Wednesday, July 19, 2017

"Who Planted the Fake News at Center of Qatar Crisis?"

NBC:
At the center of the dispute between Qatar and other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are reports that that the Qatari emir had praised Hamas and called Iran "an Islamic power," and that Qatar had paid nearly a billion dollars in ransom to al Qaeda for the release of a Qatari hunting party.

Both stories are false and apparently planted, say senior U.S. officials
Relatedly:
As next in line to be king of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Nayef was unaccustomed to being told what to do. Then, one night in June, he was summoned to a palace in Mecca, held against his will and pressured for hours to give up his claim to the throne.

...


as the night wore on, the prince, a diabetic who suffers from the effects of a 2009 assassination attempt by a suicide bomber, grew tired.