Editorial Roundup: Wisconsin

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. December 1, 2021. Editorial: A gaping hole in U.S. security This isn’t an editorial about a concern specific to the Chippewa Valley. It’s not even really about Wisconsin. But the issue at hand definitely should concern the people here. The soccer world was stunned in December 2010 when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup. There were immediate questions about bribery and misconduct. While FIFA officially cleared the bid of corruption, there remain unanswered questions about FIFA’s own investigation. Setting aside the absurd claim, since abandoned, that soccer could be played in Qatar, in the summer, in outdoor stadiums, a new investigation shows part of how Qatar secured the World Cup. And it has national security implications for the United States. Part of Qatar’s bid included the hiring of Kevin Chalker, a former CIA officer. The Associated Press investigation said Chalker was hired ‘œto spy on rival bid teams and key soccer officials.’� He then continued working with the country to maintain surveillance on anyone thought to pose a risk to Qatar keeping the event. Troublingly, Chalker also said he would help Qatar ‘œmaintain dominance’� over its foreign workers. That’s a more serious issue than it might appear at first glance. Qatar’s population is about 2.8 million people, but only 300,000 are citizens. The country has a large migrant population, particularly in construction, and has often been criticized for its treatment of those people. Unsurprisingly, Qatar and FIFA are ducking questions. Chalker is facing at least one lawsuit connected to his actions on behalf of Qatar. This isn’t the first time the basic allegations have been made. The Sunday Times published an article in 2018 alleging Qatar engaged in ‘œblack ops’� in its bid and hired former CIA agents to create fake propaganda against rivals. But the AP’s recent report builds on that work and includes significant new details. What struck us was that a former U.S. intelligence agent was working on behalf of a foreign power in the first place. The CIA and FBI routinely challenge former employees’ books as risks to national security if they include information the government thinks is sensitive. But a trained operative can take his training and methods, put them on full display for a foreign government, and that’s something they’re interested in blocking? Private surveillance companies like what Chalker set up after his CIA career ended are nothing new. In a lot of respects they’re merely the 21st century equivalent of Sam Spade’s private investigative office. The technology is obviously different, but the basic scenario of a client who wants information about someone else is recognizably the same. We’re not the only ones who have had that reaction. John Scott-Railton, described by the AP as a ‘œsenior researcher at Citizen Lab, a watchdog group that tracks cyber-surveillance companies,’� thought much the same. He called activities like those Qatar and Chalker are accused of ‘œa problem for U.S. national security.’� ‘œIt’s a really dangerous thing when people who handle the most sensitive secrets of our country are thinking in the back of their mind, ‘˜Man, I could really make a lot more money taking this technical knowledge that I’ve been trained in and putting it in the service of whoever will pay me,”� he said.