Qatar must stop funding terror, extremist ideology: Trump
 

https://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/up...2004_print.jpg Says Doha has historically been a financier of terrorism at a very high level; Saudi Arabia, allies welcome warning



WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump called on Qatar to stop funding terrorism, claiming credit for and endorsing the decision of Gulf nations to ostracize their neighbour, even as US Cabinet officials said their blockade is hurting the campaign against the ISIS.

"We had a decision to make," Trump said, describing conversations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, reports CNN.

"Do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism."

In doing so, the President's tone, if **t his message, clashed with his most senior national security officials, highlighting the often mixed messages emerging from his administration since the Qatar crisis began on Tuesday.

The three Sunni Gulf countries -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE -- moved with Egypt to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, host to the one of the Pentagon's largest military bases in the Middle East and a linchpin in the fight against ISIS.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking to reporters shortly before Trump's remarks, said the Gulf countries' land and air blockade of Doha is hurting the campaign against ISIS, an assessment Pentagon officials only partially corroborated.

"The blockade is hindering US military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS," Tillerson said, without providing details.

The US' "expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to resolve the situation," he added.

In a sharp contrast to Trump's tone and messaging, Tillerson called on Gulf nations to de-escalate the crisis with Qatar, citing humanitarian, eco**mic and military costs.

"We ask that there be ** further escalation by the parties in the region," Tillerson said Friday. He called on Qatar "to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors."

"The Emir of Qatar has made progress in halting" support for and financing of terrorist groups, Tillerson said, "but he must do more and do it quickly."

Trump, in contrast, was much more explicit in condemnation. "The nation of Qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," he said, speaking from the Rose Garden.

"I decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding, they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology," Trump said.

The president said he helped those countries make the decision to break off relations with Qatar during his trip to Saudi Arabia last month. "Nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behaviors," he said.

A White House official pushed back on the **tion that Trump and Tillerson are **t on the same page, saying of the president that "what he said was consistent with what secretary of state said."

While the official said that the president "believes that the issue can be "resolved on terms favorable to the United States and United States' interests," that official also added that, "I haven't heard him express concern about the issue of the base."

The official didn't address Tillerson's claims that the blockade was hurting the anti-ISIS campaign, according to pool reports distributed by the White House.

Despite Tillerson's assessment that the fight against ISIS had been impacted, Pentagon officials said there has been ** immediate disruption. They warned, however, that their ability to make longer-term plans was being affected.

AFP adds: Saudi Arabia and its allies Saturday welcomed an accusation by President Donald Trump that Qatar was bankrolling extremism but ig**red a separate US call for them to ease their eco**mic blockade.

The United Arab Emirates welcomed "President Trump´s leadership in challenging Qatar´s troubling support for extremism".

"The next step is for Qatar to ack**wledge these concerns and commit to reexamine its regional policies," its ambassador to the United States Yousef al-Otaiba told the official WAM news agency.

"This will provide the necessary basis for any discussions," he added.

Saudi Arabia said an immediate change of policy by Qatar was essential.

"Fighting terrorism and extremism is ** longer a choice, rather... a commitment requiring decisive and swift action to cut off all funding sources for terrorism regardless of its financier," the Saudi Press Agency cited an official source as saying.

Bahrain "stressed the necessity of Qatar´s commitment to correct its policies and to engage in a transparent manner in counter-terrorism efforts", its official BNA news agency said.

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