U.S. President Donald Trump bids farewell to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Al Udeid Air Force Base as he boards Air Force One en route to Abu Dhabi International Airport, May 15, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Torok\/White House)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Washington calls Qatar a partner, but in truth, it is the world\u2019s most duplicitous actor. Washington maintains a sprawling military presence at Al Udeid Air Base, using it as a launchpad for operations across the region. In return, Qatar bankrolls Hamas, hosts the Taliban and gives airtime to anti-Western rhetoric on its state-funded Al-Jazeera network. No serious foreign-policy analyst can deny this: The very country that houses American warplanes also houses America\u2019s enemies.<\/p>\n
Qatar\u2019s role as Hamas\u2019s top benefactor is not speculative; it is well-documented. In the aftermath of the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Qatar\u2019s long-standing support for the group was thrown into the global spotlight. Rather than face sanctions, Doha continues to be treated as a mediator, despite its obvious bias and complicity. Why are we entrusting a Hamas patron with negotiating ceasefires? That\u2019s not diplomacy. It\u2019s delusion.<\/p>\n
Turkey, another so-called ally, has increasingly adopted an Islamist, anti-Western posture under President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan. A NATO member in name only, Turkey has purchased weapons from Russia, harassed American allies like the Kurds and allowed jihadist elements to operate on or through its soil.<\/p>\n
Ankara\u2019s support for Hamas and hostility against Jerusalem is part of a broader pivot toward authoritarian Islamism. Turkey shelters Muslim Brotherhood members, hosts admitted terror supporter Sami Al-Arian, amplifies antisemitic conspiracies and positions itself as a champion of causes diametrically opposed to Western democratic values. If this is friendship, what does enmity look like?<\/p>\n
Even more baffling is the U.S. willingness to treat the new regime in Syria, now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, as if it is a credible partner in regional \u201cstability.\u201d Although al-Sharaa came to power after leading the offensive that ousted Bashar Assad, his leadership of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham raises grave concerns about sectarian extremism and intolerance.<\/p>\n
In recent days, Syrian forces under his command have launched assaults on the Druze community in southern Syria, prompting Israel to intervene militarily in their defense. Israeli airstrikes against Syrian military positions were reportedly carried out to protect the embattled Druze, highlighting Jerusalem\u2019s willingness to act unilaterally when minorities are threatened.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, American forces remain in Syria under rules of engagement so restrictive they cannot meaningfully respond to evolving threats, inviting further instability and bloodshed.<\/p>\n
There is a broader strategic failure here: the assumption that engagement, economic ties or shared military interests are enough to tame ideological adversaries. This \u201cfrenemy\u201d doctrine has failed repeatedly. It assumes that transactional partnerships will produce long-term alignment with U.S. goals. In reality, these arrangements have funded extremism, rewarded bad behavior and alienated our real allies, in particular, Israel.<\/p>\n
We have misread the game board. Qatar is not a neutral broker. Turkey is not a Western democracy. Syria is not a stabilizing force. These regimes exploit the West\u2019s desire for dialogue and diplomacy while funding our enemies and weakening our alliances.<\/p>\n
The United States must stop mistaking geography for loyalty. Just because our bases are on their soil doesn\u2019t mean their interests align with ours. We must:<\/p>\n
\nCondition military and financial cooperation on measurable action against terrorist groups.<\/li>\n Sanction regimes and individuals who fund or harbor extremists.<\/li>\n Rebuild strategic alliances with trustworthy partners, especially Israel and moderate Arab states that have embraced normalization and peace.<\/li>\n Pull back from failed engagement strategies that assume these hostile actors can be \u201cmanaged\u201d through diplomacy alone.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThe war on terror has always required moral clarity. Today, that clarity demands acknowledging that we are feeding the enemy\u2014militarily, financially and diplomatically\u2014while pretending we are feeding friends.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just a strategic error. It\u2019s a betrayal of American values, allies and the cause of peace.<\/p>\n
Stephen M. Flatow is president of the Religious Zionists of America. He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. The opinion represented by him is not necessarily that of the CCJN.<\/em><\/p>\n
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