Washington, D.C. - One of the major causes of the crisis between Qatar and its Arab neighbors has been the former's unwavering support of extremist groups in the Middle East, said Luke Coffey Director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. In an article titled: "The Current Qatar Crisis Goes Way Back," published on Wednesday by the US National Interest Magazine website, Coffey wrote that "Wealthy Qataris have long funded terrorist organizations across the region while the government seemingly turns a blind eye." A U.S. State Department report published last week states: "The Government of Qatar has made progress on countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), but terrorist financiers within the country are still able to exploit Qatar's informal financial system." This should stop immediately. It is well known that Qatar provides substantial resources to Hamas, a Palestinian group considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and others. Qatar has also backed some nefarious groups in Syria, like Ahrar al-Sham, which has close connections to Al Qaeda. Hitting closer to home, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, lived in Qatar under the protection of the ruling family from 1992 to 1996. These practices should worry the Arab nations now embargoing Qatar and they should worry the United States as well. Coffey pointed out at how Qatar tries to sit on two chairs. "Qatar hosts a major U.S. air base, making it an important partner for America in the region; but it shouldn't get a free pass on its long track record of destabilizing activities across the Middle East," he added. Coffey advised that it is not too late for Qatar to come around and prove that it can play a constructive, stabilizing role in the region. "Qatar can look to Oman as a model," he concluded. 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Luke Coffey is Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy, of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, at The Heritage Foundation.
