When U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the federal government had reached an agreement with Qatar to construct a facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho , backlash quickly surfaced on social media.

Critics expressed alarm at what they believed to be the establishment of a foreign military base on U.S. soil.

Hegseth clarified on X, “The U.S. military has a long-standing partnership w/ Qatar, including today’s announced cooperation w/ F-15QA aircraft. However, to be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States—nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners.”

Defence officials also noted that the agreement has been in development for several years as part of broader U.S.-Qatar defence cooperation. “

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