Why, we wouldn’t want to offend our friend and ally. “Feds Nix Pol’s Arab Tour,” from the New York Post, with thanks to David:
April 24, 2006 — WASHINGTON – The State Department blocked a New York congresswoman from traveling to Qatar after being informed she planned to raise sharp questions about a high-ranking Qatar official’s relationship with the al Qaeda terror network, The Post has learned.
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-Katonah) confirmed that she was forced to cancel a visit to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month after the State Department raised questions about her eligibility to receive official travel expenses.
State Department officials raised concerns about funding with Kelly the same day they allowed another member of Congress to receive funds under the same exchange program to travel to Qatar, sources told The Post.
State Department officials had no immediate comment on why Kelly’s trip was scuttled.
But the sudden action came as Kelly, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, had been raising a number of questions about terrorism financing in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Kelly has been particularly vocal about Qatari Interior Minister Abdullah bin Khalid al Thani, who has been identified as a major al Qaeda supporter.