U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith announced she is leaving her post Tuesday morning, days after President Trump renewed attacks against the small Middle East country for allegedly supporting terrorism.
1/2 This month, I end my 3 years as U.S. Ambassador to #Qatar. It has been the greatest honor of my life and I’ll miss this great country.
— Chargé Ryan Gliha (@USAmbQatar) June 13, 2017
In a tweet, Smith did not provide a reason for her departure, and called her posting in Qatar “the greatest honor of my life.”
A State Department official told The Washington Examiner Smith “will depart Qatar later this month as part of the normal rotation of career diplomats throughout the world.” The official said Smith decided to leave “earlier this year.”
Smith has served as ambassador to Qatar for nearly three years, the normal length of time for an ambassador assignment.
Smith’s announcement of her departure comes a week after five Arab nations suspended diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist terrorism and Iran.
Trump quickly cheered this action, taking to Twitter to say the decision by five countries — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen — to cut off Qatar could portend “the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis tried to defuse tensions with Qatar — a U.S. military partner that hosts an American air base — the foreign headquarters of U.S. Central Command.
Seems a good time to RT this one. https://t.co/AJ1BA29UnU
— Chargé Ryan Gliha (@USAmbQatar) June 5, 2017
Smith also tried to calm the situation, tweeting support for Qatar making “real progress to counter terrorist financing.”
But Trump double-downed on his criticism, saying in a news conference last Friday “the nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.”
