September 11, Connection Between Qatar and Al-Qaeda

Osama Bin Laden, at the time the leader of al-Qaeda, is the man most closely associated with the 9/11 attacks. But the reality was that Mohammed or “KSM” as he became known as the “principal architect”, according to the 9/11 Commission which investigated the attacks. He was the man who came up with the idea and took it to al-Qaeda.

According to American intelligence officials, Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family tipped off Mohammed. He is listed on government Web sites as the current minister of the Interior for Qatar and is known as a radical Islamic fundamentalist with ties to al Qaeda.

Mohammed is believed to have fled Qatar with a passport provided by that country’s government. He is also believed to have been given a home in Qatar as well as a job at the Department of Public Water Works. Officials also said bin Laden himself visited Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani in Qatar between the years of 1996 and 2000.

One former CIA official who preferred to remain anonymous said the connection went beyond al-Thani and there were others in the Qatari royal family who were sympathetic and provided safe havens for al Qaeda.