U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson says he is 'not going anywhere' as Qatar comes under the microscope

Record ID: 904141

  • Title: U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson says he is 'not going anywhere' as Qatar comes under the microscope
  • Date: 26th July 2017
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. (JULY 26, 2017) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) BEGINNING OF HOUSE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE HEARING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANN WAGNER, REPUBLICAN-MISSOURI, SAYING: "Qatar is a military ally of the United States but has simultaneously supported Hamas and al-Qaeda. We have a role in easing tensions in the region, but not at the expense of our national security interest and our values. Qatar must cut ties with terrorists. Our allies cannot provide support to our enemies." WITNESSES LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATTHEW LEVITT, SENIOR FELLOW AND DIRECTOR OF THE STEIN PROGRAM ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE AT THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY, SAYING: "So long as there's no consequence, this is a no-brainer for Qatar. Qatar is a small but rich country and if it wants to box out of its weight class, it can either spend money or do other things to make it more of a player. It has been able to make itself more of a player in part by reaching out to Islamists groups that are beyond the pale for most and therefore being a key intermediary. We collectively, especially coming right after the European Court of Justice's ruling just now upholding the EU's designation of all of Hamas, not some wings and others, but all of it, we in the West collectively need to make it clear to Qatar that hosting and providing services to a group that is committed to the destruction of a U.S. member state and to civilians is unacceptable." PANEL LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JONATHAN SCHANZER, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT AT THE FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES, SAYING: "They are hosting our forward air base and they are a vital partner in the war on terrorism and they are investing, through their sovereign wealth, they're investing here in the U.S. and across the West. They're investing in legitimate investments and they have provided a crucial service in terms of providing hard capital especially when things got rough about a decade ago, they were there and they were helping. The problem is they use that as leverage so when we come to them and we talk to them about their support for the various groups that we've mentioned: the jihadists in Syria, the jihadists in Libya, the Taliban and Hamas, and we go to them, we talk to them about this, they just don't listen." PANEL LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 9th August 2017 21:07
  • Keywords: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Trump quitting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani Qatar
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0026RCVK93
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday (July 26) he was "not going anywhere," denying news reports that he was considering leaving his post.
    "I'm not going anywhere," Tillerson told reporters at the State Department. Asked how long he would stay on, Tillerson turned and smiled, saying, "As long as the president lets me." Asked about his relationship with President Donald Trump, Tillerson said simply, "Good."
    The comments came as he shook hands with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani as the House Foreign Relations Committee examined the U.S. relationship with Qatar as several Arab nations accuse the tiny country of supporting terrorism and allying with Iran, which Doha denies.
    The experts testified that Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, has also established relationships with groups the U.S. considers terrorist groups and has sometimes used that relationship to mediate between U.S. allies and adversaries.
    The experts pushed the members of Congress to urge Washington to leverage the air base and the current disagreement among Arab states to demand Doha expel a few dozen people on suspected terror lists that are currently in Qatar.
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