November 7, 2007 |
Read the story"Rudy Giuliani is one of the few candidates ever to pursue the White House while maintaining a high-ranking role in a private-sector firm.
But since he became a candidate for president, the Republican front-runner has rebuffed all calls to disclose details about the clients and dealings of Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm he founded in 2002.
Some of those clients have controversial records. Among those he hasn't disclosed is the government of Qatar, a Persian Gulf state to whom the firm provided security advice, according to the former U.S. ambassador there. Qatar is a strategic U.S. military ally and energy supplier, yet also a country that has been criticized for its conduct toward al Qaeda -- a potential political pitfall for a candidate pitching himself as an uncompromising foe of Islamic terrorism.
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Still, Mr. Giuliani could face questions about his business ties if he wins his party's nomination. The Qatar contract offers a window into the potential complications.
Many details of the deal aren't known, including whether it is still in effect. It was signed with state-run Qatar Petroleum around 2005, according to Chase Untermeyer, who left a three-year term as President Bush's envoy to Qatar in August. It involved a subsidiary, Giuliani Security & Safety LLC, which offered security advice to a giant natural-gas processing facility in Qatar.
Mr. Untermeyer provided the information after The Wall Street Journal asked him about a 2006 speech in which he said Mr. Giuliani's firm had "important contracts" in Qatar.
He is a Republican who says he hasn't endorsed any candidate in the party's nominating contest; he hasn't donated to any campaigns this cycle. A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners declined to comment on the connection.
While Qatar is a U.S. ally, it has drawn scrutiny for its involvement in the U.S. effort to combat terrorism. In 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to Qatar to arrest al-Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, then under indictment in New York for a plot to blow up U.S.-bound jetliners. But Mr. Mohammad slipped away, apparently tipped off by an al-Qaeda sympathizer in the Qatari government, U.S. officials told the bipartisan 9/11 commission. Mr. Mohammad went on to mastermind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Qatari officials have denied they tipped off Mr. Mohammad, and a State Department report says the country has offered "significant" counterterrorism support to the U.S. since the 2001 attacks.
Phone calls, emails and faxes seeking comment from officials at Qatar Petroleum in Qatar and at the country's embassy in Washington went unanswered.
The emirate also hasn't always followed U.S. wishes in recent years. The Bush administration has pressured Qatar to tone down the anti-American rhetoric of Al-Jazeera, the television station based there. But Qatar rebuffed the request, citing freedom of the press. Qatar also has lagged behind President Bush's ambitious global-democracy agenda. While the emir has made limited moves toward elections, political parties remain banned and proselytizing by non-Muslims is illegal."
