WHITE HOUSE MEETING FOR AMIR OF QATAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000442 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA A/S DAVID WELCH AMBASSADOR UNTERMEYER C FOR COUNSELOR PHILIP ZELIKOW E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2011 TAGS: PREL QA SUBJECT: WHITE HOUSE MEETING FOR AMIR OF QATAR Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (C) As part of the President's and Secretary's initiative to strengthen relations with moderate Arab countries, I strongly advise that the Amir of Qatar be invited to call on the President in the White House while he and Sheikha Mozah are in the US for their daughter's graduation from Duke. The best dates are 16, 17 or 18 May. ¶2. (C) This would be the first formal meeting between the President and the Amir since the President's visit to Doha in ¶2003. It is therefore an overdue opportunity to (a) Thank Qatar for letting coalition forces use the vital Al Udeid Air Base on a cost-free, restriction-free basis; (b) Obtain Qatar's views on such issues as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Palestinian Territories; (c) Seek Qatar's support for US policy in these areas; (d) Encourage better Qatari cooperation with the US on the UN Security Council; (e) Ask Qatar's financial assistance for Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and the PA; (f) Seek closer cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts; and (g) Acknowledge efforts by GOQ to make Al Jazeera broadcasts more responsible but encourage the Amir to do more along these lines. ¶3. (C) This meeting would follow Dr Zelikow's recent visit to Doha, which was highly valuable in aligning Qatari-American views on regional security issues. His approach was to listen rather than lecture, which his hosts deeply appreciated. In the Arab world (as in the US),acts of friendship, trust, and cooperation are met by equal measures of the same. Such would be the dividends of presidential hospitality to the Amir. UNTERMEYER