Doha, Qatar - President Donald Trump will visit a facility in the Center for Middle East on Thursday as he used his four-day Gulf nation to visit the U.S. “interventionism” in the region.
Trump plans to resolve troops at Al-udeid air base in Qatar, a major stage of the U.S. ground during the Iraq and Afghanistan war and supports the recent American aviation campaign against Yemeni Iran-backed Husey. The president has served as a model of economic development in conflict-ridden regions in Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar as he strives to lure Iran into a deal with his administration to curb its nuclear program.
Trump also used his travel announcement plan to honor the administration of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and to ease sanctions on war-torn countries. Over the years, the United States has deployed more than 1,000 soldiers in Syria to suppress the return of the Islamic State group.
Trump, who was tied with Al-Qaida for insurgents to fight U.S. forces in Iraq after meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The president called al-Sharaa "young, attractive guy. Strong guy. Past. Past. Past. Past is strong. Fighter."
This is in stark contrast to the early years when al-Sharaa was imprisoned by the U.S. military in Iraq. Until December, the US bounty he was arrested had $10 million.
Speaking in Saudi Arabia on the first day of the region, Trump told Gulf leaders: "It's really incredible. Ultimately, the so-called state builders destroyed countries far more than they built, and the "interventionists" intervened in complex societies that they didn't even understand themselves."
The headquarters of the Katari base has about 8,000 U.S. troops, about 10,000 more than the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The gas bay is rich in gas strata for 20 years, costing about $8 billion on a development base and is built on a flat desert about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of the Qatar capital. The base was once considered so sensitive that only U.S. military officers say it was somewhere in Southwest Asia.
Trump said he and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will also see evidence of U.S. air capability as U.S. leaders want to promote defense exports to the region.
"You are actually buying a lot of equipment," Trump said Wednesday, with Sheikh Tamim signing a series of bilateral and commercial agreements between the two countries. "And I think we'll see some of these tomorrow- we won't call it the Sky Expo, but it's going to be an Sky Expo. We'll showcase one that will be incredible. They have the latest and greatest aircraft and almost everything else."
In the agreement between the two leaders signed on Wednesday, there is a document for Qatar to purchase the U.S.-made MQ-9B drone - the export version of the Reaper.
Trump told al-Sharaa that he hopes the new administration controls Syria's prisons possess ISIS fighters and their families, who are currently protected by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters. If it is to be passed, it will further reduce the demand for the U.S. military in the country.
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Madhani reported from Dubai. Doha Associated Press writer Gabe Levin contributed to the report.