Summary
- Pete
Hegseth announced a deal for a Qatari air force facility in Idaho. - Facility
at Mountain Home Air Force Base for Qatari F-15 training. - Hegseth
clarified: no independent Qatari base on U.S. soil.
Later in the day, Hegseth posted
an “important clarification” on X in response to the immediate outcry
from conservative critics, particularly Laura Loomer, who has President Donald
Trump’s ear.
Far-right activist Loomer
reiterated her claim that permitting individuals associated with Hamas to train
on American territory constitutes a national security risk in spite of the
clarification.
Speaking alongside Qatar’s
Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Hegseth announced
Friday,
“Today, we’re announcing a letter of acceptance in building a Qatari
Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.”
“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 wrote.
Earlier Friday, Loomer called
the plan “an abomination.”
“I don’t think I’ll be voting in
2026. I cannot in good conscience make any excuses for the harboring of
jihadis. This is where I draw the line,”
she wrote.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon
and the Idaho Freedom Foundation also condemned the plan.
“There should never be a
military base of a foreign power on the sacred soil of America,”
Bannon told
Newsweek.
The MAGA-friendly Idaho Freedom
Foundation said on X,
“To unilaterally decide that Idaho will host a foreign
nation’s Air Force facility, which would house and train foreign nationals
whose loyalties don’t align with our own national and state interests, is a
completely unacceptable overreach.”
In keeping with a tradition of
receiving foreign military personnel for training, the facility was established
at Mountain Home Air Force Base, home of the 366th Fighter Wing. Other allies,
like Singapore, which has been using the base to train its pilots since 1998,
have similar agreements.
About 300 people and 12 Qatari
F-15 jets are anticipated to be able to use the site.
Trump pushed Israel’s commander to
issue an apology for a deadly strike on a Qatari serviceman in September and
signed an order promising U.S. defense of Qatar in the event of an attack.
Trump said that the $400 million
jet that Qatar’s royal family gifted him earlier this year would eventually end
up in his presidential library.
How will this affect training with
Mountain Home personnel?
Qatari F-15 fighter jets and
pilots will train alongside U.S. Air Force personnel, fostering improved
interoperability and cooperation.
The Qatari facility will consist
of structures and support systems funded by Qatar but maintained under strict
U.S. military control.
Security and operational command
of the base remain with U.S. Air Force personnel, ensuring continuity of
existing U.S. training missions. Mountain Home AFB will host around 12 Qatari
F-15s and roughly 150 Qatari staff, while the local U.S. fighter squadrons
continue their training schedules.
This international training
partnership is consistent with longstanding practices where allied nations such
as Singapore and Germany train at U.S. bases without disruption.
