John McCain: ‘Qataris’ behavior has got to change’

Seasoned US Senator John McCain said Qatar should change its behavior.

“We cannot have Qataris funding Salafist organizations that are committing crimes to take American lives,” he said during during a discussion at The Wall Street Journal CFO Network annual meeting in Washington on Tuesday. “We can’t do that. We just have certain fundamentals that are what America and democracy is all about.”

McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, pointed out that Iran is now the one sending food supplies to Qatar. “I think they’ve had enough, but to take a step of this magnitude, I mean, now guess who’s sending in groceries? The Iranians,” McCain added.

He suggested that the US President Donald Trump has to send US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to Doha. “This is a very interesting time. And if I were… I hate to use this phrase, but I would send Mattis over right away. He has been in the region for a long time, he knows these people and I would send him over immediately and so he sorts this out.”

McCain said that this is the first time people have seen a split of this magnitude in the Gulf. “I have been asking smart people wherever I’ve gone: Is this the first time you’ve seen a split in the Sunni Arab nations? Every one of them said ‘yes, this is the first time.’”

McCain suggested that there is more to the story that will come out, which will reveal Qatar’s involvement in funding terror. “One thing I can assure of, there is more to come on what the Qataris have been doing to provoke action of this magnitude.”

He said that the US has known for a long time that Qataris have been supporting these organizations. “They have been trying to play both ends against the middle.”

“Air Qatari, Qatari air... Whatever the hell we call it... is terrible, I’m featured on it almost daily I have never yet received a favorable review, but I certainly have got a lot of unfavorable reviews,” he said, probably referring to Al Jazeera TV station.

McCain stressed that the situation in the Gulf is dangerous and that the US should act. “The one thing we need is some consistency from this administration, which they do not have as we speak, but having said that the Qataris’ behavior has got to change.”

Source: Arab News