COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Editor's Note: The attached video aired in August 2023.
On Sunday, Texas A&M University President Gen. Mark A. Welsh III issued a statement about claims circulating online regarding the university and its branch campus in Qatar.
Many of the claims reference the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) and a Jan. 4 letter that states Qatar has funneled significant funding into the campus "in return for full Qatari ownership of over 500 research projects." According to the ISGAP, the projects that are supposedly being funded include nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development.
A 17-page document from the ISGAP also claims that from their research, they "discovered a disturbing relationship between Qatar and Texas A&M University."
In his Sunday statement, President Welsh refuted the claims, stating that the Texas A&M Qatar campus "does not offer a nuclear engineering program or any classes on the subject." He also said that "(t)he insinuation that (Texas A&M is) somehow leaking or compromising national security research data to anyone is both false and irresponsible."
On the topic of personnel involvement and the program's intentions, Welsh countered by saying that the reports were "simply wrong and based on false information and assumptions."
The ISGAP is a non-profit organization that states that they are a group "committed to fighting antisemitism on the battlefield of ideas" among other things.
Click here to read the full statement from President Mark Welsh.
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