Qatar’s emir criticises Obama’s Syria policy

Qatar’s emir criticised US President Barack Obama’s policy on Syria on Tuesday, highlighting the growing frustration among US allies at what they perceive to be Washington’s lacklustre action towards the protracted civil war.

Qatar, home to a US base, is a vocal critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and, like the United States, has supported rebels seeking to topple Assad.

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, criticised Obama’s so-called “red line” on Syria.

In August 2013, Obama abruptly cancelled plans for US air strikes that he had vowed to order if Assad’s forces crossed a “red line” and used chemical weapons. Nine days earlier, a Sarin gas attack killed as many as 1,400 Syrians.

“Red lines were set for the regime who has violated them, yet those who demarcated those lines have not felt provoked to raise a finger,” Tamim said according to an English transcript of his prepared remarks.

“The red line continued to be shifted until the regime became aware of the fact that there is no ceiling for what it could perpetrate without accountability,” Tamim said.

Obama’s Syria policy has been predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the chaotic Middle East. Critics accuse Obama of being hesitant and risk averse. Obama’s limited intervention has focused on fighting Islamic State militants who control a swath of Syria and Iraq and which has inspired attacks in the United States.