Ex-NSA Agents Helped UAE Spy On Prominent BBC, Al Jazeera Journalists

U.S. President George W. Bush gestures visits the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland January 25, 2006. Bush met workers and made remarks on American national security at the high-security installation, which he last visited in 2002. Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis — The National Security Agency (NSA) logo is shown on a computer screen inside the Threat Operations Center at the NSA in Fort Meade. U.S. President George W. Bush visited the ultra-secret National Security Agency on W... The National Security Agency (NSA) logo is shown on a computer screen inside the Threat Operations Center at the NSA in Fort Meade. U.S. President George W. Bush visited the ultra-secret National Security Agency on Wednesday to underscore the importance of his controversial order authorizing domestic surveillance without warrants. (Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images) MORE LESS

April 2, 2019 8:24 a.m.

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A group of former National Security Agency spies aided the United Arab Emirates in its efforts to surveil prominent Arab media figures in 2017, a new Reuters investigation found.

The nine former U.S. intelligence staffers and members of the U.S. military helped the monarchy spy on an Al Jazeera chairman and a BBC host, among other dissidents and political opponents of the UAE government, according to Reuters. The effort was called Project Raven and surveillance was conducted throughout 2017 when relations between Qatar and the UAE were tense.

The Americans helped the UAE hack the iPhones of at least 10 journalists and media officials whom they believed had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or the Qatari government.

The NSA and Department of Defense declined to comment on Reuters’ findings.

Read Reuters full report here.

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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castor_troy says:

April 2, 2019

Move along, nothing to see here…
valgalky23 says:

April 2, 2019

We really need to get our country back.
cervantes says:

April 2, 2019

From Reuters:

Jassim Bin Mansour Al-Thani, a media attaché for Qatar’s embassy in Washington, said “the government of Qatar does not request, ask, or enforce on Al Jazeera any agenda whatsoever.” Al Jazeera “is treated like any other respected media outlet.”

and:

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. The NSA declined to comment. A Department of Defense spokeswoman declined to comment.

and our former ambassador:

Dana Shell Smith, the former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, said she found it alarming that American intelligence veterans were able to work for another government in targeting an American ally.

Ms. Smith has a little bit of catching up to do.
longtimeobserver says:

April 2, 2019

Spies? Treasonous? Sharpen up the bone saws?
paulw says:

April 2, 2019

I sure hope they didn’t reveal any classified information from their former employment to their new bosses.

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