Origin and Context

Qatar's Geography and Wealth

Qatar is a small country surrounded by much larger, more populous countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the 1990's and 2000's, great wealth was discovered through its liquid natural gas (LNG) resources and since then, Qatar has used this wealth to create influence around the world. It is now the third largest exporter of LNG, giving it wealth that far outweighs its population. As a result, it has founded major news organizations like "Al Jazeera", hosted world events like the World Cup and several diplomatic summits, and created positive relationships with countries like the United States. This has primarily been achieved through investing in foreign education, infrastructure, and military. However, the government of Qatar also uses large, symbolic gifts to create good relations. This mass of wealth and tendency to create goodwill through gifts creates the context of the Boeing 747-8 transfer.

Airplane Necessity

The decision to gift an aircraft is complex and multifaceted. Mainly, the jet is meant to serve as the new Air Force One, which is the call sign for any plane that the President is traveling on. As of right now, only two planes are outfitted and modified to transport the President, both having been delivered in 1990 and being outdated.

Additionally, President Trump has expressed desire for an updated plane in his second term, however a new one is unlikely to be produced for multiple years. This is because the program to create new Air Force One planes, VC-25B, has been pushed back due to backups and supply chain failures from Boeing. Thus, there are two options: wait for Boeing to complete a new aircraft (which would take years) or find an intermediate aircraft, like the one from Qatar, while Boeing completes the new planes.

Boeings Monopoly

Boeing's combination of experience and history with government contracts makes it essentially the only company that could carry out the creation of a new plane for the President. This sort of monopoly over Air Force One aircrafts exacerbates supply chain failures and, in turn, the gift from Qatar is more impactful as there are few other options for the U.S. than to accept.

Who Is the Plane For?

The plane was formally given to and accepted by the United States government, particularly the U.S. Department of Defense (now called the Department of War). Then, it was given to the U.S. Air Force to modify for transportation of the President. But while it was technically gifted to and received by the U.S. government, it works on a much more personal level to President Trump. Trump's desire for an updated plane to serve as Air Force One is granted by the gift of the jet, which fulfills a personal request. Some reports also claim that the Trump Administration plans to give the plane to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation after his presidential term, making it available for his personal use.

Along with the United States, the Qatari Royal Family has gifted planes to the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein and the Turkish government under Recet Tayyip Erdogan. Both of these gifts were technically given to each country's respective governments, but intended mainly for the use of the leaders of these countries.

Other "Gifts" From Qatar

The United States has worked with Qatar for decades, and the jet is far from the first gift they have sent. They are the largest foreign donor to U.S. universities, having donated over $4 billion. They also have a military partnership with America as there are U.S. bases set up in the Middle East, including the crucial Al Udeid Air Base. Furthermore, Qatar has donated hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster relief to the U.S. and invested billions in the American economy. The plane is simply the latest gift to the American government.

What Has the United States Given to Qatar?

As one of the largest exporters of LNG in the world, Qatar's export pathways are extremely important to their economy. In fact, it has become economically interdependent on many Asian countries. As previously mentioned, Qatar is a small state surrounded by much larger and more populous countries with larger militaries. This means that these other countries could easily disrupt the Qatari LNG economy, and U.S. presence in Qatar serves as a deterrent.

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