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Britain Has Sold Its Soul with the Qatari Deal

David Cameron has signed a security agreement with the
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al[-]Thani

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Our latest defence accord is with a country that plays host to terrorists at home and funds them abroad

Cars bearing the logos of Islamic State (Isil) drive around the streets. Within sight of the city centre lies the only official overseas mission of the Taliban. Jihadis sowing instability in perhaps 15 countries, from Algeria to Pakistan, direct their operations from pleasant villas in the suburbs – or, in the case of the terror group Hamas, from suites in the best hotels, where they can sometimes be seen relaxing by the pool.

The mosques host some of the world’s most influential extremist ideologues, their words pinged round the globe via their personal television channels. Hundreds of millions of pounds flow to organisations defined by Britain as terrorist, much of it from the government itself.

An official of that government, Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al‑Kuwari, channelled many such dollars to al-Qaeda while working for the interior ministry, according to the US Treasury department. The foreign minister’s cousin was detained in Lebanon, also for financing al-Qaeda; he was then convicted in his absence, after his government reportedly applied intense pressure on Lebanon to free him before trial.

This is Qatar, the country with which David Cameron has just signed a defence and security agreement. Did the deal, perhaps, include a promise by the Qataris to stop this sort of behaviour? Did it commit Qatar to end its support for the Islamist militias who have helped reduce Libya to anarchy, or to kick out the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood? It did not.

In fact, it was Britain that made the concessions, committing to share its classified intelligence and expertise with the Qatari state, and agreeing to work more closely with its security forces. We were told that Mr Cameron would talk tough at his meeting with the Emir of Qatar last week. Instead, he seems to have spent much of his time asking for money. Read on and comment » | Andrew Gilligan | Friday, November 07, 2014

My comment:

When I look at Cameron's visage in the newspapers, I see nothing but a weak, ineffectual fool of a man. By the time this man finishes, he's going to make Neville Chamberlain look like Genghis Khan!

Our country is certainly not safe in Cameron's hands.

I speak as a died-in-the-wool Conservative: The sooner we get rid of this clown, the better it will be for all of us. He's a menace to British society. – © Mark Alexander

This comment also appears here

PM Cameron Appeals to Qatar Emir for More Investment

REUTERS UK: (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday urged Qatar to plough more of its vast oil and gas wealth into infrastructure projects across Britain during an official visit from the Gulf state's emir.

Cameron asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to consider further funding to help Britain's push to develop cities in the north of the country and connect them to London using a high speed rail line, a statement released by his office said.

Qatar is one of the world's richest countries and is already heavily invested in British firms and property.

Among its highest profile investments are London's tallest building, the Shard, which was funded by the Qatari royal family, and the upmarket Harrods department store owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority.

"The Prime Minister ... encouraged the Emir to consider more opportunities across the country, particularly the government’s plan to establish a Northern Powerhouse by connecting our great Northern cities and the development of high speed rail," the statement said. » | William James | London | Thursday, October 30, 2014

David Cameron Urged to Press Emir of Qatar on Terror Funds

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will arrive in Britain amid a growing furore over his country’s alleged links to the financing of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and al-Qaeda

David Cameron is under intense pressure to hold face-to-face talks with the Emir of Qatar this week to demand that the Gulf state cuts off the flow of funding to terrorists.

The Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will arrive in Britain amid a growing furore over his country’s alleged links to the financing of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and al-Qaeda.

The Prime Minister will host the Qatari ruler and his entourage for lunch in No 10 as part of talks to attract billions of pounds of investment.

However, Mr Cameron is facing demands to press Sheikh al-Thani to take stronger action against jihadi financiers in Qatar. » | Robert Mendick, Tim Ross and Mark Hollingsworth | Saturday, October 25, 2014

Qatari Emir Buys Six Greek Islands for a Song
THE GUARDIAN: Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani pays €8.5m for Ionian retreats for family with seller happy to strike deal after 18 months of red tape


The suitor is one of the world's wealthiest men; the location happens to be the eurozone's poorest country. But in an unlikely coming together of economic circumstances, the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has opted to splash out €8.5m (£7.35m) on six idyllic isles in the Ionian sea.

Closure of the deal – the latest in a global shopping spree that has seen the sheikh's property portfolio spread from London to Beijing – has been met with glee in Greece, the west's most bankrupt state, and Doha, where the royal household experienced 18 months of excruciating drama to take possession of the outcrops.

"Greece is that kind of place," said Ioannis Kassianos, Ithaca's straight-talking Greek-American mayor. "Even when you buy an island, even if you are the emir of Qatar, it takes a year and a half for all the paperwork to go through."

The isles, known as the Echinades, caught the oil-rich monarch's fancy when he moored his super-yacht in the turquoise waters off Ithaca, took in the view and liked what he saw. That was four summers ago.

When the royal eventually got off the yacht, he inquired about the pine-covered chain as he strolled about Ithaca in sandals and shorts. "They have a fund with a couple of hundred million in it," enthused Kassianos, a former US economics professor who assumed the mayorship of Homer's fabled isle three years ago. "And as far as I know they want to buy all 18 of the islands, the whole lot." » | Helena Smith in Athens | Tuesday 5 March 2013

Qatari Emir on Historic Visit to Gaza Strip
The Emir of Qatar is in the Gaza Strip. He's the first head of state to visit the territory since Hamas took control in 2007. But his visit won't be taking him to the West Bank to meet Fatah. And as Nicole Johnston reports, that's causing quite a regional stir.