This post has been updated.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday called the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates to clarify that he did not mean to imply in his remarks last week that the Gulf ally was supporting al-Qaida fighters in Syria.
Biden spoke with Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and a key Emirati leader, the White House said.
It was the second time in two days that Biden had to call a key partner in President Barack Obama’s coalition to walk back comments he made on Thursday, when he said that U.S. allies — including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — had funded and armed extremist groups linked to al-Qaida.
Earlier Sunday, an exasperated UAE requested “a formal clarification” from Biden on comments that America’s allies in the Middle East sent weapons and cash to extremists fighting in Syria.
The White House said Biden clarified his remarks and recognized the UAE’s strong steps to counter extremists and participation in U.S.-led airstrikes.
On Saturday, Biden already called to apologize to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House said.
“The vice president apologized for any implication that Turkey or other allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria,” the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group
Biden’s comments on Thursday came during a question-and-answer session at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Biden said that “our biggest problem is our allies” who are engaged in a proxy Sunni-Shiite war against Syrian President Bashar Assad. He specifically named Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“What did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad — except that the people who were being supplied were (Jabhat) al-Nusra and al-Qaida and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world,” Biden said at the time.
The UAE’s official news agency carried a statement from Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash calling Biden’s comments “far from the truth.” The UAE Foreign Ministry said it was astonished by the remarks.
The UAE is a key Arab partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group and has targeted its fighters in airstrikes in Syria. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan also have carried out airstrikes against the group in Iraq and Syria, while Qatar has provided logistical support.
Gargash said the American vice president “gave a negative and inaccurate impression” about the UAE’s support in confronting the Islamic State group and terrorism. He said Biden’s statement ignored the political and practical steps taken by the UAE, as well as its position against terrorism financing.
“The UAE’s counter-terrorism approach reflects a pioneering national commitment that recognizes the extent of the danger posed by terrorism to the region and to its people,” Gargash said.
There has been no official comment from Saudi officials over Biden’s remarks.
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Associated Press writer Josh Lederman contributed to this report from Washington.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Where the hell has Turkey been in all of this? They have BILLIONS in NATO weaponry…UAE? They have been implicated, too in funding IS…No need to apologize Joe…Günter Meyer is Director of the Center for Research into the Arabic World at the University of Mainz. Meyer says he has no doubt about where ISIS gets its funding. “The most important source of ISIS financing to date has been support coming out of the Gulf states, primarily Saudi Arabia but also Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates,” Meyer told Deutsche Welle. The Gulf states’ motivation in financing groups like ISIS was to support their fight against the regime of President Bashar al Assad in Syria, according to Meyer. Three quarters of the Syrian population are Sunni Muslims, but Syria is ruled by an elite drawn mostly from the Alawite minority. The Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam. http://www.dw.de/who-finances-isis/a-17720149
Biden’s comments were spot on.
Even today, Turkey, by FAILING TO ACT, is allowing ISIS to potentially commit genocide on the Syrian Kurds just across the border in Kobane. This will be a memorable way to celebrate their 100 year (=next April) anniversary of committing genocide on the Armenians! History is about to repeat itself…
sjk, Based on my reading of various news sources and Middle East analysts, you are absolutely correct. Biden need offer no apology. ISIS is stone Sunni as is Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Emirates. Their goal is to use ISIS to destroy the Shiite arc of influence that now extends from Iran, through Iraq, Syria and into Hamas by defeating Assad and retaking Baghdad.
All he did was tell the truth. Our “allies” like Saudi Arabia are funding extremists and have for decades and ME bankers are handling money for ISIS
Turkey and UAE objected to the characterization.
Saudia Arabia however stated ‘Damn Skippy’.