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Giuliani's Ties to Qatar Raise Questions for Mr. 9/ll

November 29, 2007 11:48 AM

Marcus Baram Reports:

Giulianisties_mn Contracts awarded to Rudy Giuliani's private security firm in the Gulf state of Qatar were overseen by a government minister suspected of harboring the al Qaeda terrorist who planned the 9/ll attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, according to security consultants in the region.

New revelations about the extent of the contracts could pose a problem for a presidential contender who says he is the most qualified candidate to combat Islamic terrorism.

Since 2005, Giuliani Partners and its Giuliani Security & Safety (GS&S) unit has provided security consulting and advice in Qatar through contracts overseen by the country's Interior Ministry, which is currently run by a member of the royal family who has long been accused of supporting al Qaeda, according to security consultants familiar with the area.

The current interior minister, Sheik Abdullah Bin Khalid al-Thani, was suspected of sheltering Mohammed at his farm and tipping him off to the arrival of CIA and FBI teams coming to arrest the al Qaeda strategist back in 1996, according to the National Security Council's former chief counterterrorism adviser and ABC News consultant Richard A. Clarke, former CIA agent Robert Baer and a 2004 Congressional Research Service report.

"According to several counterterrorism experts who formerly worked for the U.S. government, Qatar's current Interior Minister and royal family member, Shaikh Abdullah bin Khalid Al-Thani briefly harbored Al Qaeda terrorists in 1996, including the suspected mastermind of the September 11th hijacking plot, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed," wrote Middle East policy analyst Jeremy M. Sharp in the CRS report.

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Khalid al-Thani is also believed to have welcomed Osama bin Laden on two visits to the farm, according to an Oct. 10, 2007 CRS study.

In late 2001, Mohammed again reportedly sought shelter in Qatar with the assistance of prominent patrons and another royal family member, Abdul Karim al-Thani, who was accused of operating a safe house for Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the terrorist who later became al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Giuliani's firm has provided security consulting in terms of protecting the Queen (known as the Emir's consort) and the perimeter of the royal court, according to security consultants familiar with the area. The firm also provided advice to the royal-family-owned Qatar Foundation about securing several education facilities and consulted on security at the 2006 Asian Games held in Qatar's capital, Doha, according to two recent U.S. ambassadors.

The firm has also provided security consulting to a giant natural gas processing facility named Ras Laffan and to Qatar's state-run oil company, Qatar Petroleum, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice.

The firm's liaison with the royal family is Ali Soufan, an Arabic-speaking former FBI agent who investigated the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and is currently the international director of GS&S, security consultants with knowledge of the contracts told ABC News.

Qatar is a strong U.S. ally in the region, and the government has cooperated with anti-terrorist initiatives, allowing a major American military base to be built there in the wake of 9/11.

But the Giuliani firm's contracts put them in contact with the interior ministry, which oversees all security contracts in the country.

"Any company that does security work in Qatar, they have to get permission from the interior ministry," ministry spokesman Hassan Sidibe told the Blotter on ABCNews.com. He referred calls about GS&S contracts to the ministry's Brig. Abdul al-Ansari, who did not return repeated calls and e-mails.

"Nothing goes on without their blessings," said a British security consultant who has worked in Qatar.

The firm's work in Qatar was too close for comfort to former law enforcement agents familiar with the country.

"We have a guy who could be president who's taking money from the same accounts that harbored terrorists," said Baer, the former CIA agent. "The general consensus is that [Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalid al-Thani] protected Khalid Sheik Mohammed and that they tipped him off and he's still the interior minister."

Baer recounted being introduced to al-Thani in a hotel lobby in Dubai several years ago while he was filming the George Clooney movie, "Syriana."

"Al-Thani was told, 'Here's Bob Baer.' I shook his hand, and I might as well have plugged his finger into a light socket -- he just jumped up and ran away," he said.

Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant and former FBI investigator who was part of the team aiming to arrest Mohammed in 1996, felt that the issue might hurt Giuliani's security bonafides.

"He's a single-issue candidate -- national security -- and this definitely makes for a strange bedfellow," he said.

Asked about whether it was appropriate for Giuliani to pursue business in a country where his firm's contracts are overseen by interior minister Khalid al-Thani, Clarke, the former national security council counterterror adviser, responded via e-mail, "Only if he had done due diligence to clear the suspicions."

The country's former ambassador, Chase Untermeyer, defended Giuliani's role in Qatar.

"The notion that it's some kind of rogue state is just wrong," he said. "This is me pretending to be a political reporter, but I don't see how any association should be a blight unless somebody wants to demagogue and assume that any Arab country is a nest of terrorist sympathizers."

Untermeyer says that as part of a recent reshuffling in the Qatari government, the interior minister kept his title but lost some clout to Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani, the minister of state for interior affairs.

"The man who has the title is a man who has a questionable past and is frequently suspected of sympathy and overt support for jihadis," he said. "But it's not unusual that the minister of state is the one who really runs the ministry and not the minister."

