Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed that, under an agreement with the United States, Qatar would be moving forward with building an air force facility on a U.S. Air Force base.
Under the agreement between the two countries, which Hegseth announced on Friday, “Qatari pilots” will also be allowed to “receive training alongside U.S. soldiers,” according to CBS News. The facility will be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base located in Idaho, and Hegseth added that the location would “host a contingent of Qatari F-15’s and pilots.”
Per the outlet, while “There are no foreign military bases in the U.S.” some foreign countries “maintain a presence for training.”:
The agreement, which Hegseth announced alongside Qatari Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Pentagon, will allow Qatari pilots to receive training alongside U.S. soldiers. There are no foreign military bases in the U.S., but some foreign militaries do maintain a presence for training. The Singaporean Air Force also has a presence at the Mountain Home base.
Hegseth said 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.”
In a post on X, Hegseth clarified that Qatar would not have its “own base” in the U.S., adding that the U.S. would “control the existing base.”
“The U.S. military has a long-standing partnership w/ Qatar, including today’s announced cooperation w/ F-15QA aircraft,” Hegseth said. “However, to be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States—nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners.”
Hegseth’s announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September entitled, “Assuring The Security Of The State Of Qatar.”
Under the executive order, the U.S. “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 Unite States.”
The executive order adds that “in the event of such an attack” on Qatar, the U.S. “shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military” in order to defend the interests of the U.S. and Qatar.
In addition to Trump’s executive order, Trump also made Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue an apology to Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, in response to an airstrike that targeted Hamas terrorists in Doha.
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