Trump once convicted Qatar. How things were changed Mohamad Bazzi star-news.press/wp

AboutN his Middle Eastern tour last week, Donald Trump was treated like royal products by leaders of the richest countries in the Arab world. The US president was invented in welcomed halls, his motor was lined with tens of men who rode white Arabic horses and he was assigned to work Gold medal necklace. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates set out from their way to show Trump to respect him more than his predecessor, Joe Biden.

While Trump often praised the leaders of Saudi and UAE during his first term, he was very critical of Qatar, a small emirate that is rich in natural gas, but usually overshadows his two larger and stronger neighbors. In June 2017, Trump said Qatar, “Historically was the party of terrorism at a very high level,” and supported the blockade against the country, which was led by Saudi Arabia and UAE. Katar’s neighbors accused him of financing terrorism supporting Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas and too comfortable with Iran. Blockade, which He disrupted the lives Thousands of people over the Persian Gulf, stretched until the beginning of 2021. years.

Today, Qatar appeared as a little probable story of Trump’s first state visit to his second term. There was no case that the Qatari royal family recently offered to donate a 400m-dollar luxury jet – “Palace in the sky” Boeing 747 – that the president can use as an air force for the rest of his term. The ownership of the aircraft would then switch to the Trump Presidential Library, which means that he could continue to use the jet after leaving the function. Despite the confused effort of administration that this is implyed as a donation of Qatar in the US government, it would be effective for Trump personal benefit.

It is another way for Trump to use the Presidency to gather and their family business, which has the current real estate brand and a billion dollar golfer in three rich Gulf Petrones that the Trump visited last week. So far, neither Congress nor the U.S. courts tried to sanction Trump over the US Constitution Foreign Emolument Clausewhich prohibits the President to accept gifts or payments from a foreign government without the approval of the Congress.

Qatar seems to have won Trump’s respect with his luxurious gift and a charm offending about his role as a global intermediary who is able to bring enemies together. During the first Trump administration, Qatar mediated the peace agreement between the US and Taliban leader, who was supposed to lead to a phased withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. During the Biden Administration, Qatar hosts indirect talks for replacing prisoners between Iran and the United States, which included unblocking $ 6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds later abolished by Washington later abolished.

But the Katarovi’s role of mediation with high conditions served as the main channel for negotiations between Israel and Hamas, after the attack of Hamas from October 2023. year and Israel’s devastating war on Gaza. Kataris helped Broker a one-week break fire in November 2023. year, and a two-monthly truce that started last January and crashed in March.

However, since the Emirate appeared as the primary mediator in Gaza, the US politicians and Israel caught their attacks on Qatar. They accused their terrorism support leaders by hosting members of Hamas political leadership in Doha, equity Qatari, where several settled after they were forced from Damascus to turn against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who faced popular uprising. Through stopped negotiations on Gaza, several members of the Congress required that the Biden Administration Pressure Qatar To close Hamas Office and throw out your leaders. Katari resisted these requirements and consistently pointed out that the administration of Barack Obama asked Qatar 2012. years to establish an indirect channel that would enable the United States to communicate with Hamas.

After the news broke the Qatar plan to donate a luxury jet of Trump, some figures in the President’s Maga revived appeals on the support of Emirates for Hamas and other Islamist groups. . wrote on x. She added: “I say it as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”

But most Republicans in Congress who advocated Biden to punish Qatar for his Hamas support so far stayed quietly About the Trump decision to accept a plane of $ 400 million and pleasantly to Qatar’s rulers. It is partially indication that Trump has successfully expelled or neglected many republicans and neoconservatives and neoconservatives, rather negotiating with Iran and other American opponents. Katarov’s role as an intermediary that can solve regional conflicts is especially attractive for Trump, which is seen as an end apparatus.

Trump surrounded many years of friends as the main advisors, including Steve Witkoff, billionaires for real estate for real estate that serves as president’s envoy in the Middle East and comprehensive. Witkoff praised Katar’s leaders for their mediation in the order of Hamas because he took office in January – and the praise of the envoy is clearly resolved with Trump, which dramatically changed the approach to Qatar. “They are good, decent people,” Witkoff said about Kataris During the interview In March with Tucker Carlson, making a media host and a magic. “What they want is mediation that is effective, which comes to the peace goal. And why? Because they are a little nation and want to be recognized as a peacemaker.”

COMMENTS WITKOFFA echoed the Qatar’s ruler, 44-year-old Seik Tammin bin Hamad Al-Thanija, who took power in 2013. years when his father gave up his throne. Emir tried to position the Qatar as a force in global geopolitics not only for prestige, but also as a way to ensure the survival of his ruling family in the middle of sometimes aggressive neighbors. (Those neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia and UAE, have tried their foreign policy directives about the Catar, which supported the world’s largest and most reliable suppliers, and also maintaining non-state groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Taliban.

Qatar tried to protect his bets by positioning to play the role of the exit as a Prophet, and the one that the country of his size would usually not take normally. This policy began under the current Emir’s father, which in 1996. launched the state-owned state-owned satellite network as part of the Qatari Soft power campaign Increase your impact in the Middle East. And while Qatar financed the Islamist groups directly after the Arab cessation in Syria, Libya and Egypt, the emirate leaders became more careful and transferred to the cementation of his role as global negotiators.

For decades, Qatari leaders also worked on strengthening the military alliance with the USA. After the attack 11. September 2001, they enabled Washington to use the Al-Udeid Air base outside Doha to launch air strikes against Afghanistan. Qatar later invested $ 8 billion to upgrade the base, which became the largest US military installation in the Middle East, housing Up to 10,000 soldiers. On Thursday, as Trump wrapped his visit to Qatar, Meandering provided, campaign style speech On American troops stationed in the base. Boasted by economic agreements signed by Qatari leaders of the previous day, which White House is valued More than $ 243 billion.

Trump also presented out the value of Katar’s loyalty: “I think our friendship was never stronger than it is right now.” Earlier Thursday praised Katarov Emir and told the meeting Business leaders: “We’ll protect you.”

For Trump, which sees all the diplomacy as a transaction, it is the ultimate affection that it can give: American protection for foreign leaders trying to resolve regional conflicts – also happen to offer the president of an extravagant gift.