Army chiefs tell Government: stop Gulf states funding terrorism

06 October 2014

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11141539/Pressure-on-Government-to-take-action-against-Isil-funding.html

Government urged to put pressure on Gulf leaders into tackling extremism by strangling the funding of terrorist networks and the religious ideology that fuels them

The Telegraph has highlighted the links between a network of Qatari moneymen and terrorist fighters on the ground in Syria and Iraq Photo: Reuters

By Robert Mendick, Tim Ross and Patrick Sawer

Pressure is mounting on the Government to take action against wealthy Gulf states accused of funding Islamist terrorism after the beheading of Alan Henning, the British aid worker kidnapped in Syria.

Two retired generals and a former defence secretary claimed that nations such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia were helping the rise of violent extremism by channelling cash to terrorist groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), which carried out Mr Henning’s murder.

The trio of senior military figures said air strikes against Isil were insufficient to defeat the terrorist threat. Instead, they called on the Government to pressure Gulf leaders into tackling extremism by strangling the funding of terrorist networks and the religious ideology that fuels them.

Investigations by The Telegraph suggest that tens of millions of pounds have been raised for Isil — and al-Qaeda — by wealthy individuals in the Gulf region while its leaders have “turned a blind eye” to the problem or been complicit in funding certain groups.

In a series of exposés, The Telegraph has highlighted the links between a network of Qatari moneymen and terrorist fighters on the ground in Syria and Iraq.

Lord Dannatt, a former Chief of the General Staff, said: “It is completely unacceptable that some individuals in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere see advantage in channelling large sums of money to the so-called Islamic State.”

Lord Dannatt called on the Government to insist that Gulf regimes dismantle terror fundraising networks before being allowed to buy further stakes in major UK projects. Qatar, for example, already owns a number of landmarks such as Harrods and The Shard skyscraper, as well as having large shareholdings in major British companies.

“It is not just governments in Doha or Riyadh that need to take action, but those in London and elsewhere have a responsibility to act too,” said Lord Dannatt.

Lord Dannatt wants Gulf regimes to dismantle terror fundraising networks (Julian Simmonds/The Telegraph)

“It is not acceptable, for example, to welcome large capital injections into prestige projects like The Shard in London while not exerting the strongest pressure on the Qatari Government to crack down on some of their own citizens. Such potential hypocrisy runs the risk of undermining many of the other political and military actions being taken to discredit and destroy the caliphate ambitions of the jihadists.”

General Jonathan Shaw, a former assistant chief of the Defence Staff who oversaw Britain’s withdrawal from Basra in southern Iraq, said the current military campaign was “futile” unless the underlying ideology was also tackled head on. “It [this ideology] is funded by Saudi and Qatari money and that must stop,” said Gen Shaw. “I would far rather see a much stronger handle on the ideological battle rather than the physical battle.”

Liam Fox says that Isil is well-funded (Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph)

Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, also writing for the Telegraph, accused the Gulf governments themselves of financing terrorists.

“Isil is well-funded,” said Dr Fox. “Money has been flowing from rich individuals in the Gulf states, if not their governments, to finance them and their Sunni allies in their battle against the Assad regime.” The calls by the trio of former defence chiefs echo growing consternation over the failure to act. Last week, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the chairman of Parliament’s intelligence and security committee, singled out Qatar for tougher international action — including possible sanctions — if it continued to allow fundraising for terrorist groups.

In a recent speech, Sir Richard Dearlove, a former head of MI6, accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of, at the very least, “turning a blind eye” to terror fundraising.

“For Isil to be able to surge into the Sunni areas of Iraq in the way that it has done recently has to be the consequence of substantial and sustained funding,” said Sir Richard. “Such things simply do not happen spontaneously.”

Last month, however, in the first interview he has given, Qatar’s emir flatly denied the connection to terrorism. “We don’t fund extremists,” said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. “If you talk about certain movements, especially in Syria and Iraq, we all consider them terrorist movements.”

The murder of Mr Henning, 47, a father of two who was on a voluntary aid convoy to Syria when he was taken hostage, has caused widespread revulsion and anger.

In a statement issued yesterday, his wife, Barbara, said: “As a family we are devastated by the news of his death. There are few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam, (his teenage children) and all of Alan’s family and friends are numb with grief.

“On behalf of the entire family, I want to thank everyone who campaigned for Alan’s release, who held vigils to pray for his safe return, and who condemned those who took him. Your efforts were a great support to us, and we take comfort in knowing how many people stood beside us in hoping for the best.”

She added: “Alan was a decent, caring human being. His interest was in the welfare of others. He will be remembered for this and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved and the people he helped.”

Colin Livesey, Mr Henning’s brother-in-law, suggested more should have been done to secure his release. “They could have done more months and months ago,” he said.

Yesterday Britain’s Muslim community voiced its despair at Mr Henning’s murder.

Dr Shuja Shafi, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “Alan was a friend of Muslims, and he will be mourned by Muslims.” Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, who accompanied Henning on his final trip to Syria, spoke of her “disbelief, shock and horror”. On behalf of the Manchester Central Mosque, she said: “We cannot comprehend that something so terrible can happen to such a wonderful and compassionate human being. News of his murder has left us all enraged and distraught.” But her statement was heavily critical of the Government for failing to secure his release.

“By joining the US Air Strikes, we handed Alan and many other Western hostages a death sentence,” it added.

David Cameron yesterday met officials from the intelligence agencies, the Foreign Office, Home Office, police and the military at Chequers to discuss the Government’s response to Mr Henning’s murder. The Prime Minister said: “We will be doing everything we can do to defeat this organisation which is ruthless, senseless and barbaric in the way it treats people.”

Security services are studying the video of the murder, released on Friday night, for further clues to the identity of “Jihadi John”, the British terrorist responsible for Mr Henning’s death and those of three other Western hostages, including David Haines. A second video posted by another British jihadist — Omar Hussain, 27, a former supermarket worker from High Wycombe — is now subject to a police investigation. In it, he challenges Mr Cameron to send ground troops to Iraq.

This week, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and European interior ministers will discuss plans to try to stop Islamist extremists who are EU citizens from returning.