Hasta La Gadget!

By James M. Dorsey

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are locked into a propaganda war with public relations agencies and front organizations as proxies that is backfiring on both Gulf states.

Disclosures of the proxy war have hit Qatar at a time that its image as the host of the 2022 World Cup is under renewed fire. In contrast to Qatar, the UAE has sought to counter revelations about its efforts to shore up its image through the creation of a network of human rights groups and negatively influence international media coverage of Qatar by touting the fact that its lead fighter pilot in allied attacks on the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls a swath of Iraq and Syria, is a woman.
Tension between long-standing rivals Qatar and the UAE has been mounting for more than a year.

The UAE has detained and/or sentenced Qatari nationals on charges of espionage, one of which has been dubbed a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. It also earlier this year withdrew its ambassador to Doha alongside the envoys of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The rupture in diplomatic relations was part of a so far failed effort to force Qatar to halt its support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

The UAE, whose animosity towards Qatar predates the current multiple crises in the Middle East and North Africa, kicked into high gear with the realization that Qatar may make minor concessions but was unlikely to bow to Gulf pressure.

Qatar earlier this month asked several Muslim Brothers to leave the country in a nominal gesture but has not cancelled their residence permits. Moreover, family members of some of the departed Brothers remain resident in Qatar as does Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, one of the world’s most prominent Muslim clerics who has close ties to the Brotherhood. Similarly, Qatar has rejected pressure to expel Khalid Mishal, the leader of Hamas, the Islamist militia with close ties to the Brotherhood that controls the Gaza Strip.

The UAE is waging its proxy war against the backdrop of its adoption of a more activist foreign policy that aims to counter political Islam. The UAE took the lead in recent weeks in confronting the Brotherhood and other Islamists with air attacks on Islamist forces in Libya in cooperation with the Gulf-backed Egyptian government of general-turned-president Abdul Fattah al Sisi. At home, alleged Brothers were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in legal proceedings that have been condemned by human rights groups.

At the same time, the UAE has been touting its image as a forward-looking, progressive Muslim society by emphasizing the fact that a woman, Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, led the UAE squadron in recent US-led attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria. Photos of Ms. Al-Mansouri released by WAM, the state-run Emirati news agency, went viral on social media. They highlighted the fact that the UAE is one of the few Arab states to include women in its military and allow them to rise to prominence.

As with much of its response to widespread international criticism, Qatar’s response to the campaign against it has been a combination of too little too late, less willingness than its opponents to engage highly priced public relations agencies and lobbyists, and bungled efforts of its own to influence media coverage. The Qatari effort has been further stymied by the recent designation as international terrorists by the US Treasury of four men with links to the Gulf state accused of fundraising for jihadist groups. Qatari sources say at least two of the men had been arrested prior to their designation.

The weak Qatari counteroffensive got into further hot water with revelations last week by Britain’s Channel 4 that Qatar had engaged Portland Communications founded by Tony Allen, a former adviser to Tony Blair when he was prime minister. Channel 4 linked Portland to the creation of a soccer blog that attacked Qatar’s detractors by Alistair Campbell, Mr. Blair’s chief communications advisor at Downing Street Number Ten and a former member of Portland’s strategic council.

Channel 4 accused the blog that projected itself as “truly independent” and claimed to represent “a random bunch of football fans, determined to spark debate” of “astro-turfing,” the creation of fake sites that project themselves as grassroots but in effect are operated by corporate interests. Portland admitted that it had helped create the blog but asserted that it was not part of its engagement with Qatar.

The UAE has been waging its propaganda war on multiple levels. In July, the UAE backed the establishment of the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) in a bid to counter Sheikh Qaradawi’s International Union of Muslim Scholars as well as Qatar’s support for political change in the Middle East and North Africa as long as it does not include the Gulf. The MCE promotes a Sunni Muslim tradition of obedience to the ruler rather than activist elements of the Salafis who propagate a return to 7th century life as it was at the time of the Prophet Mohammed and his immediate successors.

The UAE’s efforts to tarnish Qatar’s image contrast starkly with its official support for Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup. The Emirate’s targeting of Qatar’s hosting became evident with this month’s detention in Qatar of two British human rights activists who were investigating human and labour rights in the Gulf state. Their detention also highlighted Emirati efforts to shape international public opinion in response to mounting criticism of the UAE’s own human and labour rights record.

