The US military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important US ally in the Middle East, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday. Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar's defence minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would "host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability."

The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore. But the news drew a sharp rebuke from close Trump ally and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who called the plan "an abomination" and accused the Qataris of being associated with Islamic terror organisations. "No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries," Loomer wrote in one of several social media posts just hours after Hegseth's announcement.