Natalie Ecanow

3 weeks ago | fdd.org | Reagan Easter |Natalie Ecanow |Sinan Ciddi

Much ethical debate has occurred since Qatar floated the idea of gifting President Donald Trump a Boeing 747 to replace America’s aging fleet of presidential planes. The idea surfaced shortly before Trump’s recent Middle East visit, but it’s certainly not a novel idea hatched by Doha.

3 weeks ago | fdd.org | Reagan Easter |Sinan Ciddi |Natalie Ecanow

With Washington’s blessing, Qatar and Turkey are cementing their role in post-Assad Syria. On May 29, Syria signed a $7 billion memorandum of understanding with the United States, Qatar, and Turkey to construct four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants and one solar farm. Qatar’s UCC Holding is leading the international consortium, which also includes Power International USA, and Turkish energy companies Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari and Cengiz Enerji.

1 month ago | fdd.org | Reagan Easter |Natalie Ecanow |Ivana Stradner

Qatar is playing the West like a fiddle, extending a hand to Moscow one day and to Washington the next. Last week, President Trump signed numerous deals with Qatar. Meanwhile, Doha is also cozying up to Moscow. Last month, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, met with President Putin at the Kremlin. During the emir’s visit, Moscow and Doha deepened their economic partnership, agreeing to contribute $1 billion each to a joint investment fund.

Mar 20, 2025 | fdd.org | Reagan Easter |Natalie Ecanow |Sinan Ciddi

The U.S. Justice Department just launched an October 7 joint task force. Now, all eyes should be on Turkey and Qatar. Announced on March 17, Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7) “will seek justice for the victims” of Hamas’s October 7 assault and “address the ongoing threat posed by Hamas and its affiliates.” JTF 10-7 will operate under the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and involve personnel from the FBI and multiple divisions of the Justice Department, with support from other agencies.

Jan 8, 2025 | fdd.org | Zachary Berman |Natalie Ecanow

Narcotraffickers who attempted to flood Jordan with over 27 million illicit captagon pills in 2024 may now be out of business. “When it comes to captagon and drug smuggling, we promise it is over and won’t return,” interim Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani stated at a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart in Amman on January 6.