Thread by @hxhassan

This is one of the last messages Jamal Khashoggi sent to me before his murder.

On the anniversary of his killing, I want to reveal a couple of things related to both the conversation & his death.

This thread involves a UAE newspaper & an American university. And much more:

This is the first time I tell my story in DC, on censorship, and also on how Gulf operatives target and try to silence folks like me.

Bear with me.

In the tweet above, Jamal was referring to @TheNationalUAE ending my weekly column which I had been writing for 7 years.

Alas, my former UAE paper ended the column because of this article I wrote for @ForeignPolicy:

foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/04/qat…

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy On the day my @ForeignPolicy article came out, I was supposed to send a copy of my weekly column but was asked to “hold on till the storm settles”.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy I was also told the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Dr Anwar Gargash had given an interview to the paper to explain the UAE viewpoint about the Qatar crisis & that I should read it when it comes out. Gargash's "exclusive" came out 2 days later thenational.ae/world/mena/dr-…

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy A week later, the editors regretfully said I could no longer write for them. They said this was out of their hand & came from high up. Aside from the provocative headline, which I didn't write, the piece was an objective analysis that displeased BOTH sides of the Gulf conflict.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy A top UAE official later kindly offered to explain the “miscommunication” to the paper, but I politely declined the offer. I had already wanted to leave, for additional reasons, and to write freely.

All I wanted was to write freely, despite the massive opportunity costs.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy Fast forward. By this time last year, I started writing for @TheAtlantic & just joined George Washington University's @gwupoe, @GWtweets.

When news of Khashoggi’s death came out, I was asked to write on it.

That’s when troubles started with @gwupoe.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets I was drafting the piece when the person who connected me to the Program advised me to speak to its director Lorenzo Vidino, saying he may not be happy about it. I messaged Lorenzo about it, and he made it clear I shouldn’t write it. He was out of office, in NY at the time.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Also, the common friend brought up risks to family members living in the UAE & Saudi Arabia at the time.

I was asked to wait till Riyadh confirmed the news; it was denying it at the time.

I communicated some of this to my editor & put off writing that piece about Khashoggi.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Later, when Saudi Arabia confirmed the news, I went ahead & wrote a piece for @TheAtlantic. Pressure to scrutinize & “clear” my articles intensified quickly. At one point, the deputy was joking “oh, I’m sure you started regretting committing to write for @TheAtlantic."

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Remember:

1) this is an academic environment.

2) I was writing about human rights abuses & growing authoritarianism in the MENA region.

3) I was writing under my name.

Talk about First Amendment.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets On the first day at the office, the director told me he received an angry call from a “senior” Gulf person about hiring me. The person said I'd switched sides lately & was writing critically about the Saudis & Emiratis. Director refused to tell me details about who the person was

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Also, only later did I see stories like this. middleeastmonitor.com/20171109-exclu…

This time last year, I’d thought I was now free: I was working for an American academic institution & writing for an American magazine.

But not so fast.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Things reached their limit after I published this article about the UAE & Saudi Arabia leading an authoritarian axis in the MENA region. Again, it's straight analysis critical of all sides. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets I woke up in the morning to see an “URGENT” email from the Program director to The Atlantic asking them to urgently remove the mention of the program from the “problematic” article.

(The editor said that’s not how it works & Hassan should send that request himself.)

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets At this point, I knew this was going nowhere. Lorenzo was overseas so I demanded to speak on the phone. He said he couldn’t speak on the phone.

So we exchanged emails. I asked him to explain the source of panic. I had no idea whether there were any existing ties with the UAE.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets Even after removing the mention of his center from the bio, he still wanted to scrutinize my @TheAtlantic articles because “it takes just a Google search to make the connection even if the affiliation is not spelled out in the article.” Immediately I emailed my intend to resign.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets It didn’t end there, Gulf diplomats & their operatives/stooges/employees in DC started to spread rumors I was working for the Qataris, and would harass everyone I worked or wrote for.

Some of those I worked for had no choice but to bow to the pressure.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets A typical UAE game was to try and limit my work to extremism rather than MENA geopolitics. I was asked to do just that.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets I lost so much by insisting to speak my mind. I knew it would cost me my jobs & long-term gigs — and powerful platforms. But I’m stubborn, and that’s sometimes a good thing. This city is a true swamp.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets I also knew I was going against well-connected operatives with extensive contacts in DC, and that their rumors would go far & wide.

I was a new comer to DC, I arrived here in 2016. Those have been paying millions upon millions to nurture contacts to amplify their messages.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets There are many vulnerable writers and analysts who have to bow to the pressure or seize their opportunities.

@TheNationalUAE @ForeignPolicy @TheAtlantic @gwupoe @GWtweets When a lobbyist working for Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar harass people, good people should realize what’s happening & take action against it, not encourage it.

Certainly, do NOT just take their word for it & turn away those critics. That's disgraceful, esp to editors/analysts

One final note, going back to Khashoggi’s message to me before his death: I AM WORKING ON IT.

Really appreciate the overhwleming solidarity here & privately. Please stay tuned.

Context to this tweet of mine in August on @GWtweets’s statement about @davekarpf calling @nytimes editor Bret Stephens a “bedbug”.

Does “commitment to academic freedom” apply to calling a NYT journalist a “bedbug” but not to criticizing rich Middle Eastern autocrats?