WASHINGTON Ñ For the first time, Qatar has publicly signalled its
interest in hosting a permanent U.S. military presence.
Qatari officials confirmed that the United States has been accelerating
supplies of weapons and equipment to the emirate. They said the two
countries would participate in a U.S. military command exercise in November, Middle East Newsline reported.
Doha has relayed to the United States interest by Qatar to serve as a
permanent base for American military forces. Officials said the expansion of
the Al Udeid air base outside Doha is meant to accommodate more than 100
combat aircraft and an undetermined number of tanks and armored personnel
vehicles.
On Thursday, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabber Al
Thani met in Washington U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney and senior Bush
administration officials. Officials said the meeting focused on Qatar's role
in bolstering Gulf Arab security as well as the Iraqi threat.
"The Iraqis know that we have a very special relation with the United
States and it is not a secret that they [U.S. forces]are already in Al
Udeid," Hamad said in an appearance later on Thursday at the Brookings
Institute. "The United States doesn't ask us up until now for any support or
any permission for an attack from Qatar to Iraq. If they ask us we will look
at this seriously, but at the moment there is no decision because there is
nobody ask us about it."
But other officials said Qatar envisions a permanent U.S. military
presence of between 5,000 and 8,000 troops in the emirate, officials said.
They said the U.S. presence would be restricted to Al Udeid, about 40
kilometers from Doha.
The U.S. Defense Department plans to complete Al Udeid by the end of the
year. The facility will be equipped with 27 warehouses for the
prepositioning of weapons for an armored brigade.
In addition, Al Udeid will be provided with a command and control system
that will link the base with the United States as well as with other
military installations in the Gulf region. Officials stressed that Al Udeid
would continue to be under Qatari responsibility regardless of the U.S.
military presence.
Officials said Qatar continues to maintain defense relations with other
Western allies, such as Britain and France. The British warship HMS Argyll
has arrived in Doha for a weeklong visit to the emirate and will participate
in an exercise with Qatari forces.
Officials said the exercise will last one day and will take place in
Qatari territorial waters. They said Qatari naval officers will be briefed
on the capabilities of the warship.
"I very much hope that this visit by HMS Argyll will further strengthen
an already very strong bond," Argyll commander John Kingwell said. "My
ship's company has been looking forward to this visit for some time."
