QATAR Branded as a Terrorist Warning Area
 

Browsing the Australian Govt Dept Immigration web site and a warning has been issued to all travellers, warning of travel dangers/possible terrorist threats against westerners to Qatar (amongst the standard obvious middle eastern countries such as Iraq,Yemen etc).

With alot of expat aussies over there I wonder whether they can comment also.

This warning was repeated on the UK Home Office site as well as the USA State Dept web site and warns of the possibility of terrorist threats against western interests as well as foreigners .

This sounds like it's part of a blanket CYA exercise by the governments concerned. There is no special reason for anyone to be more vigilant here than they need be in Sydney, London or New York, and a number of arguments to suggest that in many respects it's safer here than in Europe/USA at present.

Trouble is, these days, everywhere is a risk........

Only recently a MOSSAD hit squad was deported from Qatar on false canadian passports posing as atheletes.

Their target HAMAS terrorist asylum seekers residing in Qatar.

Last year in Kuwait a Canadian airline engineer and his wife were gunned down in an act of terrorism directed at expats.

There is some risk in all these{mideast} countries as terrorists look for the soft underbellies of the West, namely expats.

Young Aussies in Qatar grow your hair long! Don't look like one of the thousands of GIs stationed there.

Qatar a dump and the airline subject of much negative discussion on the Mideast forum.

How's Dubai looking?

Not heard the Mossad one before, and the imminent threat from Hamas cells seems to have escaped the notice of the embassies and security firms here. Where did you get the story from?

MT Qatar, an Al Thani who posts on Pprune. Search the Mideast section for his reference.

Not uncommon knowledge.

Must be true then.........Sorry, I still don't buy it. The boring fact is that life here goes on much as normal. Nobody has packed up and left (or even sent their pets home, which is usually the first sign of a twitchy expat community), there aren't gangs of terrorists waiting to take us out on every street corner, and there are no obvious signs of a growing US military presence. Those of us living and working here aren't stoopid or unaware of possible risks, we are perhaps more willing to weigh the evidence of our own eyes and ears and less prepared to give credence to unsubstantiated reports on what openly descibes itself as a "Rumour Network".

Now, where did I leave my gasmask?

If you actually look at www.dfat.gov.au you will see that a standard warning has been issued for the area:

Quote for UAE:
Given the possible risk of terrorist attacks against Western interests in the Middle East, Australians in the United Arab Emirates should exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect their safety.

Quote for Qatar:
Given the possible risk of terrorist attacks against Western interests in the Middle East, Australians in Qatar should exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect their safety.

As Killick says this is a CYA exercise and does not differ from the standard messages issued from the British Foreign Office and US State department. Personally, I have not heard the HAMAS theory nor have I heard about ricin being discovered in apartments or seen small planes buzzing skyscrapers so I have to say that Qatar is as safe as anywhere in modern (post 9/11) terms. Bahrain is a little more interesting though, anoyne have any news on the NYE riots?

Incidentally, intel on the Kuwait case is that it was a sad domestic issue with the wife arranging for the husband to be shot and, in the aftermath of 9/11, getting "terrorism" to take the blame.

Do agree about growing your hair long though....not sure if I can still manage this. Killick what do you think?

I'm working on it.......................

Google search Hamas and Qatar. The incidents revealed.

MT Qatar purports to be a member of the Al Thani ruling family in Qatar. His reference to Mossad may only be Arab spin.

Who knows what is on the terrorists mind. I will not create obvious scenarios here but to say Mideast safer than Australia a Great White Hope!

Interesting when doing a search for Qatar.
Did you know that the lonely planet guide has deemed it the most boring place on the face of this planet?

That's got to be a record!