Yet Giuliani's contracts apparently began in 2005, when the interior minister was still in charge. When Giuliani visited Qatar in July 2005, he met with Untermeyer who says that Giuliani's firm already had contracts in place. The former ambassador, who recalls Giuliani asking many questions about the country's security situation and political and economic ties, was impressed with Giuliani.

"It's terrific that one candidate for the presidency has some familiarity with that part of the world," he says.

Patrick N. Theros, the previous U.S. ambassador to Qatar who currently runs the U.S.-Qatar Business Council, says that Giuliani's firm helped provide security for different installations -- "rent-a-cops, guys with a glove and a whistle and a radio." He says that they were hired by Qatar Foundation at one point to provide physical security around new education facilities and crowd control at the Asian Games.

Giuliani, who has consistently declined to reveal the identity of his firm's clients, hasn't always been discreet about his work in Qatar. He told South Africa's Business Times in June 2006 that he'd "recently helped Qatar" to transform Doha in preparation for the Asian Games.

When contacted for comment, Giuliani Partners spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said that the list of security consulting jobs in Qatar performed by GS&S was "not accurate" but declined to clarify.

Asked whether Giuliani or GS&S employees have met with members of the Interior Ministry, Mindel responded in an e-mail, "GP & GSS personnel participate in many meetings with organizations and individuals around the world. We do not as a rule discuss with whom our personnel are meeting nor do we confirm whether such meetings take place."

This post has been updated.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (24)

User Comments

So what? This only proves that Giuliani is a true GOP: hypocritical and two-faced to the core! Doesn't George Bush have such close ties to the Saudi Royals - as well as to the bin Laden family - that Prince Bandar is treated like a member of the Bush extended family? Didn't Dick Cheney's "real" employer just relocate to Dubai? Wake up and smell the coffee, people! GOP candidates are patriots only to their own bank accounts.

Posted by: Jordan | Nov 29, 2007 12:44:06 PM

Nice reporting Brian however, sadly, it should be no surprise to anyone that as time goes on -- Ghouliani is going to have some REAL serious skeletons bust out of the closet.

Posted by: KDR | Nov 29, 2007 12:52:30 PM

One more reason to cast him out. I thought we as a nation were trying to get away from all of the questionable dealings. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Posted by: Crashdmmy35 | Nov 29, 2007 12:53:35 PM

Rudy has lost his way. He shined as a federal prosecutor. As a political and business excutive power has gone to his head and he doesn't know which way is up. His cross dressing fetish is also disturbing. What is this man's subconscious yearnings? How would that manifest if he became President. Scary stuff. For a moment in time during the 9/11 crises, his peculiar big daddy personality worked really well. 99.99999999% his abbrassive, politics of fear and outrage and desire to manipulate people make him a better candidate as the host of a Fox Cable program, than the President of the U.S.

Posted by: maddymappo | Nov 29, 2007 12:57:55 PM

Seems to me that Rudy should be more concerned with the company he keeps(Placa, Kerik and now terrorist sympathisers) than with who's trimming Romney's bushes! And I wonder who did Rudy's landscaping... New York Cops?

Posted by: Uniblogger | Nov 29, 2007 12:59:14 PM

Rudy is just doing what Bush is doing. Talk tough and when you think no one is watching. take the money and run.And if you are caught. Just flash your GOP badge of honer

Posted by: morris evans | Nov 29, 2007 1:45:32 PM

Nothing I have seen including the
sparing with Gov. Romney, Bernie Kerak,
the pedofile priest friend or even his work during the 9-11 tragedy have given me any reason to vote for Mayor Guliani.
Now we learn that he(Rudy) is profiting
from the "terrorist threat".
Would you stop the terrorists if it means hurting your profits? I don't think so.

Posted by: blackie | Nov 29, 2007 1:48:07 PM

Rudy is one of the slimiest, crookedest pols ever to run for President. Also, the way he constantly weighs the 9/11 flag is truly sickening. He's built his entire career and fortune on this tragedy--what a parasite!

Posted by: Judith | Nov 29, 2007 1:48:49 PM

Corruption and hypcrisy in the Republican Party. This is news?????

Posted by: Scott | Nov 29, 2007 1:56:55 PM

Of course Gulliani's better equipped to deal with terrorists. He's in business with them, so he "deals" with them every day!

Posted by: Scott | Nov 29, 2007 1:58:19 PM

SCARY STUFF! Rudy is going to be a liability for the Republicans. Now is the time to distance from him if the Republicans want a shot at the White House. Rudy is the shadiest guy on both sides of the campaign.

Posted by: Concerned_Desi_of_America | Nov 29, 2007 2:04:41 PM

No surprise; this story just reinforces my belief that Rudy is a phony. The only thing more outrageous than the story itself is that it is getting virtually zero airplay.

Can we remind our Fourth Estate that freedom of the press is supposed to help demand accountability from our public officials?

