Pentagon reaffirms ‘strategic security partnership’ & mutual interests with ‘terrorist funder’ Qatar

‘Washington still sees Qatar as a reliable and strategic partner in the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition, despite the ongoing blockade of the Gulf state by four Arab countries which have promised to intensify its sanctions regime over Doha’s alleged support of terrorism.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis discussed the “deepening” of the “strategic security partnership” between Washington and Doha with Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr. Khalid al-Attiyah, the Pentagon announced.
“The secretary and the minister affirmed the strategic security partnership and discussed mutual security interests, including the current status of operations against ISIS,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Dana W. White said in a press release.
Mattis especially “emphasized the importance” of Qatar’s role in the US-led anti-IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) coalition, highlighting Doha’s recent “contribution of C-17 cargo aircraft to the campaign to defeat ISIS.”’
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