United States President Donald Trump is expected to end this week the first trip to the Middle East of this term. One of the stops of the visit was Qatar, a country that is at the center of a controversy involving a plane.
The rich nation of the Persian Gulf wants to give Trump a luxury boeing 747, valued at at least $ 250 million, equivalent to over one billion reais.
The Republican said he wants to accept the gift and use it as the new means of air transport by the president of the United States, but wants to take him with him when he leaves the presidency.
Since the first term in the White House, Trump insists that he wants a renewed fleet of Air Force One, a codename adopted for any plane worn by the president of the United States. The current fleet is from the 1990s.
Trump even suggested a new design for the aircraft, replacing the traditional light and white blue. In fact, there is a new fleet in production after a millionaire contract with Boeing, but the completion is expected only to 2027, still within the current term of the Republican.
In addition to becoming a symbol of power of the US government, Air Force One also represents an important means of protection for the leader of the most powerful nation in the world.
Therefore, transforming an unknown aircraft into an “flying white house” involves a series of security and logistics issues.
Disassembly and reforms
The current fleet of Air Force One was developed by Boeing, but all production was supervised by US authorities, especially by secret service and the Air Force.
The monitoring of the work is done so that all safety specifications are followed to the letter.
But this is not the case with the plane that Qatar wants to give to the US. Therefore, before the aircraft was safely used, according to security analysts heard by CNN, It would be necessary to dismantle the plane to verify that there are no listening devices installed, nor any element that compromises flight safety.
In addition, the Qatar Boeing, as much as it is a luxury aircraft, is not equipped with the security features adopted in Air Force One.
Some examples include an advanced and safe communications system, sophisticated radars, missile protection and shielding against electromagnetic attacks.
Inside, there is a suite for the president, meeting rooms, as well as a surgery room with a doctor available at all trips in case of an emergency.
The complex process of disassembly and reforms could take from several months to two years, according to experts heard by CNN. The cost would be in the house of hundreds of millions of dollars.
By itself, the use of an aircraft provided by another country in such a sensitive function would already represent a bottleneck in security.
Although it is not an enemy nation, Qatar is not well regarded by many American politicians because of the ties that the country maintains with Hamas, housing leaders from the Palestinian group.
Replenishment in the air
In addition to transporting the president, Air Force One is also seen as a leader’s means of protection.
According to each scenario, in a possible attack on the United States, putting the president on the plane and leaving the ground may be the safest alternative. It is the way the White House ensures the continuity of government in a time of crisis.
Air Force One would thus become the place from which the president’s orders would depart to command the nation after a catastrophe.
If a landing is prevented because of a soil attack, keeping the president safely becomes the priority of the armed forces. For this, the plane needs to be replenished in the flight, which makes it – at least theoretically – the autonomy of Air Force One Infinite.
The procedure, called Rev (Flight refueling), is common in military aviation. A tank plane approaches the other aircraft and launches a kind of tube that binds to the front, pumping fuel.
This is a vital resource for the operation of Air Force One. However, it is not something that Qatar’s Boeing has and it would be logistically complicated to be implemented.
Ethical and legal questions
In general, gifts from other countries given to US federal employees, such as the president, can carry a number of ethical complications.
Currently, the United States Law establishes that a server can get a gift as long as the value is up to $ 480, well below $ 250 million, the price of the Qatar Boeing.
Even so, the White House insists that the plane is not a gift to Trump, but to the American nation. But the president has already said that he intends to incorporate the aircraft into his presidential library, which is the set of artifacts accumulated by the presidents after he leaves his term.
In Washington, the weighting is that the Qatar would not donate a luxury aircraft as a gesture of charity, that is, without expecting anything in return and, therefore, the gift could raise more questions.
In addition, the possibility of conflicts of interest is also considered, since the Trump family’s real estate developments group is in full expansion between the Gulf nations, including Qatar.
In the country, there is the project for a golf course that should be built by the conglomerate, led by Trump’s son Eric, in partnership with a company linked to the Royal Family of Qatar, the same one who wants to give the luxury boeing to Trump.
The head of the United States Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi, nominated by Trump, has said that the present is “above any suspicion” and is working to be donated regularly to the president.
Before being nominated for the government, Bondi, it is worth remembering, was a lobbyist for Qatar.
Even though legal and ethical challenges are overcome around Qatar’s plane donation, Donald Trump would hardly begin to use the aircraft this year because of safety and logistics issues that would need to be resolved.
Was this content originally published in why the Trump Plane Gatar Plane can become a headache? on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
