New Laws of Commercial Registration and Trade Names take effect on Thursday    Civil Defense warns of heavy rains across Saudi Arabia until Monday    Saudi Exchange suspends trading of seven companies over financial disclosure delays    New fleet of 76 public transport buses starts operation in Jeddah on Tuesday Environmentally friendly electric buses introduced for first time    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    EU preparing 'further countermeasures' to protect its interest, von der Leyen says    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Qatar playing havoc with black money
Published in Alriyadh on 13 - 06 - 2017

Gulf countries are greatly concerned about Qatar using its large stockpile of black money to fund terrorism and spark unrest in the region. Despite its foreign debt of US$ 172 billion, Qatar has been putting its underground wealth to full use against Gulf and Arab security.
Qatar held the illusion that its underground economy was helping it emerge as a mighty force to reckon within the region. When Qatari policies were showing some effect in weaker countries, the country's leaders were led to believe that it was due to the strength of its currency. Qatar maintained the belief that it had the power to influence politics in some of the countries of the region. And this illusionary belief only encouraged the small country to pursue its policy of using black money to meet its political ends.
However, what Doha failed to realize was that it takes much more than wads of black money to dominate regional politics. Qatari politicians lack the political vision to play a leadership role in the region. This explains why Qatar brings in advisors from other countries to add finesse to its political decisions.
Azmi Bishara, former member of Israeli Knesset, became the mastermind of the Qatari policy and the countries godfather of sorts. This made Doha interfere in every conflict in the Arab world. It used its money to guide the political thinking in those conflicts based on its extremist agenda.
But as it turned out, Qatar was left in the lurch without making any real headway in its political agenda. Its lack of strategic vision or a sense of clear identity let it down. It only succeeded in fortifying its hostilities towards Gulf and Arab interests.
Despite Qatar's reckless policies, the world failed to see through its designs. It was only when Qatar's black money began feeding terrorism did the world sit up and take notice. In 2014, the Sunday newspaper urged British Prime Minister David Cameron to put the issue of terror financing on top of the agenda of talks with the Qatari Emir in London. The newspaper said that Cameron was duty-bound to pressurize Qatar to block all channels of funding to the Daesh terrorist group.
Sources say that Qatar allocated US$ 7.9 billion to finance terrorist organizations in 2010. The amount rose to US$ 10.4 billion in 2011 before jumping to US$ 11.4 million in 2012.
In 2013, Qatar increased its terror funding to US$ 12.2 billion. It rose to US$ 12.6 billion in 2014, dipping to US$ 9.9 billion in 2015, according to the sources.
Washington Times has reported that Qatar was funding Daesh with black money, and was harming the interests of its fellow Gulf states. Besides the Qatari riyal, the Al-Jazeera channel, with its venomous and biased reporting, worked as an additional force to destabilize the security and stability of Egypt. Libya has also complained about constant Qatari interference.
Observers feel that Qatar's policy of defiance against Gulf and Arab consensus has come to such a stead that the road to restoring relations is rather long-winding and strewn with pitfalls.


Clic here to read the story from its source.