Qatar and Saudi Arabia 'have ignited time bomb by funding global spread
of radical Islam'
General Jonathan
Shaw, Britain's former
Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, says Qatar and Saudi Arabia
responsible for spread of radical Islam.
By David Blair, 4/10/14
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have ignited a "time bomb"
by funding the global spread of radical Islam, according to a former commander
of British forces in Iraq.
General Jonathan Shaw, who retired as Assistant Chief of the Defence
Staff in 2012, told The Telegraph that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were primarily
responsible for the rise of the extremist Islam that inspires Isil terrorists.
The two Gulf states have spent billions of dollars on promoting a
militant and proselytising interpretation of their faith derived from Abdul
Wahhab, an eighteenth century scholar, and based on the Salaf, or the original
followers of the Prophet.
But the rulers of both countries are now more threatened by their
creation than Britain or America, argued Gen Shaw. The Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (Isil) has vowed to topple the Qatari and Saudi regimes, viewing
both as corrupt outposts of decadence and sin.
So Qatar and Saudi Arabia have every reason to lead an ideological
struggle against Isil, said Gen Shaw. On its own, he added, the West's military
offensive against the terrorist movement was likely to prove
"futile".
"This is a time bomb that, under the guise of education, Wahhabi
Salafism is igniting under the world really. And it is funded by Saudi and
Qatari money and that must stop," said Gen Shaw. "And the
question then is 'does bombing people over there really tackle that?' I don't
think so. I'd far rather see a much stronger handle on the ideological battle
rather than the physical battle."
Gen Shaw, 57, retired from the Army after a 31-year career that saw him
lead a platoon of paratroopers in the Battle of Mount Longdon, the bloodiest
clash of the Falklands War, and oversee Britain's withdrawal from Basra in
southern Iraq. As Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, he specialised in
counter-terrorism and security policy.
All this has made him acutely aware of the limitations of what force can
achieve. He believes that Isil can only be defeated by political and
ideological means. Western air strikes in Iraq and Syria will, in his view,
achieve nothing except temporary tactical success.
When it comes to waging that ideological struggle, Qatar and Saudi
Arabia are pivotal. "The root
problem is that those two countries are the only two countries in the world
where Wahhabi Salafism is the state religion – and Isil is a violent expression
of Wahabist Salafism," said Gen Shaw.
"The primary threat of Isil is not to us in the West: it's to Saudi
Arabia and also to the other Gulf states."
Both Qatar and
Saudi Arabia are playing small parts in the air campaign against Isil,
contributing two and four jet fighters respectively. But Gen Shaw said they
"should be in the forefront" and, above all, leading an ideological
counter-revolution against Isil.
The British and
American air campaign would not "stop the support of people in Qatar and Saudi
Arabia for this kind of activity," added Gen Shaw. "It's missing the
point. It might, if it works, solve the immediate tactical problem. It's not
addressing the fundamental problem of Wahhabi Salafism as a culture and a
creed, which has got out of control and is still the ideological basis of Isil
– and which will continue to exist even if we stop their advance in Iraq."
Gen Shaw said the Government's approach towards Isil was fundamentally
mistaken. "People are still treating this as a military problem, which is
in my view to misconceive the problem," he added. "My systemic worry
is that we're repeating the mistakes that we made in Afghanistan and Iraq:
putting the military far too up front and centre in our response to the threat
without addressing the fundamental political question and the causes. The
danger is that yet again we're taking a symptomatic treatment not a causal
one."
Gen Shaw said that Isil's main focus was on toppling the established
regimes of the Middle East, not striking Western targets. He questioned whether
Isil's murder of two British and two American hostages was sufficient
justification for the campaign.
"Isil made their big incursion into Iraq in June. The West did
nothing, despite thousands of people being killed," said Gen Shaw.
"What's changed in the last month? Beheadings on TV of Westerners. And
that has led us to suddenly change our policy and suddenly launch air
attacks."
He believes that Isil might have murdered the hostages in order to
provoke a military response from America and Britain which could then be
portrayed as a Christian assault on Islam. "What possible advantage is
there to Isil of bringing us into this campaign?" asked Gen Shaw.
"Answer: to unite the Muslim world against the Christian world. We played
into their hands. We've done what they wanted us to do."
However, Gen Shaw's analysis is open to question. Even if they had the
will, the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar may be incapable of leading an
ideological struggle against Isil. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is 91 and only
sporadically active. His chosen successor, Crown Prince Salman, is 78 and
already believed to be declining into senility. The kingdom's ossified
leadership is likely to be paralysed for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile in Qatar, the new Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is only 34
in a region that respects age. Whether this Harrow and Sandhurst-educated ruler
has the personal authority to lead an ideological counter-revolution within
Islam is doubtful.
Given that Saudi Arabia and Qatar almost certainly cannot do what Gen
Shaw believes to be necessary, the West may have no option except to take
military action against Isil with the aim of reducing, if not eliminating, the
terrorist threat.
"I just have a horrible feeling that we're making things worse.
We're entering into this in a way we just don't understand," said Gen
Shaw. "I'm against the principle of us attacking without a clear political
plan."
I HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN INSIDE THIS HIDEOUS, OVER-RATED PONSEY DUMP, AND I NEVER INTEND TO!!!!
QATAR
and
Saudi Arabia. These two countries' governments and leaders are the
creators and backers of the terrorist murderers ISIS or ISIL or Asshole -
or whatever
these sand devils’ latest name shit name is. However, so what? Never
mind, just forget it! Instead of challenging them to stop, the British
Gov. is permitting them to buy up
Britain….
Is this a bloody joke?
NO! Why
are we British People allowing this? In the
light of what is happening to decent Christians, our Christian brothers
and
sisters, in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, we should be
confiscating all of these posh buildings for state ownership, and kicking these lazy, greedy, fat, useless cockroaches out of Great Britain once -
and for all !!!!
These disgusting people, these vile countries, should be our sworn enemies.
They can FECK the HELL off!
All that money, mega money – multi billions but not from their own
hard work. No- from being lazy, worthless bums who just
happen to have oil under their land. Are they appreciative? - No! All they can do is egg-on an army of maniacs
to attack modest, gentle Christians, to murder and rape them and steal their
meagre homes, farms and impoverished livelihoods! O'Bummer thinks this is fine, and so does Camer-twat!
And
the bloody Queen is obliged to suck-up to these morally bereft DIRTBAGS! WHY?
The Stupid Stinking Shard - you know where you can shove this monstrosity, don't you?