Hamas Has A Friend In NATO

Last week there was report that Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was being booted out of Qatar. At the time it was assumed he would end up in Turkey.  While the terrorist group denied Meshaal was being thrown out it may still happen. But one thing is for sure, if Meshaal ever leaves the friendly confines of Qatar, he will move to the friendly confines of U.S. NATO ally and Obama favorite Turkey.

As reported by National Interest:

Ties between Ankara and the Palestinian terrorist group have been growing stronger since the ill-fated flotilla in 2010, which led to clashes between pro-Hamas activists and Israeli commandos on the high seas. Since then, more than a dozen Hamas operatives have established their base of operations in Turkey. This includes Saleh al-Arouri, the founder of Hamas’ armed wing (the Qassam Brigades) in the West Bank. Arouri claimed responsibility on behalf of the group for the abduction and murder of three Israeli teens last summer. It also includes Imad al-Alami, Hamas’s long-serving envoy to Iran, who Treasury placed under sanctions for terrorist activity in 2003.

Turkey even appears to be the home of two Hamas financial figures. According to a September article from the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Seyassah, Bakri Hanifa plays a significant role in an ongoing financial operation to move “tens of millions of dollars” to Turkey from Qatar. From Turkey, according to theSeyassah report, the funds were then sent on to Hamas’ political and military wings. The report claims that Turkey actually disclosed this information to the United States, as Washington’s concern has mounted over Hamas activities in Turkey.

Another key financial figure for Hamas in Turkey appears to be Maher Ubeid. A 2011 report in Palestine Press News Agency, a website typically affiliated with the ruling Fatah faction, alleges that Ubeid is a Hamas financial operative who receives funds from Turkish official sources and transfers them to Hamas in Gaza via Turkish money changers. The report does not specify which official Turkish sources provide the funds. It is worth recalling, however, that in December 2011, Palestinian news sources reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then prime minister of Turkey, “instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate $300 million to be sent to Hamas’s government in Gaza.”

In short, Turkey is already a headquarters for Hamas. It would only be natural for Meshaal to head there next.

But wait, If Turkey a NATO ally is helping the Hamas terrorists why isn't Obama objecting?

Near the end of his life, my friend and teacher Barry Rubin of blessed memory used to constantly warn about President Obama's love of Turkey and its Islamist leader:

President Barack Obama has flattered endlessly the radical Turkish leader, ignoring insults and the subversion of U.S. interests. Erdogan seems to be Obama’s ideal leader, a “moderate Islamist.” Obama has turned over U.S. Syrian policy to Turkish regime direction.

National Interest adds,

Last month, Qatar and Turkey inaugurated a bilateral “Supreme Strategic Committee.” This was an agreement to jointly pursue aggressive foreign policies that the two countries have embraced separately for the better part of a decade. Hamas is undeniably a significant part of that joint agenda, which means that it matters little which Hamas headquarters Meshaal ultimately chooses to call his home.

Remember the cease fire talks for Operation Protective Edge this past summer. The US was insisting that Qatar be brought into the talks to help represent Hamas. While Israel and Egypt objected because of Qatar's ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood as well as ISIS. Was the US actually trying to help the interests of ally, Turkey. In other words was our President selling-out to radical Islamists at the expense of protecting the American people? Certainly seems that way.