In the latest JISS podcast, Yaakov Lappin sat down with Dr. Ariel Admoni, a leading researcher on Qatari policy, to decode the dangerous double game this tiny Gulf state is playing in both the West and the Middle East, and why it always seems to be outmaneuvering the rest of the world.

Qatar has reportedly poured billions of dollars into American universities and institutions as part of a long-term influence campaign.

The Goal: Power, influence, and control. Dr. Admoni explains how Qatari funding allows Doha to censor curriculums and promote extremist, anti-Israel and anti-American narratives in the US. This infiltration extends to intellectual property. There are concerns about sensitive national security knowledge, even nuclear-related, leaking to Qatar through these academic partnerships.

Is Qatar truly Islamist or just cynical? Dr. Admoni says it’s a mix. Qatar uses the Muslim Brotherhood as a tool for influence, but key figures in the ruling Qatari family have ideological sympathies with Hamas.

The Neighbors Know: Qatar’s Arab neighbors (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt) see it as a pyromaniac state. But they believe Washington has been “conquered by Qatari money.” Until the US wakes up to the Qatari threat, moderate Gulf states will remain on the sidelines, refusing to fund a future Gaza where Qatar (and by extension, Hamas) still pulls the strings.