PHILADELPHIA – February 2, 2024 – Milstein Writing Fellow Benjamin Weinthal's reporting on Texas A&M University at Qatar's (TAMUQ) dangerous research agreement with Qatar has spurred Mark Welsh, Texas A&M's new president of its main U.S. campus, to dismiss Weinthal's reporting as "insanity," according to KTBX News in Bryan, Texas.
Texas A&M is one of six American universities with all-expenses-paid campuses in Doha, Qatar. Doha is the major funder of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas, which on October 7 massacred over 1,200 Israelis and others and kidnapped 253 people.
Weinthal quoted a prior report that asserted "Qatar has acquired full ownership of more than 500 research projects at Texas A&M, some of which are in highly sensitive fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development." He added that the Qatar Foundation, controlled by that country's ruling al-Thani family, "owns all intellectual property developed at TAMUQ."
Welsh characterized Weinthal's report in words that better describe his university's Qatar agreement. "That's insanity. It's irresponsible." He went on: "We have a really, really strong track record of protecting national security research information every day and has [sic] been recognized by DOD, by the intelligence community, by a number of people."
"These findings pose a potential national security risk to the United States," Weinthal reported, adding that knowledge is transferred from A&M's main campus to Qatar in fields like "physics, computer science, and bioengineering with sensitive defense applications."
MEF Director Gregg Roman said, "What's to stop Qatar from passing along sensitive research from A&M's Texas and Doha campuses to America's enemies?"
"Tiny Qatar is the largest foreign donor to American universities," added Campus Watch director Winfield Myers. "Dangerous agreements like the one Texas A&M struck with Doha demonstrate that some schools will sell out to foreign powers if the cash flow is massive and dependable. Americans should demand an immediate investigation into this situation."
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