By Mike Weland
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth today announced the signing of a letter of acceptance to build Qatar an air force base at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, as thanks for their role in helping finalize president Donald Trump’s peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“No one other than President Trump could have achieved the peace, which we believe will be a lasting peace, in Gaza, and Qatar played a substantial role from the beginning, working with our folks to make sure that came about, so I want to thank you for that historic peace,” Hegseth said at a press conference today. “The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability – it’s just another example of our partnership.”
Mountain Home Air Force Base is home of the 366th Fighter Wing and hosts the Republic of Singapore 428th Fighter Squadron. The base is located in southwest Elmore County about 40 miles Southeast of Boise.
Qatar, an ally of China and Iran, “gave” the United States and Donald Trump a $400-million customized Boeing 747 “flying palace” earlier this year, which is now being retrofitted at taxpayer expense for service as Air Force One.