Qatar bankrolls Terrorists in Syria with cash and arms:FT
The gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the “rebellion” in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to “rebels”.
In dozens of interviews with the Financial Times conducted in recent weeks, “rebel” leaders both abroad and within Syria as well as regional and western officials detailed Qatar’s role in the crisis in Syria, a source of mounting controversy.
The small state with a gargantuan appetite is the biggest donor to the political opposition, providing generous refugee packages to defectors (one estimate puts it at $50,000 a year for a defector and his family) .
For Qatar, owner of the world’s third-largest gas reserves, its intervention in Syria is part of an aggressive quest for global recognition and is merely the latest chapter in its attempt to establish itself as a major player in the region
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms transfers, Qatar has sent the most weapons deliveries to Syria, with more than 70 military cargo flights into neighboring Turkey between April 2012 and March this year.
But though its approach is driven more by pragmatism and opportunism, than ideology, Qatar has become entangled in the polarized politics of the region, setting off scathing criticism. “You can’t buy a revolution,” says an opposition businessman.
The relegation of Qatar to second place in providing weapons follows concern in the West and among other Arab states that weapons it supplies could fall into the hands of an al-Qaeda-linked group, Jabhat al-Nusrah.
Diplomats also say the Qataris have had trouble securing a steady supply of arms, something the Saudis have been able to do via their more developed networks.
A supply route across Jordan’s border to southern Syria has opened up in recent months. The Jordanian government, which is terrified of jihadis getting the upper hand in its neighbour, has been reluctantly allowing Saudi deliveries.
M.D