Iran Spy Allegedly Radicalized at U.S. University

A former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist accused of espionage for Iran, Monica Witt, was allegedly radicalized in part during a stint at a Washington university that has taken $100 million from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries.

Certain American universities have received funding from the U.S. government with a partial goal of training students to be diplomats and intelligence specialists for the U.S., while simultaneously accepting financial donations from Middle East countries. In some cases, the programs have been staffed by academics who are critical of U.S. policy and who publicly espouse fringe positions. . .

Witt’s radicalization “was rooted in Ms. Witt’s military service and … accelerated while she was in graduate school” at George Washington University, where she earned a master’s degree in its Middle East Studies program, The New York Times reported. . .

Muslim-majority nations — plus a handful of private groups associated with them — have given $100 million to George Washington University in the form of gifts and contracts since 2011, according to Department of Education disclosures. That includes $80 million from Saudi Arabia, $14 million from Kuwait, $4.5 million from the United Arab Emirates, and $730,000 from Turkey. Most of those countries gave as recently as June 2018.

The Middle East centers of Washington-area universities provide a direct line to shaping U.S. policy. In 2011, for example, GWU’s now-director of the Middle East studies program Nathan Brown testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: “We have no policy toward the [Muslim] Brotherhood. And let me stake out what might seem to be an odd position here: I do not think we need a policy.” (Read more from “Iran Spy Allegedly Radicalized at U.S. University” HERE)

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