If US President Donald Trump is really serious about bringing peace to the Middle East, then he should rethink again accepting the gift of a luxury $400 million aircraft from the rulers of Qatar. The country is renowned for its continuing support for Islamist terror groups, for continuing to fan the flames that would reignite the fundamentalist Arab Spring, for anti-US terrorist activity and for attacks on the US.
Far from being allies of the US, the Qataris have, in recent years, done their level best to undermine American efforts to bring peace to and stability to the Middle East, not to mention radicalising US higher education. The Middle East Forum's Benjamin Baird has detailed how, since 2012, "Qatar's $40 Billion Spending Spree Buys Influence and Control of Elite Institutions."
While other Arab states, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have been prepared to demonstrate their pro-Western sympathies and plans to stabilise the region by joining the Abraham Accords -- signed in the dying days of Trump's first term and aimed at normalising relations with Israel -- the Qataris have instead opted to take a different path, one where they have actively encouraged and supported America's enemies.
Trump has made clear that he would like other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, to sign up to the Abraham Accords.
During Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia last week, where he met with the country's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and signed trade deals worth an estimated $600 billion, Trump expressed the hope that the Saudis would soon sign up to the Abraham Accords by normalising their own relations with Israel.
During his address to a Saudi-US business forum being held in Riyadh, Trump said it was his "dream" to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords.
His soft approach, however, to the Saudi Crown Prince -- that he was welcome to join the Abraham Accords "in your own time" -- could easily be a "never", and Trump's attempts to deepen trade ties with Qatar could ultimately prove counter-productive to his efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
The Trump administration's other attempts, to stabilise the region, moreover, continue to be undermined by the revolutionary agendas of terror organisations such as Hamas which, thanks to the support it receives from Qatar and Iran, is still able to wage war against Israel.
The Qataris have a long history of hosting and financing a wide range of other Islamist terror groups as well, including the Taliban in Afghanistan and militias in Syria. According to Yigal Carmon, a former Israeli intelligence officer and founder and president of the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI):
"This is Qatar's classic game: support the Islamist terrorists and then present itself as a mediator, liaison, and even peacemaker – the arsonist playing firefighter. As in Afghanistan, as in Egypt in 2010, and as in every Muslim country."
Qatar's well-documented support for Islamist terror organisations makes Trump's decision to accept the Qataris' offer of a luxury jet all the more dubious, especially as the president, in comments he made during his stay in Riyadh, directly blamed Hamas for the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Worse, as Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan points out, a seriously bad odour is already emanating from the Trump presidency – after only four months:
"Huge Trump-branded apartment towers are going up in Saudi Arabia. An 18-hole golf course is going up in a partnership between Qatar and the Trump Organization. A United Arab Emirates fund invested $2 billion in a Trump-affiliated crypto firm. 'Next week, Trump will hold a gala dinner at his golf club in Virginia for the top 220 holders of his meme coin $TRUMP.'
"Earlier the Journal reported that sovereign or royal funds from the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Qatar 'have committed more than $3.5 billion to a private-equity fund run by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law,' and that 'state-backed funds from Qatar and the U.A.E. were major investors in a $6 billion fundraising round' for Elon Musk's xAI. Mr. Musk sat behind Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the president spoke at a rapturously received speech in Riyadh....
"Other news organizations noted the pricey private club Donald Trump Jr. and others are to open in Washington, where insiders and wealthy individuals can mix beyond the prying eyes of the public.
"Kathleen Clark, an ethics specialist at Washington University of St. Louis law school, told PBS the gift is no boon for taxpayers. The government isn't 'getting the equivalent of Air Force One for free.' They're getting an airplane frame that they will then have to—as you say—strip down and examine' for surveillance devices, then rebuild from the studs. 'This is no bargain. It's not even a corrupt bargain. It's just corrupt....'
"[A] growing, miasmic mist of what seems to be corruption and rent-seeking can ruin everything for Mr. Trump's supporters and obscure other aspects of his efforts....
"Mr. Trump revealed the essential philosophy behind his foreign-policy decisions: He hates war and loves gold. That's it. To hear it fully, to get near its meaning and debate its sufficiency, you had to step over so much broken glass. 'Flying Palace' Violates Emoluments Clause. Sons Enjoy Steep Profits From Trump Presidency."
If Trump is really serious about achieving his goal of bringing peace to Gaza, then his first course of action should be to persuade the Qataris to end their funding of Hamas, which has allowed it to maintain its murderous war against Israel. Trump should also once again demand that Qatar's client, Hamas, release all remaining hostages by the end of the week.
The American president's decision to accept the gift of a lavish jet from the Qataris will therefore raise questions about how serious he really is about resolving the Gaza crisis, and whether he is more interested in striking lucrative trade deals with the Qataris than combatting the global menace of Islamist terrorism.
Trump's international business deals, unlike those of the late Secretary of State George Shultz, appear, as the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board acknowledged, to be "offering a foreign-policy realism built on commerce, but shorn of American idealism."
Seeking to justify the Qatari gift, Trump has insisted that accepting the $400 million jet is a no-brainer.
"I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane'," Trump said on Monday, clarifying: "I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer."
The Qatari royal family's offer of a Boeing 747-8, which is known as the "palace in the sky" because of its opulence, is for it to be used as Air Force One, a move that has provoked a backlash from even some of Trump's most die-hard MAGA supporters.
Criticism of the Qatari gift has come from staunch Trump loyalist Laura Loomer, who criticised the president's decision, insisting it was wrong to accept gifts from what she called "jihadists in suits".
Interviewed by ABC News, Loomer spoke of her disappointment at the president's decision.
"We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits," she declared, saying it would be a "stain" on the Trump administration.
"The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members. The same proxies that have worked with the Mexican cartels to get jihadists across our border... I'm so disappointed," she wrote on social media.
The Qatari gift has also raised important national security concerns, with one former CIA officer describing the Qatari jet as a "counterintelligence nightmare" if it is retrofitted like the White House's existing Boeing jets, which have classified anti-missile defences that have been used in the Air Force One fleet since 1990. The planes are also fitted with sophisticated communications equipment that allows the president to securely execute his duties from the plane and protect him from cyberattacks.
"If you go back to almost anything that is given by a foreign government, there are regulations and restrictions and guidelines for ensuring that they're not being bugged, and a plane would be an absolute nightmare to be able to confirm that it's not," said Darrell Blocker, a retired CIA field operative. "From an intelligence perspective, it's not the brightest move."
Also, what precedent is being set? Would the first gesture toward all future administrations be to bestow lavish tributes on the president and his family members to gain preferential treatment from the US?
America's founding fathers already thought of that. The US Constitution clearly states in Article I, Section 9:
"And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
And in Article II, Section 4:
"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors".
Trump's political rivals may well be hoping that their chance has finally come to impeach him again -- this time with $400 million dollars' worth of evidence. "Sorry," the New York Post noted, "this 'gift' is far from free; Qatar will surely expect something in return."
Given the Qataris' history of double-dealing with the West, negotiating lucrative contracts with Western firms while at the same time funding Islamist terror groups, Trump would be well-advised to reconsider their gift of a luxury jet and reject this highly questionable offer.
Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
