Here it is, right from the horse’s mouth! Qatar’s former prime minister spills his guts about how his country worked with Saudi Arabia and Turkey under the direction of the United States – meaning then the Obama Administration – to funnel arms and money to jihad terrorists in Syria:
The explosive interview constitutes a high level ‘public admission to collusion and coordination between four countries to destabilize an independent state, [including] possible support for Nusra/al-Qaeda.’ … Former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who oversaw Syria operations on behalf of Qatar until 2013,… said while acknowledging Gulf nations were arming jihadists in Syria with the approval and support of US and Turkey: ‘I don’t want to go into details but we have full documents about us taking charge [in Syria].’ He claimed that both Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah (who reigned until his death in 2015) and the United States placed Qatar in a lead role concerning covert operations to execute the proxy war.
The former prime minister’s comments, while very revealing, were intended as a defense and excuse of Qatar’s support for terrorism, and as a critique of the US and Saudi Arabia for essentially leaving Qatar ‘holding the bag’ in terms of the war against Assad. Al-Thani explained that Qatar continued its financing of armed insurgents in Syria while other countries eventually wound down large-scale support, which is why he lashed out at the US and the Saudis, who initially ‘were with us in the same trench.’ [“In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War,” Zero Hedge, October 29]
Busted! Consider the vulnerability of the former U.S. officials who were in charge at that time, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Just now, the latter had had her worst week since losing the election with the revelations about the Steele dossier, the Uranium One caper, and the Podesta Group’s implication in “RussiaGate.” The only thing now is to sit back and watch the fireworks show! From Tom Luongo (citing Zero Hedge):
Folks, I’ve been telling you for days now that the containment wall around Hillary Clinton has been breaking down. Now Qatar, which really has nothing to lose at this point outing the Obama Administration’s complicity in this, especially since the Saudis turned on them and tried to make them the scapegoat for the failed insurgency in Syria.
But, to directly finger the U.S. CIA and State Departments, then under the control of Hillary Clinton, is absolutely the most damaging thing they could possibly do at this point in time.
Here it comes! You almost have to feel sorry for poor Hillary! The Trump team and their media supporters – starting with Fox News, which had been dancing on Hillary’s political grave all last week – will be all over this story in no time!
Except they weren’t. While Luongo pointed to what should have happened, there was not a peep from anyone in the Administration. Nor anything on Fox. Both were as mum as the mainstream media, which predictably were as silent as the graves of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians slaughtered by the jihadists.
No fireworks, just the chirping of crickets. As I predicted at the time, the Qatari story would be totally ignored by the American mainstream media. In fact, not a single major outlet in the United States ran the story, though there were a few English-language articles in the Middle East. The only appearances in the U.S. were alternative media like Zero Hedge, the Ron Paul Institute, Antiwar.com, and a few others, mostly bloggers picking up from Zero Hedge.
In short, far from a blockbuster, it was a non-event. Non-news. It didn’t happen. The story wasn’t even noticed by those who had a direct, partisan political interest in hyping it.
Just like last time.
Recall: in August 2016 Donald Trump accused Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of being respectively the “founder” and “co-founder” of ISIS. Outrage across the media and political world! The supposedly neutral fact-checkers leaped into action to denounce Trump. “False,” declared FactCheck.org. Flirting with “conspiracy theories,” sniffed Snopes. “Pants on Fire,” pronounced PolitiFact.
Well, sure, what do you expect from the MSM and their pet gatekeepers? How much sweeter the victory would be when Team Trump hits back with the proof! In eager anticipation I emailed a few contacts working on the campaign (August 11, 2016):
‘We all know MSM are liars, but DJT’s accusation that Obama and Hillary are founder and co-founder of ISIS is true. Putting money and weapons into support for jihadists was foreseen (when Hillary was SecState) in 2012 DIA memo to result in “salafist principality,” what became ISIS in 2013. Flynn has said this was not a “blind eye,” it was a “willful decision”!
‘I haven’t seen a peep about this memo and Flynn’s comments in any outlet yet re the “founder/co-founder” accusation. Are you going to put out something from the campaign? Do you want me to draft something?
‘Jim’
The response: “Write something from your angle first.”
Sure, no problem, I’m happy to serve it up. For the good of the cause! Make America Great Again! I wrote back:
‘Feel free to use — let me know.
‘MEDIA IGNORE D.I.A. MEMO THAT PROVES TRUMP’S CLAIM THAT OBAMA AND CLINTON ‘FOUNDED’ I.S.I.S.
