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Qatar gives planes the way other countries give medals.
Qatar’s offer to provide a $400 million Boeing 747 to the US government-to be potentially used as Air Force One-has reignited scrutiny of the Gulf monarchy’s decades-long strategy to buy influence across every corner of American power: Military, academia, politics, media, and business.
The jet, dubbed “a palace in the sky,” is only the most visible symbol of Qatar’s outsize ambition to embed itself in Washington’s elite.Why it matters
- The proposed jet isn’t a first. In 2018, Turkey’s President Erdogan received a similar gift from Qatar. So did Yemen’s late dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh. Even Saddam Hussein’s Iraq once got a Qatari jumbo jet, back in 2000. Qatar gives planes the way other countries give medals.
- However, at stake is far more than a luxury plane. The Gulf state’s economic firepower-derived from the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves-has funded an unparalleled soft-power blitz, transforming a desert nation of 300,000 citizens into one of Washington’s most influential foreign players.
- The implications? A reshaped US foreign policy posture in the Middle East and a growing chorus of questions about sovereignty, security, and ethics.
- Qatar is now the largest foreign donor to US universities, funneling over $6.3 billion into schools like Georgetown, Cornell, and Northwestern.
- It has spent over $225 million on lobbying and PR in Washington since 2017-more than triple what Israel spent in 2021 and almost two-thirds of China’s spending.
- Its sovereign wealth fund controls an estimated $524 billion-equal to over $1.5 million per citizen-and includes ownership stakes in US infrastructure, real estate, and venture capital.
The big picture
- As per a Free Press report, Qatar’s leverage isn’t limited to elite politics. Its biggest long-term bet is education.
- The country has created Education City outside Doha-a gleaming complex of US university branches, funded entirely by the Qatari state.
- Qatar paid $760 million to Georgetown University alone and $1.8 billion to Cornell, with similar deals for Texas A\&M and Northwestern.
- Critics say the influence shows: classroom censorship, limited academic freedom, and a whitewashed portrayal of Qatar’s political system.
- In 2023, Texas A&M announced it would shut down its Doha campus by 2028, citing rising national-security concerns. But Georgetown and others renewed their partnerships, and continue to accept Qatari money despite rising pressure from lawmakers and watchdogs.
Zoom in
- Qatar’s influence operation reaches from college campuses to Capitol Hill, from think tanks to golf resorts.
- As per a Wall Street Journal report, Al Udeid Air Base, built and paid for by Qatar at a cost of over $8 billion, houses 10,000 US troops and is the Pentagon’s main Middle East hub.
- The Pentagon sees the base as indispensable. But there’s a catch: the base can’t be used for any strike against Iran without Qatari approval.
- In 2022, President Biden formally declared Qatar a “major non-Nato ally,” opening the door to more arms sales and joint operations. In the words of one former US general, “They’ve been an extraordinary partner.”
- The Qatari government recently helped launch a Trump-branded luxury golf resort outside Doha, with Eric Trump attending the unveiling.
- Jared Kushner’s private equity fund received a $1.5 billion investment from a joint Qatari-UAE fund.
- A growing web of former US officials and insiders, including ex-CIA, Defense, and Trump campaign officials, are now on Qatar’s lobbying payroll.
- All of it contributes to a powerful dual image: a key US ally and energy partner on one hand-and a funder of Hamas and Islamist movements on the other.
What they’re saying
- President Donald Trump has brushed aside concerns about the 747 gift. “It’s a beautiful plane for a beautiful price and what’s wrong with that?” he said. “Only a stupid person” would turn it down. A senior US official echoed that sentiment: “There are no strings attached either contractually or implicitly.”
- From Doha, Qatari Embassy spokesman Ali Al Ansari insisted, “Qatar doesn’t stand to receive anything in return for the possible government-to-government transfer,” calling it “a reflection of the strong security relationship” between the two countries.
- Yet critics warn that Qatar’s cash-for-access model poses serious risks.
- “Qatar has it both ways. They play both sides of the fence,” Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert and professor at Georgetown University, told the Free Press.
- “I can’t think of a single dispute or conflict in the Middle East that the Qataris made better,” Sir John Jenkins**, a former British diplomat focused on the region, told the Free Press.
- Hoffman said after October 7, when Hamas murdered over 1,200 Israelis, a US defense official warned him not to criticize Qatar publicly: “We can’t do anything that endangers the air base.”
Between the lines
- Since 2017, Qatar has spent at least $225 million on lobbying and public relations in Washington. The government’s FARA filings show over 18 firms on its payroll, including prominent names from both political parties.
- Qatar’s relationship with the Trump world has turned into a strategic pipeline for influence:
- Attorney general Pam Bondi, who signed off on the 747 deal, previously represented Qatar at a DC lobbying firm billing $115,000 a month.
- Steve Witkoff, a Trump confidant and special envoy to the Middle East, had a failed New York investment rescued by Qatar for $623 million. He is now helping broker real estate and security deals with Doha.
- Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, previously led Mercury Public Affairs, which worked for Qatar’s embassy.
- The ties are so deep that watchdogs warn of violations of the Emoluments Clause, which bars federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments, the Free Press report said.
What’s next
- With Qatar’s profile only rising-and its critics growing louder-expect further scrutiny from lawmakers and media.
- Republicans have opened investigations into foreign gifts to universities, particularly focusing on how Qatari money may shape Israel-related curriculum amid the Gaza war.
- Qatar’s media arm Al Jazeera is under fire for providing platforms to Hamas leaders, and a 2020 DOJ order to register it as a foreign agent remains unresolved.
- Lobbying disclosures show increasing contacts with top lawmakers, including Senator Lindsey Graham, who has reversed past criticism and now calls Qatar “more the solution than the problem.”
- And the money keeps flowing. A 2024 fact sheet from the Trump White House boasts of a $1.2 trillion economic commitment from Qatar, including the purchase of 210 Boeing jets and billions in defense and energy deals that “create over 1 million US jobs”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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