Boise, ID – Twenty-three years after the September 11 attacks that forever changed America, the U.S. is welcoming Qatar’s air force to train on U.S. soil.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Friday that a new Qatar Emiri Air Force facility will be built at Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho — the same base already hosting Singapore’s F-15 training wing. The move, he said, will “strengthen interoperability and readiness” between U.S. and Qatari forces.
But for many Americans, the announcement hits a nerve. Qatar once harbored Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the self-confessed architect of 9/11, who evaded capture in 1996 after Qatari officials allegedly warned him of an incoming FBI raid. That tip-off allowed him to continue his plots — including the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on U.S. soil.
According to officials, the Pentagon sees the new agreement as a strategic partnership — one that deepens ties with a Gulf ally crucial to recent peace talks in Gaza. Yet the decision comes at a moment heavy with symbolism: nearly a quarter-century after the deadliest terrorist act in American history, the U.S. is granting military ground to a nation long shadowed by its ties to the man who planned it.
Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order pledging to defend Qatar if it faces attack — a move that followed an Israeli airstrike in Doha targeting Hamas leadership. Qatar also gifted the U.S. a $400 million aircraft, set to be refitted as Air Force One, raising fresh concerns about influence and transparency.
As flags still fly at half-staff each September, families of 9/11 victims continue to ask the same question: Who do we trust with America’s security — and at what cost?
