JEDDAH: President Donald Trump’s priority in the Qatar crisis is to stop Doha’s funding of terrorist groups, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Wednesday.
During a hearing at the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Haley was asked about Trump’s praise of the Gulf blockade.
“Qatar has been funding ... We know they have done a lot with Hamas as we are dealing with Gaza and some other areas,” Haley said. “The president really does want to push out ISIS (Daesh), push out terrorism.”
Trump’s point in making Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit as president “was to say we’ve got to get rid of all these threats that we have,” she said.
When the Qatar crisis emerged, Doha’s funding of terrorism was Trump’s first thought, she added.
“Yes we have an air base there. Yes there are some ties, but he (Trump) sees the priority… is getting rid of ISIS and getting rid of terrorism,” said Haley.
Asked whether the Muslim Brotherhood is part of the solution or part of the problem in the Middle East, she said: “That is not something that has been discussed within the (US) administration. I’m not a fan of the Muslim Brotherhood, so I do think they are more problematic in the area than helpful.”
Meanwhile, Congressman Ron Desantis said there is a foundational ideological view that is motivating terrorism.
“The Brotherhood, I think, represents the foundation, and if we can deal with that, we can deal with the problem of radical Islamic terrorism much more holistically and likely to be more effective,” he said.
