Why Qatar is building a facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho? What to know
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced the finalization of an agreement allowing the Qatari Emiri Air Force to construct a facility at Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The announcement was made during a joint appearance at the Pentagon with Qatari Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as reported by CBS News.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an agreement for the Qatari Emiri Air Force to build a facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho alongside Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski / AFP)(AFP)
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Why build a Qatar facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho?
The agreement, which Hegseth announced alongside the Qatari Minister of Defense, will support joint training operations, allowing Qatari pilots to train alongside US forces, as reported by CBS News. While the US does not host foreign military bases, select allied militaries are permitted to maintain a training presence on American soil. Similar arrangements already exist, such as with the Singaporean Air Force, which also operates at Mountain Home.
US Defense Secretary said that he is “proud that today we’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force Facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho.”
He continued that the location “will host a contingent of Qatari F-15’s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability, it’s just another example of our partnership.” He added, “And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us.”
The agreement serves as a demonstration of the Trump administration’s growing bonds with Qatar.
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Trump’s previous executive order for Qatar’s security
Last month, Trump signed an executive order “assuring the security of the state of Qatar. The move came after Israel launched a military strike on Doha, Qatar’s capital, where most Qataris reside. The executive order read, “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” as reported by CBS News.
Qatar also played a “substantial” role in mediating the Israel-Hamas peace deal, as noted by Hegseth on Friday and other senior administration officials acknowledge.
