The US must designate Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism - opinion

The October 7 massacre by Hamas was not only the deadliest against Jews since the Holocaust but of an unparalleled degree of barbarity, whose actions US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has described as “worse than what I saw with ISIS.”

Many have responded by identifying Iran as the culprit of concern behind Hamas. Indeed, Iran is a regional threat of paramount importance. The US has deployed two aircraft carriers to deter Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah – which has an arsenal exceeding 150,000 rockets and receives 700 million USD annually from Tehran – from instigating regional war, which beckons as Iran nears its first nuclear bomb.

However, lurking in Iran’s shadow is a US non-NATO major ally that has potentially become Hamas’s greatest financier – Qatar. Since 2021, Qatar has reportedly funneled an estimated $360 million a year to Hamas, while Iran has reportedly channeled $100 million annually. Between 2012 and 2021, Qatar was estimated to have given Hamas $1.8 billion. 

While Qatar in more recent years has seemingly given Hamas more money than Iran, America’s treatment of Qatar, however, could not be more different. While the US sanctions Iran as a state-sponsor of terrorism, it regards Qatar as a close ally. With 27 Americans now dead at the hands of Hamas, Qatar has American blood on its hands. It’s time to fix the disparity and designate Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism.

America has no excuse for ignorance when it comes to realizing the dangers of its relationship with Qatar, having borne the brunt of Qatar’s support for terrorism. Qatar provided safe haven to Al Qaeda member and 9/11 mastermind, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (KSM). In Qatar, he plotted the attacks and received a salary from a state ministry. KSM would eventually escape to Pakistan as US troops closed in on capturing him. It’s possible a Qatari royal tipped him off and enabled his escape. Approximately five years later, roughly 3,000 Americans died in the 9/11 attacks.

Through its state-sponsored Al Jazeera network, Qatar also amplified the voices of anti-American terrorists, having publicized Osama Bin Laden’s messages and filmed ambushes of US troops at booby traps in Iraq, gestures that surely fueled more insurgents to fight Americans. 

NOWADAYS, QATAR functions as a safe haven for Hamas, where it operates an office and coordinates with its state sponsors. Recently, Iran’s foreign minister met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha – Haniyeh’s current home – where the two “agreed to continue cooperation” to achieve Hamas’s goals. 

As it did for Al Qaeda, Al Jazeera now boosts Hamas’s image and talking points. It has referred to Hamas’s bomb makers – such as Yahya Ayyash – as martyrs, broadcast Hamas rallies, and now seeks to whitewash Hamas’s latest attempt at genocide. One article posted on Al Jazeera falsely claimed that “no such beheadings have been verified by any Israeli or international source – probably because they never happened,” despite The Jerusalem Post having now confirmed otherwise. 

Reportedly, another Al Jazeera story claims Israel fabricated photos of burned babies by doctoring a photo of a sick dog. These stories by Al Jazeera diminish the massacre and its victims, and bear semblance to Holocaust denial, which Al Jazeera has also promoted among other antisemitic content.

Through its money, safe havens, and media efforts, Qatar has sustained and fueled Hamas’s violent antisemitism. It’s worrisome that there are now ongoing “joint US-Qatari efforts to secure the release of Americans held hostage by Hamas,” given Qatar’s pro-terrorism agenda and unreliable status as an ally.

Qatar's mediation efforts come with an agenda

As Qatar now seeks to mediate between the US, Israel, and Hamas, Americans must beware. Historically, Qatar has sought to mediate in conflicts that it instigated in order to accomplish objectives consistent with its Islamist agenda, and in a manner that can allow it to distort its image as a sponsor of terrorism for one of a peacemaker.

One must never forget how Qatar harbored and allowed the Taliban to operate an office from Doha, only to restore the Taliban to power following mediation efforts it led with the US; nor Qatar’s efforts last month to help broker a prisoner swap between the US and Iran that compensated Iran with six billion dollars in oil revenues. Geopolitical expert, Richard Goldberg, predicted then that the deal would guarantee “more hostage-taking of American citizens.” One month later, there are now up to 250 hostages in Hamas captivity, including some Americans.

Many might wonder how Qatar has managed to coax the US into its mediator and ally role despite its affinity with terrorism. For years, Qatar has spent billions of dollars on US weaponry purchases, sponsoring US universities, and hosting the US Air Force’s Al Udeid Base. These investments have helped it feign a friendship that has compelled America to become more dependent upon Doha.

One thing remains certain, however. A nation that bolsters terrorism against another is no friend. No less one that has American blood on its hands. It’s time to designate Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

The writer is the director of policy education at StandWithUs and the Qatari Finance Fellow for the Middle East Forum. He is also regarded as an expert on counter-terrorism and the Middle East.