Source: Al Jazeera Net
The US State Department's annual report on terrorism in 2016 praised the partnership between Washington and Doha in the fight against terrorism. The State Department said Qatar was a full partner and active member of the international coalition against the organization of the Islamic state.
The US State Department report said that Qatar cooperated and worked to strengthen regional and international cooperation against terrorism. He pointed out that the US security agencies and their Qatari counterparts have a strong and constructive relationship, especially in the exchange of information, and that they were a full partner and an active member of the International Coalition for the War on the Islamic State and facilities for US military operations in the region.
With regard to the Saudi-led Islamic alliance, the report said that Qatar supported the alliance in its fight against terrorism. The report referred to Doha's basic strategy in the face of the radical ideology embodied in its investment in education. The report quoted a statement by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani in this regard. "Qatar has made progress in the fight against terrorism and its financing," the report said, but the report also said that "terrorist financiers are taking advantage of the informal financial system in Qatar."
In contrast, the State Department said that "terrorist groups have exploited the UAE as a financial center in their financial transactions," and "individuals and entities in Saudi Arabia continued to finance terrorist groups," the report said.
The report pointed out that "the financing of terrorist groups in Saudi Arabia is in spite of the efforts of the authorities to combat terrorism."
"The report of the US State Department is of great importance, and this is even more important given the current events in the Gulf region," said Abdul Rahim Fakra, director of Al Jazeera's Washington bureau. "The report monitors the efforts of countries in the world to fight terrorism before the report is submitted to Congress.
"The Qatari authorities are cooperating at multiple levels with the United States and other countries such as Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism in the region," said Abdul Rahim Fakra, adding that the US report comes at a time when Gulf states are drawing accusations about terrorism.
He said that Qatari officials stressed that it is not enough to cooperate among countries to combat terrorism militarily, but it is necessary to confront them in order to avoid their future continuation by focusing on education and development.