US Offers Qatar 'Diet NATO' After Israeli Bombing
Funny how a 'security guarantee' becomes urgent only after an ally bombs one of America’s largest regional military bases – which hosts 10,000 U.S. troops – and not after Iranian attacks, as the American Enterprise Institute’s Brian Carter suggests in the Axios piece. This isn't about protecting American personnel from Iran; it's about papering over the utter chaos in U.S. foreign policy where
'allies' (Israel) bomb other 'allies' (Qatar) who host American troops, and Washington's response is… more 'assurances' via executive order, no pesky Senate approval needed. One might charitably call it 'unprecedented,' or uncharitably, a band-aid on a gaping wound – a diplomatic recognition that our supposed regional friends are, in fact, not friends with each other (or sometimes, us). The 'Trump
administration decision' (via executive order) conveniently neglects the historical context of Qatar’s increasing geopolitical importance, often negotiating hostage deals that the U.S. can't or won't publicly engage in. This 'diet NATO' protection is less about a cohesive strategy and more about insulating America’s forward presence from its fractious partners, especially when another ally decided
to drop bombs.