U.S. Media: Hundreds of U.S. Soldiers Withdraw from Qatar Air Force Base

On February 20, Xinhua News Agency reported from Washington that hundreds of U.S. soldiers have been evacuated from the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The report cited Pentagon officials as saying that the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet has also conducted personnel evacuations at several bases in Bahrain. Currently, U.S. forces are still stationed at bases located in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Catherine Thompson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, stated that this appears to be preparation for a more prolonged conflict, as the Pentagon seems to "anticipate that Iran's response could pose significant risks to U.S. bases in the region." The report indicated that the Pentagon believes the war could last more than 12 days.

On the 20th, U.S. President Trump confirmed at the White House that he is considering a "limited initial military strike" against Iran to compel Iran to accept U.S. demands regarding the nuclear agreement. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on the 19th, if a "limited initial military strike" is carried out against Iran, the first round of attacks could occur in the coming days, targeting certain military or government facilities; if Iran continues to refuse to halt its uranium enrichment activities, the U.S. will launch a large-scale operation against key facilities of the Iranian government, potentially aimed at "overthrowing the regime."

The Al Udeid Air Base is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East. During the 12-day military conflict triggered by Israel's raid on Iran in June 2025, the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, and in retaliation, Iran struck the Al Udeid Air Base with missiles.