Minutes after President Obama met with the leader of Qatar, the White House said there is more the country can do to stop the financing of terrorist organizations.
In their meeting, Mr. Obama and the amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, said their two nations remain key partners in the fight against the Islamic State and in efforts to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. The president didn’t mention the issue of terror financing in his brief remarks to reporters, but White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration believes Qatar can and should do more to stop the flow of money to terrorist organizations.
“I can tell you that the administration does continue to work closely with the Qataris to try to improve our efforts to shut down the financing for terror operations,” Mr. Earnest said. “And the Qataris have been an effective partner in that endeavor so far, but we do believe that there is more that they can do and more that we can do together to shut down the financing of terror operations around the globe.”
Despite that issue, Mr. Obama said Qatar remains a vital partner.
“The United States and Qatar have a very strong security relationship. They are hosts to our men and women in uniform. They are partners with us on a whole range of security initiatives,” Mr. Obama said. “And we also have an extraordinary set of ties that are commercial, educational, scientific, technological. And those benefit Qatar, they benefit the United States.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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