The detentions exposed a network of Emirati-backed human rights groups in Norway and France that seemingly sought to polish the UAE’s image while tarnishing that of Qatar. The Brits of Nepalese origin were acting on behalf of the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), a Norway-based group with alleged links to the UAE.

Established in 2008 “to enhance and support both human rights and development by adopting new strategies and policies for real change,” GNRD is funded by anonymous donors to the tune of €3.5 million a year, according to veteran Middle East journalist and author Brian Whitaker.

The group’s International Human Rights Rank Indicator (IHRRI) listed the UAE at number 14 as the Arab country most respectful of human rights as opposed to Qatar that it ranked at number 94. The ranking contradicts reports by human rights groups, including the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR), which earlier this year said it had credible evidence of torture of political prisoners in the UAE and questioned the independence of the country’s judiciary. Egypt’s State Information Service reported in December that GNRD had supported the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and called for an anti-Brotherhood campaign in Europe.

An Emirati human rights activist told Middle East Eye: “They are supported by the UAE government for public relations purposes. The GNRD published a fake human rights index last year that wrongly praised the UAE.”

More recently, The New York Times and The Intercept revealed that the UAE, the world’s largest spender on lobbying in the United States in 2013, had engaged a lobbying firm to plant anti-Qatar stories in American media. The firm, Camstoll Group, is operated by former high-ranking US Treasury officials who had been responsible for relations with Gulf state and Israel as well as countering funding of terrorism.

The successful effort to portray Qatar as a prime backer of jihadist terrorists coincided with a similar campaign by Israel calling for Qatar to be deprived of its right to host the World Cup because of its support for Hamas. The campaign is designed to counter Qatari efforts, according to Palestinian sources, to coax Hamas into accepting full-fledged peace talks with Israel and agreeing to surrender much of its authority in Gaza to the Palestine Authority headed by Hamas rival, President Mahmoud Abbas.

The New York Times reported that Camstoll’s public disclosure forms “filed as a registered foreign agent, showed a pattern of conversations with journalists who subsequently wrote articles critical of Qatar’s role in terrorist fund-raising.” The Intercept asserted that Camstoll was hired less than a week after it was established in late 2012 by Abu Dhabi-owned Outlook Energy Investments, LLC with a retainer of $400,000 a month.

“The point here is not that Qatar is innocent of supporting extremists… The point is that this coordinated media attack on Qatar – using highly paid former U.S. officials and their media allies – is simply a weapon used by the Emirates, Israel, the Saudis and others to advance their agendas,” The Intercept said.

UAE opposition to Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood dates back at least a decade. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Zayed Al Nahayan warned US diplomats already in 2004 that “we are having a (culture) war with the Muslim Brotherhood in this country,” according to US diplomatic cables disclosed by Wikileaks. In 2009. Sheikh Mohamed went as far as telling US officials that Qatar is “part of the Muslim Brotherhood.” He suggested that a review of Al Jazeera employees would show that 90 percent were affiliated with the Brotherhood. Other UAE officials privately described Qatar as “public enemy number 3”, after Iran and the Brotherhood.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in Monday as Afghanistan’s new president, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban.

Moments after Ghani Ahmadzai took the oath, he swore in his election challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, as chief executive, fulfilling a political pledge he had taken to share power and defuse election tensions that had threatened to spark violence between the country’s north and south. In his first speech, Ghani Ahmadzai called on the Taliban and other militants to join the country’s political process and lay down their weapons. However, extremist violence Monday killed at least 12 civilians and police officers as foreign forces prepare to withdraw from the country at the end of the year.

“We are tired of war,” Ghani Ahmadzai said in a televised address. “Our message is peace, (but) this doesn’t mean we are weak.”

Ghani Ahmadzai, a former World Bank official and Afghan finance minister, wore a dark black turban popular in the country’s south as he swore in his two vice presidents and then Abdullah.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, spoke first and thanked Karzai for his service and the people of the country for casting votes in the millions despite the threat of attack from Taliban militants who tried to thwart the election process.

“We are committed as one in the national unity government,” Abdullah said. “Our commitment will be fulfilled together as unified team to create national unity.”

Ghani Ahmadzai then congratulated Karzai for a peaceful and democratic transition of power, and he thanked Abdullah for making the national unity government possible. The new president also promised to confront the country’s endemic corruption.

