New York Times: Qatar Ignored Washington’s Warning, Kept Giving Missiles to Terrorists in Syria

WASHINGTON — The American “New York Times” revealed on Sunday that the Obama administration warned its Arab allies to keep one type of powerful weapon out of the armed terrorist groups’ hands: heat-seeking shoulder-fired missiles.

In a report published on its website, the newspaper said that  U.S. officials warned that the missiles could one day be used by terrorist groups, some of them affiliated with al-Qaeda, to shoot down civilian aircraft.

“One country ignored this warning: Qatar, the tiny, oil-and-gas-rich emirate that has been shipping arms to the armed groups fighting the Syrian government since2011,” the newspapers added.

It quoted four U.S. and Middle Eastern officials with knowledge of intelligence reports on the weapons as saying that Qatar has used a shadowy arms network to move at least two shipments of shoulder-fired missiles to Syrian gunmen.

According to the newspaper, deployment of the missiles comes at a time when U.S. officials expect President Barack Obama’s decision to provide “limited effort” to arm the armed groups in Syria might be interpreted by Qatar, along with other Arab countries supporting the terrorists, as a green light to drastically expand arms shipments.

The newspaper pointed out that Obama, during a private meeting in Washington in April, warned Qatar’s former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani about the dangers of arming Islamic radicals in Syria, although U.S. officials have been wary of applying pressure on the Qatari government.

It said that the United States has little leverage over Qatar on the Syria issue because it needs the Qataris’ help on other fronts. Qatar is poised to host peace talks between U.S. and Afghan officials and the Taliban. The U.S. Central Command’s forward base in Qatar gives the U.S. military a command post in the heart of a strategically vital but volatile region.

The newspaper noted that Qatar’s covert efforts to back armed groups in Syria began at the same time it was increasing its support for opposition fighters in Libya.

The Obama administration quietly blessed the arms shipments to Libya of machine guns, automatic rifles, mortars and ammunition, but U.S. officials later grew concerned as evidence grew that Qatar was giving the weapons to Islamic militants there, according to the New York Times.

The newspaper said that U.S. and Arab officials have expressed worry about something similar happening in Syria, where extremists in the north have turned into the most capable section of the “opposition”, in part because of the flow of weapons from Qatar.

H. Mustafa