Middle-East Veteran diplomat Dennis Ross warns US may leave Qatar base

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Middle-East
Veteran diplomat Dennis Ross warns US may leave Qatar base
ARAB NEWS | Published — Friday 2 June 2017

JEDDAH: The Trump administration may be prepared to leave Al-Udeid air base in Qatar if Doha does not change certain policies, US diplomat Dennis Ross told Sky News Arabia on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there’s some discussion internally in the Trump administration to make it clear to Qatar that if need be, we’re prepared even to move (from) the base,” said Ross, who served under former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Al-Udeid serves as a logistics, command and basing hub for US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Qatar spent more than $1 billion to construct the air base in the 1990s.

Continued: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1108616/middle-east

More:

Sanctions, leaving military base ‘possible options against Qatar’
JOYCE KARAM | Published — Saturday 27 May 2017

WASHINGTON: Qatar was under increasing pressure in Washington this week as Congressman Ed Royce and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised possible sanctions and the moving of the US military base out of the country if Doha does not change its ways.

The news comes after a recent diplomatic spat between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors, as well as signs of lukewarm relations between Doha and the Donald Trump administration.

Read more: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1105866/world