A welcome Qatari guest in Washington

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani visited the United States recently and received a royal welcome at the White House and in Congress. The Al Jazeera news network, which he owns, reported that he held friendly and productive talks with his hosts, as close allies whose countries have been maintaining warm relations for decades often do.

One can only assume that the emir's American hosts refrained from urging him to promote democracy in his country, or from denouncing him for not giving migrant workers, whom the emirate "imported" to maintain its economy and who now make up some 85 percent of Qatar's population, the rights they deserve.

After all, the Obama administration prefers to save its criticism over inadequate democracy for Egypt, another longtime ally of the U.S., which is currently fighting radical Islam -- the same radical Islam that is largely sponsored by none other than Qatar. Washington is unwilling to forgive Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for toppling the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohammed Morsi in 2013, in an attempt to curtail the Islamization of Egypt.

The meeting between President Barack Obama and al-Thani also excluded any criticism over Qatar's support of Hamas -- an organization Washington itself defines as a terrorist group. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is still safely residing in Doha and the emirate still funnels millions of dollars to the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas activities.

The Obama administration also prefers turning a blind eye to Qatar's funding of radical Islamist groups operating across Syria, which have "hijacked" the Syrian revolution from the rebels. After all, why insult a welcome guest-

Washington's desire to appease the emir is understandable. After all, Doha is a longtime ally that hosts the U.S. military's Persian Gulf Command. Qatar's support is crucial to the American presence in the Gulf, and no one can ignore the fact that some of the trillions of dollars in the emirate's coffers are invested, alongside its interests in radical Islamist groups, in American industries and therefore in the U.S. economy.

Still, Israel and Egypt are U.S. allies as well, even if the administration is not so forgiving of their policies. The secret, it seems, lies with the fact that Qatar, and Turkey for that matter, have learned how to conduct themselves in relation to the U.S. They are brazen and repeatedly defiant of the administration's wishes and that, surprisingly, only garners them respect and makes the U.S. value them even more.

This is true of Qatar, which is sponsoring radical Islam worldwide, and of Turkey, which has refused to join the coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq unless Washington presents Ankara with a comprehensive plan for these countries' future. Until such time, Turkey refuses to back the U.S., whose actions unintentionally bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and Iran's presence in Iraq and Syria.

Sissi seems to be getting a handle on things, as evident by Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit to Cairo a few days ago. Putin received an enthusiastic welcome at a time when Egypt-U.S. relations are experiencing their lowest point of the past few years.

The Egyptian president still needs U.S. support, but he seeks to signal to Obama that he has other options, and that the cold shoulder Washington has been showing Cairo may see it seek Moscow's warm embrace. Sissi also seems to have grasped the fact that only by defying the administration can one garner its respect and consideration.

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