The United States has quietly reached an agreement that extends its military presence at a sprawling base in Qatar for another 10 years, three US defense officials and another official familiar with the agreement told CNN.
The deal, which has not been announced publicly, highlights Washington’s reliance on the tiny Gulf country that has recently played a central role in mediating the release of Americans from captivity in Gaza and Venezuela.
The Al Udeid Air Base, located in the desert southwest of Doha, is the biggest US military installation in the Middle East and can house more than 10,000 American troops.
Of course. CENTCOM needs a base to enforce US-hegemony from. Qatar is playing the middle ground between the US and the Muslim world, and wants to pick up the US as an ally when Saudi Arabia got iced out after Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered, and MBS refused to sabotage OPEC when ‘muh gas prices high’ during the pandemic. Turkey is seen as unreliable post-coup and crackdown, and is no longer submissive.
The only winning move, is not to play?