Well this is just gonna enflame the Middle East some more. Apparently, when Qatar cried foul and said they were hacked and framed so that the rest of the gulf states could attack them, they weren’t lying.
Our intelligence agencies say that’s exactly what happened [via the Washington Post]:
The United Arab Emirates orchestrated the hacking of Qatari government news and social media sites in order to post incendiary false quotes attributed to Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, in late May that sparked the ongoing upheaval between Qatar and its neighbors, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
Officials became aware last week that newly analyzed information gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed that on May 23, senior members of the UAE government discussed the plan and its implementation. The officials said it remains unclear whether the UAE carried out the hacks itself or contracted to have them done. The false reports said that the emir, among other things, had called Iran an “Islamic power” and praised Hamas.
The hacks and posting took place on May 24, shortly after President Trump completed a lengthy counterterrorism meeting with Persian Gulf leaders in neighboring Saudi Arabia and declared them unified.
Wow. You would hope that getting the truth out might actually mend some hurt feelings but it won’t. Expect more accusations and recriminations and a wedge to be driven further between Qatar and the other gulf states.
And that’s great news to Iran and Turkey, who have been trying to wriggle their way into Qatar’s good graces.
SO what was this about?
During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
Was he just fooled by the Saudis and the gulf states?
So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
…extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
I mean… it’s kinda embarrassing for the president to have his own intelligence services basically call him a dimwit on his assessment of the villain in the Middle East, right?
What a mess.