New Delhi: President Donald Trump has swiftly pivoted geopolitically by inking an executive order that extends a solid security guarantee to Qatar and authorises military retaliation against any aggressor.
This bold decree, surfacing exactly 20 days after Israel’s controversial airstrike on Doha, signals a fervent US commitment to its key ally amid simmering regional frictions.
The order, quietly signed on September 29 and unveiled on the White House website on Wednesday, empowers Washington to treat armed assaults on Qatar as direct threats to its peace and security. “America stands unyieldingly with Qatar,” it declares, paving the way for “all necessary measures,” including force.
The timing is no coincidence: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then in the capital, had just telephoned Qatar’s Premier Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to express remorse over the September 9 drone strike on Hamas figures in Doha. That raid claimed six lives, including a Qatari security person, igniting diplomatic ripples.
Qatari officials have maintained a stoic silence on the pact, whose legal contours remain hazy — bypassing Senate nod, much like Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear accord. However, its significance is evident. Qatar, a pint-sized powerhouse flush with natural gas riches, hosts the sprawling Al Udeid Air Base, America’s nerve centre in the Middle East, which shelters over 10,000 troops. President Joe Biden’s 2022 nod to it as a “major non-NATO ally” already spotlighted its pivotal role.
Analysts perceive Trump’s move as a strategic move that not only protects Qatar, but also enhances US influence in the Persian Gulf, a region where energy resources and proxy conflicts intersect. As Netanyahu’s regrets fade into policy ink, the question lingers: Will this shield deter future sparks or fan the flames?