Is Qatar building a military base in the US? Trump's Defence Secretary Hegseth clarifies after facing backlash

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday (Oct 10) that a formal agreement has been finalised to allow the Qatari Emiri Air Force to establish a training facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The announcement was made alongside Qatari Minister of Defence Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Pentagon. However, the decision faced massive backlash, specially from Trump's MAGA base.

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Hegseth had announced that this facility will enable Qatari pilots to train side-by-side with US military personnel, improving joint skills and cooperation. While the US does not host foreign military bases, some allied forces, like Singapore’s Air Force, maintain training presences on American soil, including at Mountain Home. Hegseth expressed pride in the agreement, saying that the new location will accommodate Qatari F-15 jets and their pilots. He highlighted the partnership's benefits in enhancing combined training, strengthening interoperability, and increasing overall combat effectiveness, reassuring Qatar of continued support from the United States.

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What was Hegseth's clarification?

Issuing a statement on Sat (Oct 11), Hegseth clarified that Qatar would not have its own independent base in the US. The United States retains full control over Mountain Home Air Force Base, as is standard with all partner cooperation agreements, ensuring US military command remains unchanged, he said in a statement. “The U.S. military has a long-standing partnership w/ Qatar, including today’s announced cooperation w/ F-15QA aircraft. 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,” he tweeted. However, this has not impressed Trump's MAGA base with Laura Loomer, Trump's staunch supporter saying that “Nobody wants the funders of HAMAS in America being trained to fly fighter jets on US soil." She also said it is a national security threat.

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