UAE sponsors terrorism with explicit US condemnation

The US State Department’s annual report considered the UAE as a hub for terrorist organizations, which was an explicit condemnation of Abu Dhabi’s criminal role in supporting and financing terrorism.

In its 2018 annual report on terrorism, the US State Department revealed that during the same year, the UAE remained a regional and international station for the movement of terrorist organizations, considering that the UAE’s operational capabilities and political considerations hindered the freezing and confiscation of terrorist assets.

The report said that the exploitation of illegal financial systems in the UAE is of great concern, in addition to the need for financial institutions and cadres to enforce UN sanctions on the organizations “state” and “Al Qaeda”.

He explained that the ongoing rift between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt continues to hinder regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The US report is nothing new in the UAE’s support for terrorist groups and entities, adopting a policy aimed at destabilizing international security and financing of terrorism on a global scale, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

In March 2017, the US State Department revealed that UAE financial institutions were involved in cash transactions involving large amounts of proceeds from international drug trafficking.

The report categorized the UAE as one of the leading countries in the field of money laundering, making it the only Gulf country to fall within this category.

Observers confirm that the report of the US State Department confirms that the accusations against Abu Dhabi “something that exists and not emergency,” and that this is a sign that Abu Dhabi is still a regional station for terrorist organizations, especially in terms of receiving and sending financial support.

The US government report also confirms the failure of previous attempts to stop this condemnation of the UAE and prevent its recurrence, which will also have future negative repercussions on the state’s reputation and role.

Several international reports have categorized the UAE as a major hub for terrorist financing and money laundering operations, which are estimated to have a global annual volume of about $ 2 trillion, or 2.5% of global GDP, according to estimates issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in August 2018.

In its 2017 annual report, the Basel International Anti-Money Laundering Institute said that the UAE ranks first in the Gulf in terms of terrorist financing and money laundering risks, and 72nd out of 146 countries globally.

According to the same report, the UAE ranked last among the GCC countries in the field of combating money laundering.

The Basel Institute’s ranking on money laundering and terrorist financing risks is the only indicator in the world.

The classification assesses the risks of States in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing by assessing the level of combating them in the country and other related factors, including: financial transparency and the effectiveness of the judicial system in the country.

In a report released by the British government, in mid-2017, the UAE was at the top of the list of the top 10 countries where British criminals go when they want to launder their money.

The international campaign to boycott the UAE has published a map of the UAE’s financing of terrorism in a number of countries around the world, especially in the Middle East.

According to the map, the UAE paid more than $ 760 million between 2015 and 2017, distributed among armed terrorist movements and groups in Syria, Libya, Somalia, Egypt, Afghanistan and other organizations.

The UAE also hosted terrorist elements responsible for the killing of hundreds of people, and facilitated their movement through forged documents and passports and the use of the Emirates airline, to ensure that they are not caught and recognized, and revealed the UAE’s involvement in supporting and financing terrorist networks in the world.

The UAE’s role in supporting multiple groups or military coups aimed at sabotaging democracy in the Arab Spring is no secret.

Since 2014, Abu Dhabi has contributed to the financing of Syrian Kurdish militias linked to the PKK, which is classified as a global terrorist organization, in order to establish a Kurdish separatist entity in the northern regions of Syria. It also supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and was the first to restore relations with him at the end of 2018, despite the commission of massacres and war crimes against his people, and categorization among the systems sponsoring terrorism.

Abu Dhabi plays a key role in funding and supporting the forces of retired Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, who is leading battles against the internationally recognized Government of National Accord for the control over the country.

In addition to its ‘suspicious’ role in the Yemen war, on September 18, 2019, Yemen’s Minister of Transport Saleh al-Jubwani accused the UAE of having links with al-Qaeda and ISIS in southern Yemen, stressing that Abu Dhabi is using these terrorists to “hit the reinforcements of the army”. Yemeni in the Shabwa-Abyan governorates (South). ”

On February 5, 2019, an investigation by CNN revealed that US weapons supplied by Washington to the Saudi-Emirati alliance in Yemen had reached al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

The investigation concluded that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi transferred US-made weapons to al-Qaeda and militias in Yemen, pointing out that they used US weapons to buy loyalties of Yemeni militias or tribes.

The investigation added that a Pentagon official called for an investigation into the diversion of US and Saudi weapons in Yemen.