President Donald Trump quietly signed a NATO-like security guarantee with Qatar this week, his latest run around Congress’ authority.
The order — signed the same day as Trump encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar for last month’s attack — declares that the US should treat any attack on Qatar “as a threat to the peace and security of the” US and “take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military” action.
The order isn’t legally binding like NATO’s Article 5 because it hasn’t been passed by the Senate, but nevertheless represents an “unprecedented” commitment by the US to an Arab country, Axios writes.
Politico called it a “shocking departure from the administration’s America First approach to foreign policy.” Republicans critical of Doha might have questions.