The U.S. Designation Of Qatar Into The Visa Waiver Program By The Biden Administration In Its Last Months Does Not Meet 'Stringent Security Requirements' As Claimed By Department Of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas And Secretary Of State Blinken – READ THIS VERSION

Introduction

On September 24, 2024, then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated Qatar into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The program allows citizens and nationals of Qatar to apply to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa.[1]

Mayorkas and Blinken stated that because Qatar was able to meet "strict requirements related to counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security, and border management," it was therefore eligible to join the Visa Waiver Program.

According to Mayorkas and Blinken, Qatar is an "exceptional partner for the United States," and its joining the program will "significantly enhance the security interests of the United States." The joint statement also called Qatar's designation into the VWP "further evidence" of the U.S. strategic partnership and the shared Qatar-U.S. commitment to "security and stability."[2]

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with Qatar Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, at a June 2024 meeting (Source: Dhs.gov/medialibrary/assets/photo/53811, June 24, 2024)

The Designation Of Qatar Into The VWP Was Despite Its Deep Involvement In Global Jihadi Terrorism – And It Compromises U.S. National Security

In announcing the designation, Mayorkas stated: "Qatar's participation in the program increases information sharing regarding one of the world's busiest travel and transfer hubs, strengthening the security of the United States." He added: "I commend our Qatari partners for meeting the stringent requirements this agreement entails."[3] But had he taken the following information into consideration when  making these statements? (Regarding the compromise of Americans' security, see also Qatar-U.S. Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement, Signed In Biden Administration's Final Months Ostensibly To Enhance The Fight Against Terrorism, Compromises Americans' Rights And Freedoms – While Qatar Still Hosts Terror Headquarters, by Yigal Carmon, February 24, 2025.)

• Qatar is responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and has a long history of supporting Islamist terrorism worldwide according to U.S. government documents.[4]Qatar is currently hosting the leadership of Hamas – a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization[5] – in the Qatari capital Doha.[6]

• According to media reports, Qatar allegedly financed weapons deliveries to Hizbullah[7] – another U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.[8]

• Qatar adheres to and promotes the Muslim Brotherhood movement and ideology, as well as Wahhabism, the most extremist movement in Islam.[9]

• Qatar operates Al-Jazeera, a state-owned media arm promoting Islamism, jihadism, terrorism, and anti-U.S., antisemitic, and anti-West incitement, as well as all other Qatari state-owned, state-funded or state-affiliated media outlets.[10] It should be noted that Qatar continues to ignore the 2020 Department of Justice order to register its Al-Jazeera media network as a foreign agent in accordance with Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) laws.[11]

• The murder of U.S. Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens in September 2012 in Benghazi was perpetrated by the Qatar-supported Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar Al-Sharia.[12]

• Qatar was responsible for tipping off Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), a Qatari government employee and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, thus enabling him to evade arrest by the FBI. Qatar also hosted mujahideen at a farm run by a member of the Qatari royal family.[13]

Journalist Josh Meyer (The Hunt For KSM): KSM was tipped off by Qatar to enable him to evade arrest by the FBI that could have prevented 9/11 (Source: MEMRI TV)

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:

• KSM, who was employed as a bureaucrat at the Qatari Ministry of Electricity and Water, used his position as a cover to travel around the world and plan terrorist attacks.[14]

• The Bojinka plot: This plot was for the simultaneous downing of 12 American airliners over the Pacific Ocean. Ramzi Yousef, KSM's nephew, enlisted several co-conspirators from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to help with this plot. The plot was funded by Al-Qaeda cofounder Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden's Afghan jihad services directorate in Pakistan.[15]

In planning the Bojinka Plot, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, a Qatari government bureaucrat, planned to down 12 airliners over the Pacific (Source: Tsi-mag.com/oplan-bojinka-revisited-the-plot-and-its-legacy, October 16, 2019)

• Assassination plots: KSM devised three other plots in 1994, along with Ramzi Yousef. He planned two separate assassination plots, one against Pope John Paul II and the other against President Clinton, during their respective trips to the Philippines, as well as the bombings of U.S.-bound cargo planes.[16]

• In late 2024, the Biden administration attempted to reach a plea bargain with KSM, who was facing the death penalty for planning the 9/11 attacks. The plea bargain caused an uproar among the American public, prompting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to revoke the bargain.[17] Had the plea bargain gone forward, the U.S. could have avoided a publicized trial in which Qatar's involvement in enabling the attack would have been exposed.

• In 2010, Qatari diplomat Mohammed Al-Madadi sparked a terrorist alert on a flight after lighting a fire aboard a flight to the U.S. Madadi, who was initially detained, was released after claiming that he was only trying to light a cigarette in the plane's lavatory. Al-Madadi, who enjoyed diplomatic immunity, was subsequently recalled by Qatar. The purpose of his trip to the U.S. was to pay a visit to imprisoned Al-Qaeda terrorist Ali Al-Marri, another Qatari citizen, who had been convicted of being a sleeper agent researching poisonous gases and plotting a cyberattack.[18]

* Yigal Carmon is Founder and President of MEMRI.