A senior ranking member of US Congress raised fresh questions on Wednesday about the suitability of Qatar to host the Al Udeid airbase because of Doha’s failure to act against terrorist financiers.
Qatar’s role in actively channelling funds or failing to stop others sending money to banned groups should bring into question the continued major US military presence in the country, said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
The Defense Department has consistently said it is not seeking alternatives to the base, which has hosted more than 11,000 US troops since 2002. But Donald Trump raised the prospect in an interview two weeks ago saying that ten countries would bid to host the base if the US ever decided to pull out.
“We cannot allow for our air base to be used as a means to justify this sort of behaviour,” said Ms Lehtinen, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was hosting his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani a few miles away.
“Doha’s behaviour must change the status quo, and if it does not, it risks losing our cooperation on the air base.”
She defined Qatar as only helping “to facilitate our operations at our airbase”, while “the UAE, for example, has spent 12 years with us fighting alongside in Afghanistan”.
The Republican congresswoman described Doha as “a permissive environment for terror financing” and said that it had “openly housed Hamas leaders, Taliban leaders, and has several individuals who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department and it has failed to prosecute them.”
She said she hoped the rift would end with the Gulf countries working closely with the US Treasury Department “to root out and disrupt terror financing streams”.
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Qatar crisis: the latest
Gargash: UAE will have to go on without Qatar
Qatar-linked terrorist figures 'arrested in Yemen'
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Other influential Republican members also urged other options be examined. “As we evaluate the situation, we have to ask Qatar a basic question: are you with us or against us” said Darrell Issa.
He argued for a demonstration from Qatar of its alliance with the US and asked for a list of demands to change Doha’s behaviour.
The meeting heard testimony from former US officials during the Bush and the Obama administrations.
Jonathan Schanzer of the thinktank Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Congress should have a six-point plan for dealing with Qatar including assessing whether it should continue to host Al Udeid.
He said it was “insane to have a US airbase conducting operations miles away from Taliban and Hamas members, housed and running around in Doha.”
It “sends a convoluted message to the coalition against ISIL and our other allies in the region” he added.
He called for a series of tougher anti-terrorist financing monitoring measures against Qatar, and said the State Department should be pressed to publish a report detailing which countries had paid ransoms to terrorist over the last year.
It followed a report in the Financial Times last month which suggested that Qatar had paid up to $1bn to release members of its royal family, kidnapped in Iraq while on a hunting trip.
The expert said “Congress must continue to monitor Qatar’s neighbours... the Gulf would remain an area of major concern for terrorism finance” when the dispute was eventually resolved.
Another witness, Ilan Goldenberg of the Center for a New American Security, objected to moving the Udeid airbase, saying that while Qatar was a complex partner, the base was essential to US foreign policy goals.
Mr Goldberg lamented the mixed messaging between the State Department and the President throughout this rift and urged Washington to move toward a consistent approach. He did not think the dispute, which has passed the 50-day mark, would be resolved soon.
New laws introduced by Qatar which would allow them to create a designated list of people subject to financial sanctions could provide a route out of the crisis, said Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
He urged Qatar to “populate that list, in a transparent manner, starting with those individuals already designated by the U.S. Treasury Department.”
When compared to its neighbours, Mr Levitt said that Saudi Arabia “has turned a corner in working with us on designations and terror financing.”
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
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FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Arctic Monkeys
Tranquillity Base Hotel Casino (Domino)
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Bio
Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind.
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)
Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)
Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km