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Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by kchoudhu on Sunday April 16, 2017 @05:26PM (#14127617)
Qatar isn't exactly a friend to US interests in the middle east. Be careful of awarding them the title of "ally".
Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by bogomipz on Sunday April 16, 2017 @06:35PM (#14127945)
Centcom has had a forward air base in Qatar for the better part of 20 years now(circa 2000.) The US also has also sold the Qatari government billions of dollars in arms. I would say that's a pretty big indicator that they are a strategic ally of the U.S., despite whatever complexities that relationship has.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-qatar-idUSKBN0FJ2M8201...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Sayliyah_Army_Base

Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by bigbugbag on Monday April 17, 2017 @05:45AM (#14130024)

  Despite hosting this strategic military installation, 
  Qatar is not always a strong Western ally. Qatar has 
  allowed the Afghan Taliban to set up a political office 
  inside the country and has close ties to Iran, including a 
  shared natural gas field. According to leaked documents 
  published in The New York Times, Qatar's record of 
  counter-terrorism efforts was the "worst in the region". 
  The cable suggested that Qatar's security service was 
  "hesitant to act against known terrorists out of concern 
  for appearing to be aligned with the U.S. and provoking 
  reprisals".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar#Foreign_relations
Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by bogomipz on Monday April 17, 2017 @09:43AM (#14130783)
>"Qatar has allowed the Afghan Taliban to set up a political office inside the country and has close ties to Iran"

You should have looked a little further:

"Senior leaders of the Taliban are currently stationed in Doha, Qatar. The original purpose for the Taliban leaders’ presence in Qatar was to open an office that would facilitate reconciliation between members of the Taliban, Afghanistan, the U.S. and other countries. However, shortly after the opening of the Taliban office in 2013, the office was closed by the Qatari government."[1]

>"According to leaked documents published in The New York Times, Qatar's record of counter-terrorism efforts was the "worst in the region"."

That cable was part of the wikileaks dumps and the quote was widely seen as both suspect and confounding:

"The details offered in these cables are particularly strange when compared with a 2008 Congressional Research Service report for Congress.

The U.S. State Department called Qatar's terrorism support since 9/11 "significant," according to the CRS report. Since the attacks, Qatar established both a Combating Terrorism Law and the Qatar Authority for Charitable Activities (QACA) in March of 2004."[2]

>"and has close ties to Iran, including a shared natural gas field."

So you are faulting a country for having shared business interests with their neighbor in the region? You realize shared business interests represent stability right? You also realize that the Iran is fighting Isis in both Iraq and Syria right?

sources:

[1] "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban_in_Qatar"

[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/11/qa...

Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by boomboomsubban on Sunday April 16, 2017 @05:41PM (#14127686)
They have two US air force bases, and we just sold them eleven billion dollars of arms. There is no question that they are an ally, there's just a chance that will change.
Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by Cyph0n on Sunday April 16, 2017 @06:31PM (#14127928)
Ehhh Qatar hosts one of the largest USAF bases in the Middle East. They are definitely a close US ally.
Re:Leak Suggests NSA Was Deep in Middle East Banking System by kchoudhu on Monday April 17, 2017 @01:35AM (#14129379)
I'm well aware: I live in Qatar.

All I'm saying is that it is important to look at what the left hand is doing even while praising the actions of the right hand.