Latest Articles

Qatar's Support of The Worst of the Worst In Libya Must End

August 6, 2017  •  Newsweek

Libya's eastern-based government joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in cutting ties with Qatar in June, with Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Deri asserting that Doha was "harboring terrorism." The move reflected longstanding grievances expressed by Libya's non-Islamist forces about Qatar's sponsorship of extremists in the war-torn country. And while the meddling in Libya doesn't get a lot of coverage, it remains one of the key grievances of Qatar's foes in the current diplomatic crisis.

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Hamas to Remain on the EU Terror List

August 2, 2017  •  Real Clear Defense

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict may be raging over the Temple Mount, but another front has just opened in Brussels.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on July 26 rejected the assessment of its advocate general who had concluded in September that the right paperwork was not filed in the evidence that kept Hamas on Europe's terrorism list between 2010 and 2014.

The decision was a blow to Hamas. The group was already celebrating a bureaucratic if inconsequential victory. At issue was not whether Hamas is a violent extremist group. Rather, the question was whether the supporting documentation for Hamas's terror listing between 2010 and 2014 was based too heavily on media reports rather than on its own investigations.

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These days, it's the clash of the Arabian Gulf cash in Washington

June 23, 2017  •  The Hill

A nasty internecine conflict has erupted in the Arabian Gulf. Led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a gaggle of Arab states have singled out the tiny emirate of Qatar for backing a wide range of terrorist groups and fomenting regional unrest through its sponsorship of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar's opponents have severed diplomatic ties and neighboring states even took the extraordinary measure of cutting off air, land and maritime routes to Qatar.

Both sides have now lawyered-up, and they're taking their battle to Washington. It's the clash of the Gulf cash.

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There's No Such Thing as the 'Arab Street'

May 16, 2017  •  Wall Street Journal

Washington has stopped trying to figure out the "Arab Street." From what I can tell it happened somewhere around Nov. 9, 2016. America is probably better off for it.

I'm not saying we should ignore public opinion in the Arab world. Nor should we ignore its politics. The Middle East, and what happens there, is of crucial concern to American policy makers and interests.

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By Hosting Hamas, Qatar is Whitewashing Terror

May 11, 2017  •  Newsweek

After getting booted from their first two hotels in Qatar over concerns of violating U.S. terror finance sanctions laws, Hamas leaders held a press conference last week at the Sheraton Grand Doha hotel to announce the release of a new political document. The document, promoted as a more moderate version of the group's founding charter, is neither a new charter nor is it moderate. Hamas remains committed to violence as a strategy. But the entire episode serves to highlight an ongoing problem: Qatar, nominally an American ally, regularly aids in the whitewashing of terrorist organizations.

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Books by Jonathan Schanzer