The Pentagon was left speechless following President Trump’s remarks on Twitter earlier Tuesday morning about the country allegedly funding terror.
Despite Qatar being host to a military base that houses 10,000 American troops (the
largest U.S. base in the Middle East), Trump nonetheless pointed the finger at the Gulf Arab nation for supposedly being the key sponsor of radical Islamic terrorist groups.
The tweets brought a noncommital statement from Department of Defense (DoD) officials, who refused to corroborate the claims made by the Commander-in-Chief.
“I can’t help you with that,” DoD spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters, when asked about Trump’s tweets being a change in U.S. policy toward Qatar. “I will only tell you that we have, with regard to our bases there, continued presence in our operations.”
On Tuesday morning, Trump took credit for Gulf Arab nations distancing themselves from Qatar, saying the move was a result of his meeting with Saudi King Salman during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia late last month.
“During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!” Trump tweeted.
“So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off,” Trump said over two separate tweets. “They said they would take a hard line on funding …. extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!
Trump’s tweets — in addition to ruffling the feathers of a key ally in the region — are also incorrect, as Saudi Arabia has been proven to be the
world’s leading sponsor of radical Wahhabist ideology, which is the same ideology subscribed to by ISIS. In India alone, The Week reports that Saudi Arabia spent a quarter of a billion dollars spreading Wahhabism over a two-year period.
Saudi Wahhabism has even reached the U.S., as
15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia. Even Trump himself
accused the Saudis of funding 9/11 while campaigning for the presidency.