DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar has paid $2.5 million to the law firm of a former attorney general under U.S. President George W. Bush to audit its efforts at stopping terrorism funding, a matter at the heart of the Gulf diplomatic crisis that erupted last week. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and cut off land, sea and air routes to the tiny peninsular nation that relies on food imports. Qatar also has hosted a leader of Hamas, the militant Islamic group ruling the Gaza Strip, as well as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group that Gulf nations consider a threat to their hereditary rule. Qatar also has hired lobbyists and foreign agents in the U.S. Most recently, a ruling family member paid $2 million to a Greek shoe salesman to free kidnapped relatives in Iraq in an effort involving hackers, encrypted internet communication and promises of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
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