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Tillerson Comes Up Short in Effort to Resolve Qatar Dispute Tillerson Comes Up Short in Effort to Resolve Qatar Dispute
(about 2 hours later)
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — After three days of sipping tea with royalty on white couches in ornate palaces, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson left the Middle East on Thursday having failed to resolve a bitter dispute among regional allies. KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Weary after failing to resolve a bitter dispute among regional allies, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson left the Middle East on Thursday, contrasting the “fragmented” decision making of the United States government with that of Exxon Mobil, the “highly structured” company he once ran.
His last stop in his effort at shuttle diplomacy was in Doha, the capital of tiny, gas-rich Qatar, where he consulted Thursday with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir, about his meetings the day before with the Saudi-led coalition behind the embargo of the country — an action that threatens a variety of American priorities in the region. The last stop in his effort at shuttle diplomacy was in Doha, the capital of tiny, gas-rich Qatar, where he consulted on Thursday with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir, about his meetings the day before with the Saudi-led coalition behind the embargo of Qatar — an action that threatens a variety of United States priorities in the region.
A man of few words even among friends, Mr. Tillerson has been nearly mute in the presence of reporters during the trip, and he left for home without saying anything of consequence publicly about his negotiations. A meeting Wednesday at the royal airport lounge in Jidda with Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia gave some hope of progress, as the two men huddled for a long talk and then sat nearly knee to knee and simultaneously consulted their cellphones.
A meeting Wednesday at the royal airport lounge in Jidda with the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, gave some hope of progress, as the two men huddled together for a long talk and then sat nearly knee-to-knee and simultaneously consulted their mobile phones.
But Mr. Tillerson left Jidda Wednesday night without even attempting the usual tight-smiled announcements of incremental progress.But Mr. Tillerson left Jidda Wednesday night without even attempting the usual tight-smiled announcements of incremental progress.
As he left Qatar Thursday, Mr. Tillerson shook hands with Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad al-Thani, the brother of the emir, who was overhead saying to Mr. Tillerson, “Hope to see you again under better circumstances.” “I’m tired, I’m tired, been a long trip,” Mr. Tillerson told reporters on his plane after leaving Doha on Thursday. Asked what most surprised him in his new job, he said, “Well, it is a lot different than being C.E.O. of Exxon because I was the ultimate decision maker. That always makes life easier.”
United States administrations generally end with top officials less enamored with the Saudis than when their tenures began, and an accelerated version of that disillusionment now seems underway in the Trump administration. He spoke fondly of the discipline that marks the oil giant’s decision-making process. “That allows you to accomplish a lot, to accomplish a lot in a very efficient way,” he said.
President Trump’s exultant summit in Riyadh in May was a high point in relations between the two countries. But the Saudis’ decision two weeks later to abruptly cut off all land, air and sea connections with Qatar – home to the largest United States military facility in the Middle East – initially bewildered and has increasingly frustrated Mr. Tillerson. “Those are not the characteristics of the United States government,” Mr. Tillerson said. “And I don’t stay that as a criticism; it’s just an observation of fact. It’s largely not a highly disciplined organization, decision making is fragmented, and sometimes people don’t want to take decisions, coordination is difficult through the interagency — has been for every administration.” He added that “we have a president that doesn’t come from the political world either.”
The Saudis and their allies said the embargo was intended to stop Qatar from funding terrorism. But this explanation persuaded almost no one at the State Department since the Saudis are widely believed to fund schools and groups around the world that encourage Islamic extremism; 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudi, as was Osama bin Laden. Much of Mr. Tillerson’s focus since taking office has been on an effort to restructure the State Department, but the extended process and proposed deep budget cuts have resulted in a mixture of bewilderment and fierce opposition even among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Despite these difficulties, Mr. Tillerson decided to try his hand at shuttle diplomacy this week. But after three days of sipping tea with royalty on white coaches in ornate palaces, he said that a solution remains far off.
President Trump, though, has repeatedly trumpeted the Saudis’ view, and openly sides with them in the dispute with Qatar. “Right now, the parties are not even talking to one another at any level,” he said of the dispute between Qatar and four Persian Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia. Some of the issues that led the four to impose an embargo against Qatar are so complex that the “ultimate resolution may take quite a while,” he added.
On Tuesday, Mr. Tillerson signed an agreement with Qatar to curb and monitor that country’s funding of groups tied to terrorism. The agreement proved, Mr. Tillerson said, that the Qataris had leapfrogged their Persian Gulf rivals by being “the first to respond to President Trump’s challenge at the Riyadh summit to stop the funding of terrorism.” “You know all four of these countries are really important to the U.S.,” Mr. Tillerson said. “It’s the reason I came over to take a direct interest in it because we need this part of the world to be stable and this particular conflict between these parties is obviously not helpful.”
The Saudis and their allies responded on Wednesday with a blistering news release saying that the agreement was not enough, and that the embargo would not be lifted. The countries have demanded that Qatar shut down the news network Al Jazeera, close a Turkish military base and downgrade ties with Iran. Part of the reason a deal could not be reached might have something to do with President Trump’s embrace of King Salman of Saudi Arabia. The president’s support is thought to have given the kingdom the confidence to start and then stick by the embargo regardless of Mr. Tillerson’s increasingly urgent and frustrated pleadings.
Unlike all of his modern predecessors, Mr. Tillerson brought a rump contingent of two reporters on his plane; the rest of the journalists who cover the secretary of state had to fly commercially to the region in hopes of watching his progress. As he left Qatar on Thursday, Mr. Tillerson shook hands with Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad al-Thani, the brother of the emir, who was overhead saying to Mr. Tillerson, “Hope to see you again under better circumstances.”
And though he allowed photographers to chronicle his meetings at the beginning of each, he did not hold a single news conference or background briefing during the trip, as was once routine. Whether the continuing dispute between Qatar and the other United States allies in the Persian Gulf has strategic consequences may become clear as soon as next week, when representatives from more than 70 countries united against the Islamic State extremist group will convene in Washington to discuss how to rebuild and govern Mosul and other areas of Iraq newly liberated from the militants’ brutal control.
Part of the reason a deal could not be reached may have something to do with Mr. Trump’s embrace of King Salman of Saudi Arabia; the president’s support is thought to have given the kingdom the confidence to start and then stick by the embargo regardless of Mr. Tillerson’s increasingly urgent and frustrated pleadings.
Whether the ongoing dispute between Qatar and the other United States allies in the Persian Gulf has strategic consequences may become clear as soon as next week, when representatives from more than 70 countries united against the Islamic State extremist group will convene in Washington to discuss how to rebuild and govern Mosul and other areas of Iraq newly liberated from the extremist group’s brutal control.
The Trump administration, which has refused to engage in nation building, is hoping to rally a united Arab world to undertake the huge effort, but as the Qatar crisis demonstrates, such unity may be difficult to achieve.The Trump administration, which has refused to engage in nation building, is hoping to rally a united Arab world to undertake the huge effort, but as the Qatar crisis demonstrates, such unity may be difficult to achieve.