Qatar’s support for radical Islamists across North Africa and the Near East was at the root of a “blunt” exchange between President Barack Obama and Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani during an April 23rd meeting. Bloomberg published details of the meeting yesterday. The President is not the only one in Washington frustrated with Doha’s foreign policy, it appears:

I spoke to two administration officials deeply engaged on the Syria question and on Qatar’s role in supporting the rebels… They painted an unpretty picture. The officials were pleased by the role Qatar is playing in the Arab-Israeli peace process, but they were flummoxed by its support for Hamas — which directly undermines the possibility of achieving an equitable two-state solution (Hamas being, as it is, opposed to Israel’s existence). They were also concerned that Qatar may be supporting the most radical Syrian group, the Nusra Front, which is openly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

In a meeting with the emir on April 23, President Barack Obama is said to have spoken in blunt terms about Qatar’s support for jihadists, and to have warned that Qatari backing of al-Qaeda-like groups would pose a direct challenge to the national-security interests of the U.S. The emir was said to have agreed with the president wholeheartedly on the matter. He was also said to have suggested to the president that stories about Qatari two-timing were mere rumor.

The Bloomberg report is the second this week in which administration and other offiicals blasted Qatari officials for supporting radical Islamists in Africa and the Near East. Doha is being criticisized for subsidizing Al Qaeda-linked groups in Mali and Syria, and for bolstering the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots in Egypt and the Gaza Strip. A report published in The Hill documents “rising concerns” in the White House and the halls of Congress:

The White House and State Department have refrained from publicly criticizing the putative U.S. ally, which helped topple Moamar Gadhafi two years ago and is now hosting peace talks with the Taliban. In private, however, the administration has raised concerns that the country is supplying arms to Islamist militants – just as it did in Libya.

Lawmakers in Congress have no such compunctions. “We’ve got a problem with Libya. We’ve got a problem here,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) told The Hill. “The U.S. is talking to the Qataris, but at this point they’re out of step with the international community and with other Middle Eastern governments.”

A report published earlier this week in Canadian media also identified Qatar as being at the center of Arab efforts to diplomatically punish Canada for supporting Israel. U.S. officials take to tend a dim view of efforts to isolate top U.S. allies.

[Photo: Salem.us / Wiki Commons]