The Ultimate Fate of the Qatari Luxury Jet

The Ultimate Fate of the Qatari Luxury Jet

Photo by David Lusvardi on Unsplash

In June of 2023, my wife and I had the pleasure of traveling to Zimbabwe during a visit to Southern Africa. Before we left South Africa to fly to Zimbabwe, we did our best to stock up on small bills in US currency.

We knew that Zimbabweans suffered under hyper-inflation and a corrupt national government. We went to enjoy the sights of Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls — truly a natural wonder.

As with any sovereign nation, Zimbabwe has Visa requirements for foreign visitors. The entry visa required a cash payment.

Fine. At that time, US dollars were welcome everywhere.

So we took our turn at the International Arrivals window, showed our passports and handed over the money. The attendant quickly scanned our payment and slid all the mixed bills into a disorganized till.

His expression betrayed no reaction as he handed back our passports with the cherished stamp to allow our visit to his country.

That cash in that disorganized till seemed destined to be stuffed into a suitcase with an ultimate destination of a friendly third nation willing to host the president, had he lost (the likely rigged) election.

As it turns out, the incumbent president did not have to flee Zimbabwe, but there were some irregularities in the election. The bills I gave to enter the country are presumably still in Zimbabwe.

This past week, Qatar offered to gift a luxury plane perportedly to the Department of Defense for our president to use in his travels around the country and world. Apparently, the aging Air Force One comes up short.

This gifted 747 does not have all the needed security upgrades to protect a world leader. It will need many modifications to meet all the requirements to keep our president safe and secure as he flies. There are replacements in production but this plane is not ready for use by our president without its own set of expansive and expensive modifications.

Rumor has it that this plane will become property of the Trump library following the merciful end of his term. Because it would be stupid (or ethical) to turn down such a gift.

But its actual final destination might well be Qatar as Trump’s list of alleged crimes reaches whatever number deemed sufficient for his actual prosecution by the institutions with the authority to bring charges and imprisonment against him.

When Trump reaches that mysterious number, as it was with the small bills travelers pay for a Visa into Zimbabwe, the pressure of inevitable prosecution and punishment will compel Trump to try to take as much of his ill gotten wealth back to the friends.

As with the wealth attained by kleptofacsists, Trump may return via his bribe to Qatar along with as many billions of American dollars as he can bring along.

He will be following a pattern that other dictators set(whom Trump admires) who have escaped with treasure from their home countries.

The Qatari government could come to regret this gift since its cost would far exceed its monetary value.

But given what they have done to coerce international bodies for privileges of hosting the World Track and Field championships in 2019 and the FIFA World Cup in 2022, they probably feel vindicated. Welcoming a disgraced Trump will do little to taint their reputation among the peace loving nations of the earth.

Peace