IntelligenceBrief July 7, 2013

July 7 , 2013
North America Qatar , which hosts a major American air base as well as sponsoring the most widely viewed and influential Arab media , is playing a significant role in both North Africa and the Middle East . The throne of the Emir of Qatar was passed from father to the son , Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa , who has already taken major rulings . The new Emir ordered Islamic lecturer Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi to leave the country , removed his Qatari nationality and closed all the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood . Qaradawi has been known for his strident voice on Al Jazeera and his audience of sixty million worldwide to which he was influential . Qatar and its new ruler were previous supporters of Egypt ’ s Muslim Brotherhood and were major bankrollers of radical Islamic causes . Qatar provided 8 billion dollars to the now over thrown Morsi government , giving Morsi and its Muslim Brotherhood political party a much more influential role than the Americans . The US provides less that a billion and a half dollars a year to the Egyptian military . Qatar was a major contributor , along with the US , to the overthrow of the Libyan dictator Qadhafi which has led to the current instable country and the flood of exports of Qadhafi ’ s stockpiled weapons to Islamic militants , some of which sponsored a major terrorist attack in Algeria and many of which have been sold by the militias to the Syrian rebel factions . The new Emir has said that Qatar has done everything possible to encourage the Arab Spring with meager positive results and he recently indicated to the Americans that he would try a different path . In addition to the move against Qaradawi , there are indications that the new Emir is asking Hamas leader Khaled Meshal , to leave his permanent residence in Qatar that Meshal had recently established . Training of Syrian rebels will also take a turn away from aid to Islamic militants and affiliates of al Qaeda and support to the main secular rebels backed by the US .
One person died and others were reported missing after a train pulling more than 70 tankers of crude oil derailed and burst into flames in eastern Canada near the US border . The train jumped the tracks in the small town of Lac-Megantic in the province of Quebec , as an inferno spread to nearby homes , and authorities evacuated the center of town and a home for the elderly . An oil shipment was on its way to the US and an “ odor ” spread throughout the town . Firefighters from the United States helped Canada fight the blaze as flames were welling up high into the night sky .
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