Hegseth Takes Unaimed Fire After Announcing the U.S. Will Train Qatari Pilots in Idaho – RedState
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth launched a brief storm Friday during a news conference with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. While engaging in mutual defense cooperation, Hegseth praised Qatar’s role in mediating the ongoing ceasefire/peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was only possible after Israel blew up the Hamas leadership, which was in luxury accommodations in Doha. And he announced the opening of a training center for Qatari pilots at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
HEGSETH: No one other than President Trump could have achieved the peace that we believe will be a lasting peace in Gaza and Qatar has played a substantial role from the beginning, working with our people to ensure that this happens. So I want to thank you for this historic peace, and I look forward to joining the President as it comes to fruition, it has already been concluded, but it is also officially signed. I am also proud that today we are announcing…the signing of a letter of acceptance for the construction of a Qatari UAE Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The site will host a contingent of F-15s and Qatari pilots who will enhance our combined training, increased lethality and interoperability. This is just another example of our partnership, and I hope you know, Your Excellency, that you can count on us. We saw it in Midnight Hammer, in times when we needed support in the region, Qatar was there; without a doubt, without batting an eyelid. And that means a lot. I’ve had the opportunity to see this first-hand, operationally. I want to thank you, I want to thank your country for welcoming our troops. It’s wonderful to welcome you to the Pentagon.
The words had barely left Hegseth’s lips when the usual suspects attacked Hegseth and cried treason.
Will Qatari pilots be allowed to use the test fields? Are they going to be allowed to carry bombs when flying into the United States?
We need a response from the Trump administration on this. @SecWar
-Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 10, 2025
As saner voices, like our own Buzz Patterson, have pointed out, going crazy over that statement didn’t make much sense.
No, it’s a legitimate question.
Why is it stupid to protect Americans from the threat of Islamic terrorism?
Qatar is home to the mastermind of 9/11. They are not allies.
You can’t be serious.
-Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 11, 2025
It’s really not a security issue. Qatar is not “building a base”, this base has always existed. Mountain house.
They will acquire facilities on an existing base so that we can train their pilots on the aircraft that we have sold to them. The United States has been doing this forever. I know, I was a…
–Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) October 11, 2025
I know, I was an Air Force pilot.
Also remember that Qatar just helped Trump secure a ceasefire in Gaza. It’s part of a bigger picture.
Pete Hegseth, himself, issued a clarification.
Important clarification:
The U.S. military has a long-standing partnership with Qatar, including today’s announced cooperation with the F-15QA aircraft. However, let’s be clear, Qatar will not have its own base in the United States, or anything like it. We control the existing base,…
– Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 10, 2025
We control the existing base, as we do with all partners.
Qatar buys new fleet of F-15s. This will require regular training of pilots and maintenance teams to maintain the aircraft. It makes much more sense to do this in the United States than in Qatar, simply because the maintenance facilities are available in the United States and there is no need to recreate them in Qatar. Additionally, Qatar is a tiny country, so any training conducted by its air force requires international coordination. Locating the Qatari training center on an American air base gives them access to American firing ranges and airspace for training.
Several countries have permanent training facilities in the United States
The German Air Force has a tactical training command at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. The command was previously at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. German pilots have been training in the United States since 1958.
Hundreds of members of the Singapore Air Force are based at Mountain Home. They live and work on the base as part of a training program aimed at qualifying them to fly F-15 fighter jets. Like Qatar, Singapore’s small geographic size forces the country to send its military overseas for training. Singaporean troops also train in Australia, which offers a training ground five times the size of Singapore’s as well as live-fire facilities. It also has an air force squadron based in France.
In 2018, Singapore was authorized to expand its presence at Mountain Home, with Washington approving the construction of additional support facilities.
Pilots from the Netherlands, Britain and other NATO allies train in the United States.
Ukrainian pilots have a training center at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona.
Of course, this program is not without risks. A Saudi training program at Naval Air Station Pensacola was shut down after an aviation cadet did the most Islamic thing possible and opened fire on the training center, killing three U.S. sailors and wounding eight.
While I believe that Qatar exerts a malign influence on the United States, spending billions to fund universities and recruit “think tanks” to promote its interests, there is no doubt that it is also a useful “enemy” in the Gulf.
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