Kuwait security chief to Obama - we're not free-riders

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on divisiveness in U.S. politics at the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait is not a "free-rider" in U.S.-led campaigns against terrorism and other threats, a senior Kuwaiti security official said on Thursday, rejecting comments by President Barack Obama critical of some U.S. allies.

Sheikh Thamer al-Sabah, President of Kuwait's National Security Bureau, was referring to Obama's remarks to The Atlantic magazine last week in which he said some states in the Gulf and Europe were "free-riders" who called for U.S. action without getting involved themselves.