US Air Force says Qatar blockade has 'no impact' on American base
The United States is flying more missions out of al-Udeid than before the Saudi-led embargo.
The monthslong Saudi-led blockade against the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar has not impacted the American forces stationed there, a top US Air Force general told Al-Monitor today.
Located just south of the capital Doha, al-Udeid airbase hosts more than 10,000 US troops. It’s been a major hub for the US Air Force in the Gulf for 15 years and is the only American runway in the Gulf long enough to allow US B-52 bombers to target Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
“No impact,” Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, told Al-Monitor when asked about the blockade's effect of the blockade on US operations. “In fact, we’re flying more sorties per week now than we were before the embargo.”
The Air Force first deployed B-52 bombers to al-Udeid in April 2016 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, a US-backed effort to eliminate IS safe havens. First introduced in the 1950s, the Boeing-made strategic bomber gives US forces the ability to attack targets deep inside Iraq and Syria. Before the United States started using al-Udeid in 2001, the military stationed B-52s in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and flew occasional missions from a Navy facility at Diego Garcia, an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