‘The latest example of the major media’s “in the tank for Hillary” behavior is the hysterical response to Donald J. Trump’s accusation that President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the “founder” and “co-founder,” respectively of the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL).
‘Not one major media outlet has bothered to mention the official document that proves the absolute truth of Mr. Trump’s charges.
‘In 2015, subject to a FOIA request from Judicial Watch, an August 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report was made public. It specified that outside support for jihadist forces – in which al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and the Muslim Brotherhood figured prominently – fighting against the Syrian government created the “possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist [radical Islamic terrorist] principality in Eastern Syria, and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime.” Hillary Clinton was at that time Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.
‘The following year, in April 2013, the predicted “Salafist principality” did indeed come into existence, with the AQI’s declarating itself as the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” – ISIS.
‘As Mr. Trump has pointed out, a necessary precondition for the emergence of ISIS was Barack Obama’s precipitous withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, which facilitated AQI’s extending its operations into Syria. But also essential was the reckless decision of the Obama White House and Clinton State Department to pursue in Syria the same “regime change” policy that had led to disaster in Libya. This meant pumping money and weapons into the Syrian war in support of al-Qaeda-led jihadists.
‘Last year, commenting on the 2012 report, General Michael Flynn, formerly DIA director and now an adviser to Mr. Trump, commented that the rise of what became ISIS was not a result of turning a “blind eye” but of a “willful decision” to allow the anticipated “Salafist principality” to come into being. As General Flynn commented in an Al Jazeera interview:
Hasan: You are basically saying that even in government at the time you knew these groups were around, you saw this analysis, and you were arguing against it, but who wasn’t listening?
Flynn: I think the administration.
Hasan: So the administration turned a blind eye to your analysis?
Flynn: I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision.
Hasan: A willful decision to support an insurgency that had Salafists, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood?
Flynn: It was a willful decision to do what they’re doing.
‘The record is clear. Barely a year into the Syrian war, the Obama Administration knew a jihadist quasi-state would form if support for terrorists continued. As a “willful decision,” the Obama Administration, in cooperation with regional allies, continued that support that led to the formation of ISIS, exactly as expected. Obama’s role as the “founder” and Hillary’s as “cofounder” couldn’t be clearer.’
After that there was no response from Team Trump. Even Flynn, who was already on the record as of 2015, made no reference to the smoking gun from DIA – the very agency he had once headed!
In short, for whatever reason, even at that early date – August 2016 – Trump’s operation was already in the hands of people who were committed to the Deep State’s perspectives. No, arming jihadists in Syria wasn’t the problem. Nor was overthrowing Kaddafi and sloshing the region with Libyan weapons. Nor was ousting Saddam Hussein and opening up Iraq to both Iran and al-Qaeda. The only admissible mistake was pulling out from someplace we had deployed American forces.
For what it was worth, I decided to publish a version of my spurned talking points as a commentary in Chronicles magazine. A few others also took note of the DIA memo, such as Alex Newman of The New American. That was about it.
Ever the masochist, I decided to contact Louis Jacobson and Amy Sherman, the two relevant hacks at PolitiFact (August 12):
Dear Mr. Jacobson and Ms. Sherman
This is Jim Jatras. I am a former US diplomat and former foreign policy adviser to the US Senate Republican leadership.
I don’t know how it is possible give a ‘truth-o-meter’ rating of ‘pants on fire’ to Trump’s claim that Obama and Hillary founded ISIS without even passing reference to the August 2012 DIA report that said if the western powers, Gulf States, and Turkey kept aiding radical Islamic forces in Syria – led by al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Muslim Brotherhood – it could result in the appearance of a ‘Salafist principality’ in eastern Syria. That is just what happened, in the form of ISIS’s declaration of statehood a few months later in April 2013. General Michael Flynn, formerly DIA director, has said on the record that that result was not a result of a ‘blind eye’ but was a ‘willful decision.’ The memo itself also is specific that that outcome was desired by the ‘supporting powers’ and that they knew the nature of the forces they were supporting.
Consider intent, causation, and effect. An intelligence service says, in sum, if you keep doing A you’re likely to get B. So they keep doing A as a deliberate policy choice, B results right on cue. ‘Sarcasm’ aside, what Trump said is accurate.
On the assumption that your omitting this aspect was a simple oversight and not evidence that Politifact is ‘in the tank’ for #WarmongerHillary like the rest of the MSM, please consider amending your judgment to refer to and cite my commentary below. I am available to answer any questions or provide more information, either by email or at [xxxxxxx].
Regards
Jim
I should learn not to waste my time.
Reprinted with permission from Strategic Culture Foundation.
