Trump signs executive order vowing to defend Qatar

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order vowing to use all measures including U.S. military action to defend the energy-rich nation of Qatar — though it remains unclear just what weight the pledge will carry.

The text of the order, available Wednesday on the White House’s website but dated Monday, appears to be another measure by Trump to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders as they weighed accepting a ceasefire with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip .

The order cites the two countries’ “close cooperation” and “shared interest,” vowing to “guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the state of Qatar against external attack.”

“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the state of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the order says.

“In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the state of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”

The order apparently came during a visit to Washington on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump organized a call by Netanyahu to Qatar during the visit in which Netanyahu “expressed his deep regret” over the strike that killed six people, including a member of the Qatari security forces, the White House said.

Qatari officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s order. However, the Qatari-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera prominently reported about it Wednesday under the headline: “New Trump executive order guarantees Qatar security after Israeli attack.”

The true scope of the pledge remains in question. Typically, legally binding agreements, or treaties, need to receive the approval of the U.S. Senate. However, presidents have entered international agreements without the Senate’s approval, like President Barack Obama did with Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

And ultimately, any decision to take military action rests with the president. That uncertainty has clouded previous U.S. defense agreements in Trump’s second term, like NATO’s Article 5 guarantees .

Qatar, a peninsular nation that sticks out into the Persian Gulf, became fantastically wealthy through its natural gas reserves. It has been a key U.S. military partner, allowing America’s Central Command to have its forward operating base at its vast Al Udeid Air Base. President Joe Biden named Qatar as a major non-NATO ally in 2022, in part due to its help during America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In the aftermath of the Israeli attack, Saudi Arabia entered a mutual defense agreement with Pakistan, bringing the kingdom under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella . It’s unclear whether other Gulf Arab countries, both worried about Israel and Iran as it faces reimposed United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, may seek similar arrangements as well with the region’s longtime security guarantor.

“The Gulf’s centrality in the Middle East and its significance to the United States warrants specific U.S. guarantees beyond President Donald J. Trump’s assurances of nonrepetition and dinner meetings,” wrote Bader al-Saif, a history professor at Kuwait University who analyzes Gulf Arab affairs.

阿联酋迪拜——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普签署了一项行政命令，誓言将采取包括美国军事行动在内的一切措施来保卫能源丰富的卡塔尔——尽管目前尚不清楚这一承诺究竟会产生多大的影响。

该命令的文本于周三在白宫网站上公布，但日期为周一。这似乎是特朗普为安抚卡塔尔而采取的另一项措施。此前，以色列对卡塔尔发动突袭，目标是哈马斯领导人，当时他们正在考虑是否接受与以色列就加沙地带战争达成的停火协议。

该命令援引了两国“密切合作”和“共同利益”，并誓言“保障卡塔尔国的安全和领土完整免受外部攻击”。

该命令称：“美国应将任何针对卡塔尔领土、主权或关键基础设施的武装攻击视为对美国和平与安全的威胁。”

“如果发生此类袭击，美国将采取一切合法和适当的措施——包括外交、经济措施，并在必要时采取军事措施——以捍卫美国和卡塔尔国的利益，并恢复和平与稳定。”

据称，这项命令是在以色列总理内塔尼亚胡周一访问华盛顿期间下达的。白宫表示，特朗普在内塔尼亚胡访问期间安排他与卡塔尔方面通话，内塔尼亚胡在通话中对造成包括一名卡塔尔安全部队成员在内的六人死亡的袭击事件“深表遗憾”。

卡塔尔官员尚未就特朗普的行政命令作出回应。然而，卡塔尔资助的卫星新闻网络半岛电视台周三对此进行了重点报道，标题为：“以色列袭击后，特朗普新行政命令保障卡塔尔安全”。

该承诺的真正范围仍存疑。通常情况下，具有法律约束力的协议或条约需要获得美国参议院的批准。然而，总统也曾未经参议院批准就签署国际协议，例如奥巴马总统在2015年与世界大国达成的伊朗核协议。

最终，是否采取军事行动的决定权在于总统。这种不确定性给特朗普第二任期内美国此前达成的防务协议蒙上了阴影，例如北约第五条款的保障条款。

卡塔尔是一个伸入波斯湾的半岛国家，凭借其丰富的天然气储量而变得极其富有。它一直是美国重要的军事伙伴，美国中央司令部得以在其庞大的乌代德空军基地设立前沿作战基地。2022年，乔·拜登总统将卡塔尔列为主要非北约盟友，部分原因在于卡塔尔在美国混乱的阿富汗撤军过程中提供的帮助。

以色列袭击事件发生后，沙特阿拉伯与巴基斯坦签署了共同防御协议，将沙特置于伊斯兰堡的核保护伞之下。目前尚不清楚其他海湾阿拉伯国家是否也会寻求与该地区长期以来的安全保障者达成类似协议。这些国家既担忧以色列，也担忧伊朗——伊朗正因其核计划面临联合国重新实施的制裁。

“海湾地区在中东的中心地位及其对美国的重要性，需要美国做出具体的保证，而不仅仅是唐纳德·J·特朗普总统保证不再重蹈覆辙和举行晚宴，”科威特大学历史学教授巴德尔·赛义夫写道，他专门研究海湾阿拉伯国家的事务。