This is insane. Money from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries has been funneled to radical Islamist groups in Syria for years, including those fighting the U.S. independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…
A little story about Gulf funding in the Syrian conflict: in 2013, I reported a story for @foreignpolicy on Roumieh, a notorious Lebanese prison that was being overrun by Islamists. Many had been caught in transit to or from Syria to fight in the war. foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/02/bei…
@ForeignPolicy When I went there, these Islamist prisoners, many belonging to groups that were starting to coalesce into ISIS, were running a kind of powerful mafia in the prison, with the help of wealthy donors in the Gulf, who used their influence to make sure the Islamists were comfortable. 
@ForeignPolicy Around the same time, I was also interviewing militant Salafi sheikhs in Tripoli, a Lebanese city which was experiencing a surge of of Islamist radicalism related to the Syrian conflict. theatlantic.com/international/…
@ForeignPolicy These Tripoli sheikhs had suddenly come into a lot of money, which was evidenced by their shiny new cars and weapons. It was no secret that much of the money was coming from the Gulf. Groups like theirs were likely responsible for many destabilizing events inside Lebanon.
@ForeignPolicy The situation in Tripoli eventually stabilized after the Lebanese army cracked down hard on these groups. But there is little doubt they were at one point being nurtured by patrons in the Gulf. Other journalists and analysts also covered the phenomenon. foreignpolicy.com/2014/01/03/bei…
@ForeignPolicy Saudi Arabia also began to seriously crack down on support for ISIS in Syria around 2014, but by then it had already benefited greatly from the laxity of Gulf countries in allowing funds to reach them. theatlantic.com/international/…
@ForeignPolicy Strange that Trump would encourage Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries with a history of supporting radical groups in Syria to take up the slack of funding reconstruction. No reason to believe at least some of that money would not go to questionable actors in the conflict. End.
