The on-again, off-again talks between Israel and Hamas over a Gaza cease-fire and the release of hostages appear to be on again — and once again, Qatar is taking a leading role in the mediation process.
For more than a year, Qatar’s negotiators have sought to replicate the success they achieved in November of 2023, when they managed to secure the release of 109 hostages — in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners — during a one-week cease fire in the Gaza war.
Now, with the coming of the new Trump administration in the U.S., they feel the momentum for a peace agreement might be returning.
The incoming administration has given "a lot of encouragement in order to achieve a deal, even before President Donald Trump takes office," the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister told a packed audience at the recent Doha Forum.
I was privileged to attend the forum and encouraged by the prime minister’s optimistic assessment. Everyone wants to see the Gaza conflict ended and the hostages safely returned to their families.
However, as someone who has worked and lived in the Mideast for more than 12 years in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Dubai, the premier’s comments reminded me of a much broader and more substantial issue that many on Capitol Hill should keep in mind: America needs friends it can rely on if it wants to advance U.S. interests — and bring peace — to the complex and troubled Mideast.
That thought was underscored just 24 hours later, when word filtered through the forum crowd that Bashar al-Assad had fled Syria, a seismic event in the region’s geopolitics.
- How will Assad’s departure affect America’s interests?
- How will it impact the security of Israel, America’s longstanding ally in the Mideast?
- What will the fall of the Assad regime mean for Russia, which staunchly backed Assad and kept him in power during more than a decade of civil war?
- What will this mean for Iran, which had also supported Assad and, overnight, lost a key piece on its Mideast chessboard?
Almost immediately, Qatar dispatched an envoy to Damascus to meet with the rebel faction that had overthrown the dictator.
Like the U.S., Doha had long opposed Assad’s tyrannical rule, but the Qataris have contacts with the disparate ethnic, religious, and political groups in the country (which the U.S. lacks), and they share our interest in a stable and secure post-Assad Syria.
The Syria example is emblematic of the role Qatar plays as an American ally in the Mideast. Qatar has long pursued an "open door" foreign policy that serves both its own interests and those of the United States.
For example: with the initial encouragement of both the U.S. and Israel, Qatar agreed to host a political office for Hamas, which, in turn, allowed Doha to successfully negotiate the hostage release last year.
Four years ago, Qatar mediated between the U.S. and the Taliban, which resulted in the Doha Agreement that ended the war in Afghanistan.
A year later, Qatar helped the U.S. evacuate 74,000 civilians from Afghanistan following the hasty withdrawal of U.S. military forces, and the Qataris have served as mediators between the U.S. and the new Taliban government ever since.
More recently, Qatar mediated between the U.S. and Iran to secure the release of five American citizens. And well beyond the Mideast, Qatar helped negotiate the release of 10 Americans held captive in Venezuela in 2023, and negotiated the repatriation of 22 Ukrainian children held by Russia this past year.
By keeping this "open door" to political groups America can’t, or won’t, deal with directly, Qatar gives the U.S. a back channel to negotiate with America’s adversaries.
Just as important, Qatar hosts the American military’s largest airbase in the Mideast at Al Udeid, which has served as the forward airbase for U.S. Central Command since 2003.
The base was built — and entirely paid for — by the Qataris, who have invested over $8 billion in Al Udeid over the past two decades.
Some 10,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed there, and it is considered a lynchpin of American security in the entire Mideast/North African region.
For these reasons, and in recognition of decades of close cooperation, the U.S. designated Qatar a Major Non-NATO Ally in 2022.
Going forward, there should be no doubt that Qatar will be an indispensable ally for President-elect Donald J. Trump as he pursues an ambitious peace agenda in the first hundred days of the new administration.
And, as he negotiates a settlement to the war in Ukraine, President Trump may be looking to Qatar to reach out to Hamas, Iran, the Taliban, and other adversaries to help resolve conflicts in the Mideast, as well.
If history is any guide, Qatar will prove to be a reliable and trustworthy partner for not only President-elect Trump and the United States, but for others globally who are striving for a more peaceful world.
Bernard B. Kerik was the 40th Police Commissioner of the New York City Police Department and is a New York Times bestselling author. Read Bernard Kerik's Reports — More Here.
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