US to consolidate forces into four huge bases in Iraq
US military also wants bases in Romania, Azerbaijan, and Bulgaria.
Top US military officials in Iraq confirmed Monday that they are
planning to consolidate the more than 100 bases where US personnel are now stationed in Iraq into four huge, more permanent bases.
The Washington Post reported Sunday, however, that these military officials say that, despite the appearance to the contrary, these moves do not signal a "
permanent US presence in Iraq."
The US military commanders say that building these new bases, which would be located in the north, south, west and center of Iraq, are "part of a withdrawal expected to occur in phases, with Iraqi forces gradually taking over many of the bases inhabited by US and other foreign troops."
The
Guardian reports that some Iraqi politicians opposed to a "long-term US presence in Iraq
questioned the move."
"They appear to settling in a for the long run, and that will only give fuel for the terrorists," said a spokesman for the mainstream Sunni Iraqi Islamic party.
The
Guardian also reports that a US spokesman says there is no "hard and fast deadline" to build the new bases, and will depend to a large degree on the strength of the insurgency "and the progress of Iraq's fledgling security structures."
Last week, however, US military commanders in briefings in Washington and Baghdad, and in media interviews, said that growth of the insurgency has convinced them that the US will be in Iraq for "
many more years to come," and that the pace at which Iraqi police, in particular, are being prepared to take over their own country's defense is not going anywhere near as fast as the US would like.
Meanwhile,
United Press International reports that the US and Romania are discussing having the US
use Romanian bases on a more permanent basis. And the
Sofia (Bulgaria) News Agency reported last week that the US military will ask to use
four bases in Bulgaria.
US officials have said they could use Bulgarian, alongside Romanian, sites to deploy troops on rotational training tours as part of a broader US strategy of shifting troops based in Europe further east.
Earlier this year, the top commander of US and NATO troops in Europe, General James Jones, said in Sofia that he would propose to the US Congress 'four or five Bulgarian military facilities for use by US forces.'
Power and Interest News Report, "an independent organization that utilizes open source intelligence to provide conflict analysis services in the context of international relations," looks at the geopolitical importance of Bulgaria and Romania, particularly as they "
go Western." The Russian news agency
Interfax also reported over the weekend that the US and Azerbaijan had "
agreed on the deployment of US military bases."
"These forces will start to be brought into the country this year, and taking into account the huge significance of the Caucasus region for the US, the American military presence here will be long-term. Moreover, the first US units will arrive in Azerbaijan within the next several weeks," reads an article published in the Saturday issue of
Echo [an Azerbaijani newspaper]. The Azerbaijani government in Baku later
denied the report and said "nothing of the sort is planned."
The Baku Sun reports that just this past weekend, Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Safar Abiyev was in Tehran, where Iran's President Mohammad Khatami told him Azerbaijan had "
nothing to fear from a strong Iran," and that the increasing number of US military bases in the former Soviet republics is "a threat to the security and peace of regional countries and an affront to them."
Also...
•
Tillman's parents lash out at Army (
Washington Post)
•
Marine-led campaign killed friends and foes, Iraqi leaders say (
Knight Ridder)
•
US soldier faces trial in Iraqi's death (
Associated Press)
•
Army warns Iraqi forces on abuse of detainees (
Washington Post)
•
Will Pentagon planners learn from Iraq? (
National Public Radio)
•
China envoy cancels Koizumi talks (
BBC)
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