Posted by: Rick | Nov 29, 2007 2:12:18 PM

The NAFTA Superhighway questions should have been directed at RUDY! Did you see him try to sink behind the podium. He's making millions off that deal. Ask a Texan about this "mythical" highway and then duck. It is directly related to our border and immigration issues.

Posted by: Uniblogger | Nov 29, 2007 4:48:07 PM

They neglected to discuss his extensive security ties to Mexico too. No wonder he's pro immigration.

Posted by: Rose | Nov 29, 2007 5:14:57 PM

Rudy has more ties to the mob than a concrete shoe salesman, and more ties to terrorists than a shoebomb salesman. To Giuliani, MONEY is a god. Even national security takes a backseat.

Besides, although Giuliani likes to tout his national security credentials, it was on his watch that 9/11 happened. He simply showed up after the fact. How does that make him strong on national security?

Posted by: Blake | Nov 29, 2007 5:23:42 PM

My, my, my, how quickly America forgets. I remember being riveted to my t.v. for days while I worried myself sick over the welfare of my daughter and her family who lived in Manhattan during the attack on 9/11. I saw Rudy gather that city to his heart, and help put it back together. He gave our nation the confidence to know that NYC was not dead, and that it would get back on its feet with strength and determination. Not since WW2, have we seen the American people band together for the good of it's largest city, as we did then. The people of NYC stood behind Rudy, and they made NYC proud and strong once again, in record time. I'm ashamed of you who wrote today. Thanks, Rudy! I remember, and thank you dearly.

Posted by: get_smart_now | Nov 29, 2007 11:34:57 PM

@ get_smart_now: My, my, my, how superficially you look at whats going on. Sorry to complicate your picture, but "our nation" already had the confidence to know that NYC was not "dead" after 9/11. We have thousands of Americans to thank for strength and determination- not only Rudy. What kind of people do you take us for? Do you think America would've just rolled over and given up on NYC- if it wasn't for our hero Rudy?? Yes, he did competent job after a terrible terrorist attack. But that doesn't make him a saint. And since those dark days, he has just been busy profiting from 9/11 and from the culture of fear that Rove and Bush have been force-feeding compliant Americans. Now Rudy continues to beat the drum of fear, hoping that we'll overlook all his ethical and leadership failures. Wake up! Rudy had his moment in the aftermath of 9/11, but if you look beyond the meaningless "security" and "islamofascist" campaign slogans and the 9/11 memories that he endlessly repeats, you'll see a fundamentally craven, power-hungry guy.

Posted by: payattention | Nov 30, 2007 2:30:31 PM

Off the Subject but It's So sad to see the choices the world has for leaders. Look at America and Pakistan. Neither country can pull out a Respectable Honest Person to lead the Nation. maybe ABC NEWS should have a poll and find out whom the world thinks is credible as a leader. and lets see the ranking I bet it would be interesting too see the results of such a poll.

Posted by: Adeeb N. | Nov 30, 2007 3:46:00 PM

If Giulani is a national security expert because he was mayor of NYC on 9/11, then the mayors of cities hit by hurricanes are meteorologists.

Posted by: Telegram Sam | Nov 30, 2007 6:18:04 PM

Khalid Sheik Mohammed is not "the guy who planned 9/11."

Posted by: Winston Smith | Nov 30, 2007 8:35:21 PM

"Khalid Sheik Mohammed is not "the guy who planned 9/11."

Posted by: Winston Smith | Nov 30, 2007 8:35:21 PM

I know Winston. Hard to know whether what the U.S. Government says is true or not.

Posted by: the neighbor | Dec 1, 2007 12:22:14 AM

get_smart, I would like to address the following- "The people of NYC stood behind Rudy, and they made NYC proud and strong once again, in record time." That is exactly the thing that bothers me the most about Rudy. The "record time." He called an all clear on the air when it wasn't safe. Because of this many of the workers failed to wear the proper equipment. Children went back to schools close to ground zero in one week. I believe many will die or become ill due to his actions in this one area. I don't want that leading my nation. I have no trust.

Posted by: Sandra | Dec 1, 2007 12:51:09 AM

i admit it, rudy looked good to me for about a week. and i don't know if giuliani is more to blame for telling people the air was safe when it wasn't. but jesus, look at the company this guy keeps! from his two-bit thug father to his mobbed up police commissioner to his disgraced spiritual advisor to his terrorist-helping clients. from no-bid contracts that killed firefighters to using NYPD to drive his mistress's friends around to the ill-advised LuvBunker in the world trade center am i leaving anything out? nominate this guy, please. i double-dog dare you.

Posted by: benjoya | Dec 1, 2007 10:28:15 AM

That Gouliani has gotten this far is the real story. A mobbed up adulteror who is also a cheonic liar. where is the press that made Gore out to be an exaggerator... the press that created the story and then amplified it? there is some real red meat in this story, where is the press? are republicans off-limits? do you think the repubs will question your patriotism, is the press still scared of the Cheny Slime Machine?

Posted by: bob voso | Dec 1, 2007 10:41:59 AM

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