Qatar - The New US Outpost in the Middle East

Abstract

The paper is devoted to a very interesting topic: “Qatar - the new US outpost in the Middle East”.

US President Joe Biden declared Qatar a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA or Non-NATO Ally) outside of NATO, making it the third country in the Arabian/Persian Gulf region after Kuwait and Bahrain to achieve this status and one of 18 countries in the world.

The MNNA status provides its holders with significant benefits and advantages, including privileged access to advanced US military technologies and defence equipment. Although Qatar already had clo­se ties with America, the adoption of this title indicates a deepening of bilateral relations between Qatar and the US, close cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance in solving regional and global challenges.

Some politicians are sceptical about granting Qatar the status of MNNA, since the emirate has close ties with non-state actors in the Middle East - "Hamas", "Hezbollah", "Muslim Brotherhood", as well as "Taliban", which are in conflict with the US/West and Israel. Howe­ver, this situation allows Qatar to position itself as a "permanent me­diator" and negotiator in the settlement of the conflict between the ab­ove-mentioned parties. Qatar also played a key role in the safe eva­cua­tion of US troops from Afghanistan.

All of the above contributes to the deepening of Qatar's coope­ration with the US, NATO and the transition to a new level after granting the status.