Qatar’s defense minister, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth on Friday signed a deal allowing a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. However, several Trump allies and MAGA commentators were quick to point out that the Qatari official had once tweeted ‘We are all Hamas’. This has sparked outrage against the administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani(REUTERS)
As per the agreement, Qatari pilots will receive training at the Idaho base, alongside US soldiers. In a statement after signing the deal, Defense Secretary Hegseth said that he is ‘proud that today we’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force Facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho’.
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“The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15’s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability, it’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us,” he added.
However, MAGA conservatives were quick to slam Hegseth and Trump. Conservative commentator Laura Loomer even dug out a 2014 tweet made by Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
“@SecWar are you aware that the Qatari Minister of Defense Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani who is sitting next to you in this video tweeted “We are all HAMAS”?” she pointed out on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
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“I AM NOT VOTING IN 2026!” she added.
We couldn’t find the exact tweet on the Qatari official’s account, but there are a couple of reports about it. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) had reported on the post in March.
According to Jewish News Syndicate: JNS.org, in 2015 he tweeted: “The U.S. destroyed Afghanistan and failed [to achieve its goals], destroyed Iraq [but] failed and handed it over to Iran, [and now] it sits by as Syria is being destroyed by Iran and Russia.”
In November 2021, he wrote, “Israel’s control of the U.S. is clear. We must plan how to influence the decision-makers in the U.S.”