10 June 2003
The war in Iraq is over, so that means that the troops are coming home
and the United States is reducing its presence - what military planners
like to call its "footprint" in the region, right?
Well, wrong, actually.
Contrary to much of the recent news coverage about Pentagon
pronouncements on the US seeking to reduce its presence in Saudi Arabia,
the fact of the matter is that when one looks at the big picture, the US
has a huge military presence in the region. And it is not going
anywhere. Considering the rhetoric that has come out in the past month
from the neoconservative camp and administration officials about their
unhappiness with countries such as Syria and Iran, the US military
ability to reach out and touch someone must be taken very seriously.
A report by the Pacific Life Research Center, "Understanding the War On
Terrorism": Preemptive Force - A Sequel" by Bob Aldridge details the
bases that are now under the control of the US Central Command
(CENTCOM).
Contrary to US policy during the Cold War when the US stationed hundreds
of thousands of troops in Europe, the current Pentagon strategy is to
have "long-term access" to bases, rather than a permanent presence.
Thus, forces can be shifted among numerous accessible points to meet
various "threats", rather than have a full complement of troops at a
few
permanent locations.
Some bases are reasonably well known, due to their use in the war
against Iraq. For example, in Qatar the army base at Camp As-Sayliyah
served as CENTCOM's forward headquarters and command center. Similarly,
al-Udeid Air Base serves as the headquarters for CENTAF, CENTCOM's air
component. There is also a base for pre-positioned army equipment at
Doha airport, dubbed Camp Snoopy. This equipment is officially known as
War Reserve Materiel (WRM) and provides support to bare base systems,
medical, munitions, fuels mobility support equipment, vehicles, rations,
aerospace ground equipment, air base operability equipment and
associated spares and other consumables at designated locations. Kuwait
sponsors four US military bases - Camp Doha, Camp Arifjan, Ali al-Salem
Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base - and is also the headquarters for
CENTCOM's army component.
The port of Manama in Bahrain is headquarters for the US Navy's 5th
Fleet and hosts the headquarters of CENTCOM's navy and marine corps
leaders. The Naval Support Activity occupies 79 acres of land in the
center of downtown Manama. Also in Bahrain is Sheik Isa Air Base.
In Saudi Arabia the main US Air Force control center for air operations
was moved from Prince Sultan Air Base to Qatar prior to the start of the
war. It is unclear if another base, the Eskan Village Air Base, home for
air force and other military people deployed to Riyadh Air Base, is
available for US use.
Oman allows the use of three bases by the US military; the Masirah Air
Base, the Thumrait Naval Air Base for anti-submarine patrol planes, and
the US Air Force use of Seeb International Airport, which is Oman's
largest airport.
According to the Washington-DC based group Global Security, the transfer
of Seeb International Airport to private sector management signaled the
end of the airport's role as a base for the Royal Air Force of Oman. As
of early-2002, Oman's Air Force was in search of new facilities, and
contractors were bidding for the contract to build one of the first of
these air bases at al-Masanah (Masana), northwest of Muscat. Completion
of the project, which was first proposed a decade ago, was expected
within 18 months of a contract award.
Oman has worked with the US Air Force to ensure the base is built to
American standards and can be used by American warplanes without further
upgrades. Oman has long been a strong supporter of a US military
presence in the Gulf. It signed an access agreement with Washington in
1981.
And in Iraq there are four bases to which the US plans access: Baghdad
International Airport, an airport at Tallil near Nasiriya in the south;
the Bashur airfield in the northern Kurdish area, and a small airstrip
in the western desert called H-1. The Baghdad airport is an army base,
Talil and Bashur are air force bases and the H-1 airstrip was a foothold
for special forces for rapid conquest. Use of the Bashur airfield means
that the US will not have to rely on using Turkey's Incirlik air base.
Some dozen bases in Central Asia have also been made available to US
forces since the war against Afghanistan. In Georgia, the Vaziani base
will be the home for special forces instructors for a current mandate of
two years, until May 2004.
Turkmenistan has given permission for flyover and refueling of US
military planes. This would be particularly important in allowing US
aircraft based in Uzbekistan to reach Iran with munitions and special
forces troops.
According to Global Security, in November 2001 Tajikistan agreed to
allow the US to evaluate three former Soviet airbases for potential use
by US aircraft to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The agreement was
announced after a meeting in Dushanbe between US Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld and Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov. The agreement
followed an inspection of several airports in southern Tajikistan.
In Uzbekistan, 1,500 to 1,800 special forces troops can be stationed at
a former Soviet base in Khanabad. During the war against Afghanistan
about 1,000 US troops worked at the facility handling tons of supplies
for the war.
In Kazakhstan, US military activities are shrouded in secrecy. But it is
known that the government there allows military overflights, refueling
and landing rights in emergencies.
In Kyrgystan the base at Manas Airport near Bishek will eventually
accommodate 3,000 troops and an unspecified number of aircraft. Manas
has a 13,800-foot runway, built for Soviet bombers. There is room for
four C-17 or C-5 cargo planes to park along the taxiway. The facility
covers 37 acres.
And in Afghanistan there are five airfields that could be used by US
forces; at Bagram, Kandahar, Khost, Lwara, Mazar-e-Sharif and
Pul-i-Kandahar.
Also, sites outside the region are being considered as staging bases in
order to deploy forces into the region. Consider that on June 3
Associated Press reported that US troops may soon use Balkans bases for
training sites and staging points for possible interventions in the
Middle East as the Pentagon weighs withdrawing 15,000 soldiers from
Germany.
Reportedly, the Pentagon wants to use big Romanian and Bulgarian
training grounds in year-round programs that would have up to 3,000
battle-ready US soldiers at any time.
In Romania, the Americans are interested in the Mihail Kogalniceanu air
base, the Babadag training range and the Black Sea military port of
Mangalia. In Bulgaria, talks are focusing on the use of the Sarafovo and
Graf Ignatievo military airports and the Koren and Novo Selo training
areas.
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