The US Defence Department is reportedly encouraging the sale of over $500 million worth of drones to Qatar despite a delay from the State Department’s end.
The comments by
three American officials and a congressional aide familiar with discussions
come just days after Doha reportedly expressed its frustration over the delay
in a purchase request for four MQ-9b Predator drones from the US made more than
a year ago. While the Pentagon favours the sale, the US State Department yet to
approve the request despite green lighting similar applications from other
allies, including the UAE.
Qatari official
mentioned that the frustration from our perspective is that there is no clear
indication as to why there is a delay on our request, pointing to Doha’s recent
evacuation operations in Afghanistan as proof of its reliability as an ally,
especially in matters concerning security and stability.
Doha’s anger has
been exacerbated by the fact that Washington has approved purchased requests
made by other Middle Eastern states including the UAE. Another factor is that
Qatar served as the primary transit point for US’ evacuation operations in Afghanistan
and also helped its counter-terrorism missions.
Notably, Qatar
is hosting the FIFA World Cup next year, and officials for safeguarding the
territory against possible terror attacks have deemed the drones as
crucial. The current drone deal is estimated to be roughly worth $600
million.
Qatar has served
and played a tremendous role in USA’s difficult time in terms of monetary
support and technology. Qatar was amongst the gulf countries, which allowed the
US, and NATO states to use their transit points for airlift operations.
Meanwhile, Washington has ramped up efforts to increase its stronghold in
the Middle East and central Asia, especially following the pullout of its
troops from Afghanistan.
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