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