) Muslim Brotherhood-ruled regimes would proliferate in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Libya, and be subservient to an emerging Turkish empire. To start with Syria, therefore, the Nusayri strongman of the country, President Bashar al-Assad, had to go.
In August 2012, Davutoglu predicted that Assad's days in power were numbered "to a few weeks."

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