Qatar Crisis: It’s Still Unclear Who Paid The Hackers, But The West Is Blaming Russia Already

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Bahrain had on Monday severed all ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terror outfits and supporting Iran’s agenda. The immediate cause of the crisis, Al Jazeera reported, was an alleged statement by the Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in which he criticised America, offered support to Iran, reaffirmed support to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and said Qatar's relations with Israel were "good".

However, it was later revealed that the statement was fake and was a handiwork of hackers. Now, the West has come up with its own theory on the hack, with the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) blaming Russian hackers for publishing the fake report on the website of the state-owned Qatar News Agency.

On the contrary, a Guardian report says that the Russian government was not involved in the hacks. Freelance hackers, the report says, could have been paid by some other state or individual to carry out the mischief act.

“Some observers have claimed privately that Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates may have commissioned the hackers,” the Guardian report said, bringing into question the West’s theory of Russian involvement in the hacks.

The West, especially the deep state in the US, is getting used to blaming everything that goes wrong on Russia. As the ‘fake’ statement came soon after President Donald Trump met Qatari Emir and other Gulf leaders during his Saudi Arabia visit, it is highly likely that the US deep state had something to do with the hack. If stories in the American press are to be believed, the US deep state, part of the left-liberal establishment, has been on its toes to undermine Trump.

Meanwhile, Qatari Government Communications Office has said that the FBI and the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency are helping Qatar investigate the incident and that the findings will be revealed when the probe is complete.

Also Read: Reasons Behind The Fallout Between Gulf Neighbours Explained