Go to Original
US and UK Forces Establish "Enduring Bases" in Iraq
By Andrew Buncombe
The Independent UK
Sunday 02 April 2006
Despite talk of withdrawal "when the
job is done", there are signs that coalition troops will be there for the
long term.
The Pentagon has revealed that coalition forces are spending millions of dollars
establishing at least six "enduring" bases in Iraq - raising the prospect
that US and UK forces could be involved in a long-term deployment in the country.
It said it assumed British troops would operate one of the bases.
Almost ever since President Bush claimed an end to "major combat operations"
in Iraq on 1 May 2003, debate has focused on how quickly troops could be withdrawn.
The US and British governments say troops will remain in Iraq "until the
job is done". Yet while the withdrawal of a substantial number of troops
remains an aim, it has become increasingly clear that the Pentagon and the Ministry
of Defence (MoD) are preparing to retain some forces in Iraq for the longer
term. The US currently has around 130,000 troops in Iraq; Britain has 8,000.
Major Joseph Breasseale, a senior spokesman for the coalition forces' headquarters
in Iraq, told The Independent on Sunday: "The current plan is to reduce
the coalition footprint into six consolidation bases - four of which are US.
As we move in that direction, some other bases will have to grow to facilitate
the closure [or] transfer of smaller bases."
He added: "Right now, I don't have any information that tells me which
nationality will comprise the remaining two bases, though my assumption is that
at least one will be run by the Brits." An MoD spokesperson said British
forces were currently operating out of eight bases in southern Iraq, with a
small contingent based in Baghdad, and that "discussions with coalition
forces relating to future basing are still at a very early stage. Nothing has
been agreed."
The official added: "We have no intention of remaining, or indeed retaining
bases in Iraq long-term. We will leave Iraq as soon as the democratically elected
Iraqi government is confident that its security forces have the capability and
capacity to counter terrorism and to preserve the security of democracy there."
A senior military source recently told the IoS that some British troops could
be expected to stay in Iraq in a training role for years to come. There would
be no British presence in the urban areas, however. The American and British
governments say they remain in Iraq at the invitation of the interim Iraqi government,
and would leave if asked to do so.
The Pentagon says it has already reduced the number of US bases from 110 a
year ago to a current total of around 75. But at the same time it is expanding
a number of vast, highly defended bases, some in the desert away from large
population areas. More than $280m (£160m) has already been spent on building
up Al Asad air base, Balad air base, Camp Taji and Tallil air base, and the
Bush administration has this year requested another $175m to enlarge them. These
bases, which currently house more than 55,000 troops, have their own bus routes,
pizza restaurants and supermarkets.
Adam Price, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and a persistent critic of the
Iraq war, said it would be "very, very worrying" if British troops
were to be involved in a long-term deployment. "Certainly the mood music
has all been about the withdrawal of troops," he said. "Now we are
just starting to see the glimmers of what may be the real policy."
Some analysts believe the desire to establish a long-term US military presence
in Iraq was always one of the reasons behind the 2003 invasion. Joseph Gerson,
a historian of American military bases, said: "The Bush administration's
intention is to have a long-term military presence in the region ... For a number
of years the US has sought to use a number of means to make sure it dominates
in the Middle East ... The Bush administration sees Iraq as an unsinkable aircraft
carrier for its troops and bases for years to come."
Zoltan Grossman, a geographer at Evergreen State College in Washington, said:
"After every US military intervention since 1990 the Pentagon has left
behind clusters of new bases in areas where it never before had a foothold.
The new string of bases stretch from Kosovo and adjacent Balkan states, to Iraq
and other Persian Gulf states, into Afghanistan and other central Asian states
... The only two obstacles to a geographically contiguous US sphere of influence
are Iran and Syria."
-------
Jump to today's TO Features:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story