The American air base in Qatar targeted by Iranian missiles on Monday is the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East and serves as the regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command. About 10,000 troops are stationed there.
The installation, Al Udeid Air Base, is heavily fortified by an array of air defenses. The U.S. military has been using Al Udeid since the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, when it positioned planes there to target the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Two years later, Al Udeid became the main U.S. air operations hub in the region.
U.S. commanders used the base to coordinate a wide variety of missions during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as strikes against the Islamic State in Syria. The Air Force has deployed a wide variety of aircraft there, from advanced fighters and long-range bombers to drones, transport planes and in-flight refueling tankers.
It also became the central evacuation point for tens of thousands of Afghans and Americans who fled Afghanistan in 2021 when the U.S. military withdrew.
The Combined Air Operations Center at the base helps project U.S. air power across a vast region encompassing 21 countries, from Northeast Africa to Central and South Asia, according to the Air Force.
Qatar, which saw the United States as its main protector in the Middle East, finished building the base in 1996, hoping to encourage the deployment of the U.S. military there. Over the years, Qatar has spent at least $8 billion to develop the base, which its military also uses alongside the British Royal Air Force, as part of its efforts to build up its partnership with the United States.
The modernization and expansion of the base has allowed a number of key U.S. military commands to operate out of it. Along with the U.S. Central Command, the base also hosts command facilities for American special forces.
The base’s location was carefully guarded until 2013, when Chuck Hagel, then the defense secretary, lifted the veil of secrecy.
President Trump visited Al Udeid last month while on a four-day tour of Gulf States. There, in a rally-like atmosphere, he spoke about Qatar’s purchases of American military supplies and told several of his favorite stories, including one about his trip to Iraq during his first term.
“I have nothing else to do,” Mr. Trump told U.S. troops from a stage at the base, “so let’s have a little fun.”
Lara Jakes, based in Rome, reports on diplomatic and military efforts by the West to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. She has been a journalist for nearly 30 years.
Yan Zhuang is a Times reporter in Seoul who covers breaking news.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
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