“We want to be held accountable. I am your leader but I am no better than you. If I make mistakes, you should hold me accountable,” Ghani Ahmadzai said.

Karzai — the only president Afghanistan and the West have known since the invasion — wore a wide smile as he greeted his presidential guards upon entering the palace. Karzai has said he is glad to be stepping down after more than a decade of what the U.S. ambassador recently said was one of the most difficult jobs in the world.

The inauguration caps a nearly six-month election season that began when ballots were first cast in April. A runoff election in June between Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah stretched on for weeks as both sides leveled charges of fraud. The United Nations helped carry out what it said was the most thorough recount in its history, a count that reduced Ghani Ahmadzai’s vote percentage from 56 percent to 55 percent, but still gave him the win.

But the real power struggle was taking place in marathon talks between the two sides, often brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other U.S. officials. The political deal the sides agreed to created the new position of chief executive that Abdullah will now fill.

The inauguration took place eight days after the political deal was signed between Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah. Though Kerry played a big role in the political deal, the short notice of the inauguration date and events elsewhere in the Middle East did not allow him to attend. Instead, the U.S. was represented by John Podesta, counselor to President Barack Obama. Other notable guests included Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

U.S. officials have said they expect Ghani Ahmadzai to sign a security agreement with the U.S. shortly after his inauguration to allow about 10,000 American troops to stay in the country after the international combat mission ends on Dec. 31.

Even as the inauguration unfolded in the heavily guarded presidential palace, two bomb attacks took place on the road connecting the country’s main airport with the palace. One roadside bomb did not result in any deaths or injuries, but a second attack about a kilometer (half mile) from the airport by a suicide bomber killed six or seven people, police officer Abdul Latif said.

A bigger attack took place in the eastern province of Paktia. Police Capt. Mohammed Hekhlas said that a car bomb exploded near a government compound as gunmen attacked, sparking a gun battle that killed seven Taliban militants. Another police official, who gave his name as Azimullah, said four police officers and two civilians also were killed.

For Afghans watching the inauguration, that threat of violence and insecurity remained one of their top concerns.

“I hope Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai can bring peace and the rule the law in Afghanistan as former Afghan President Hamid Karzai could not bring peace,” said Abdul Rahman, a 30-year-old police officer. “Our people have been suffering from the instability and poverty.”

Remember the dronie? If not, it’s a self-taken photograph (sigh, selfie) from a UAV like the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 that provides a bit more creativity than your arm reach allows. Imagine that you can attach that drone to your wrist and launch it…

From excessive cell phone use to obnoxious drivers … from people who interrupt you to those who talk during movies … from those who bark at service staff to others who are chronically late … is there a rudeness epidemic in America? Dr. Phil weighs in on why people behave that way and what you can do about it.

1. Develop Empathy for Others.
Do you say what’s on your mind regardless of whether you hurt someone else’s feelings? It is your way or the highway? Instead of chewing a waiter’s head off for mixing up your order, or constantly interrupting your relatives to get your point across, try to see things from the other person’s point of view.

2. Engage People in a Way that Protects Their Self-Esteem.
Do you laugh your friends’ expense? Do you always have a sarcastic comment about everything? Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor. If you’re making a joke, and you’re the only one laughing, that’s a clue. A lot of humor has a sharp edge to it. If it’s always somebody else bleeding, it may be that you’re hurting other people’s feelings.

3. Find a Better Way to Be Assertive
There’s a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. Assertive people stand up for their rights, while aggressive people often step on the rights of others. You can tell someone the truth and stand up for yourself while still being kind, warm and genuine. Why not speak your mind in a way that leaves the other person feeling better about themselves than when you got there? For example, if the offender is someone you know, make eye contact and call this person by his or her name as you calmly speak your mind.

4. Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
I always try to treat everybody with dignity and respect. I might tell them the truth they don’t want to hear, but I’m not going to treat them in a way that’s without dignity and respect, because I feel like we’re all in this together — this human experience called life. Treat others the way you expect to be treated.

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Exes point the finger at one another for their 7-year-old son’s out-of-control behavior. Dr. Phil warns the parents that their bickering is hurting their son — and it needs to stop.

Can these exes get on the same page — and help their son get back on track? See the resolution on Monday, September 29 on Dr. Phil. Check here for local listings.

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