Desk Report:
US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to ensure the security of Qatar. In this order, the United States has pledged that it will take all measures, including retaliatory military action, to ensure the security of Qatar if it is attacked.
Doha was rocked by a terrible explosion on September 9. An Israeli source said that the airstrike was carried out targeting Hamas leaders. Five low-ranking Hamas members and a Qatari security guard were killed in the attack. However, five leading Hamas members who were at the scene were unharmed in the attack. Arab countries reacted angrily to the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Qatar on Monday in the wake of the incident. Netanyahu called Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during a meeting with Trump at the White House to express his regret for the attack.
In the executive order, Trump said that the United States and Qatar are bound by close cooperation, common interests and military ties. He referred to Qatar as a ‘trusted ally of peace, stability and prosperity’.
In Trump’s words, in the context of the continued threat of foreign aggression against Qatar, the US policy is to ensure the security and territorial integrity of Qatar.
The executive order also states that the US will consider any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of Qatar a threat to its own peace and security.
According to a report by Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera, the US is trying to repair relations with Qatar after the Israeli attack in Doha, while also maintaining its unwavering support for its ally Israel. A week after the attack, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Doha on September 16. After meeting with Qatari officials there, he said that the US-Qatar security partnership is long-standing and aims to ensure regional stability.
“We are determined to defend our sovereignty and will take measures to prevent such attacks from happening again,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said after the meeting.
However, the scope of Trump’s promise is being questioned. Under US law, any agreement requires Senate approval. Although in the past, various presidents have made international agreements without the Senate, such as Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. Many say that no matter how much law there is, the final decision to take military action is in the president’s hands.
Qatar has long been a key US military partner. Al Udeid Air Base in Doha is home to the US Central Command’s Forward Operations Base. Former President Joe Biden declared Qatar a major non-NATO ally in 2022 to help with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Following Trump’s executive order, Kuwait University historian Bader Al-Saif wrote on social media, “The geopolitical importance of the Gulf region and its significance to the United States are so great that Trump’s verbal assurances or promises made at dinner are not enough—specific US security guarantees are needed.”
