August 26, 2014 | Quote
Did Qatar Pay Ransom For Release of US Journalist Peter Curtis?
…
David Weinberg, a senior fellow specialising in Gulf affairs at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies who testified recently before the US Congress on Qatar's role in funding terrorism, said the release of Mr Curtis had raised many unanswered questions.
“If you see a group like Jabhat Al-Nusra releasing hostages, they're getting something out of it,” said Mr Weinberg, adding that Qatar had emerged in the last two years as a “central figure” in the payment of ransoms to Middle East terror groups.
…
Mr Weinberg added that it was possible that Qatar had succeeded in broking the release in exchange for non-monetary favours, perhaps for using its influence among Syria's rival factions to gain some local advantage for Jabhat Al-Nusra.
…