Air Power From Gulf Bases Slated To Replace U.S. Troops
By Jim Krane
Associated Press
May 14, 2006
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The U.S. military is preparing for the day when air power from bases along the Persian Gulf will help ensure that friendly governments in Iraq and Afghanistan survive without American ground troops, a senior general said.
“We'll be in the region for the foreseeable future,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, deputy air commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region. “Our intention would be to stay as long as the host nations will have us.”
Recent agreements have been struck with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for long-term use of their bases. Already home to U.S. and allied fighter, transport and observation planes, the bases will become more critical if plans proceed to gradually withdraw ground forces from Iraq.
A capable Iraqi air force is years away, and Iraq's infantry needs the backup and surveillance provided by U.S. warplanes, Peck said. The bases also could help rush soldiers into Iraq in a crisis. The Pentagon has been keeping thousands of soldiers in reserve in Kuwait, on Iraq's southern border.
The Bush administration has declined to say it won't seek to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. military is spending nearly $1 billion this year for base construction in Iraq alone. The base at Balad, for example, has been expanded to host F-16 fighter and C-130 transport squadrons.
Wayne White, a former Iraq intelligence chief for the State Department, said he believes one of the administration's unstated pre-invasion goals was to secure permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq after overseeing the installation of a pro-American government.
Peck, however, said he knew of no current U.S. plans to maintain permanent air bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because of the Iraqi insurgency, experts say bases in the Persian Gulf nations are a better option given the long relationships Washington has had with them.
But there are risks even in those countries, where many people harbor suspicions of U.S. policy. Osama bin Laden and other Islamic radicals agitate against the U.S. military presence in the Muslim world. A huge U.S. air base and headquarters in Saudi Arabia was closed before the invasion of Iraq because of fundamentalists' pressure on the Saudi government.
The Air Force operates refueling, cargo and surveillance flights from large bases in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, while maintaining runway access and warehoused supplies in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The plan Peck described would have the Air Force eventually consolidate most of its Iraq operations at the Persian Gulf bases.
Afghanistan's military also could be backed up from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic where U.S. officials are negotiating a long-term agreement.
The U.S. base at Incirlik, Turkey, also could enter into the equation. For now, the Turkish government, a NATO ally, allows the U.S. military to operate only cargo, refueling and passenger flights to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U.S. has based fighter jets there in the past.
Peck and others caution that the shift would take years, and President Bush has said the counterinsurgency mission in Iraq will continue at least through the end of his term in January 2009.
White and others say the United States eventually could turn over its bases to the Iraqi military and still back up the Iraqi government with small numbers of U.S. special-forces troops, along with warplanes based in nearby countries.
“If we do not support the Iraqi army with reconnaissance and airstrike capabilities, which we now rely on so heavily against the insurgents, they're not going to stand a chance,” said White, now an Iraq analyst at the Middle East Institute.
The air bases expected to host U.S. air operations after an Iraq pullout are Al-Udeid in Qatar, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait and Al-Dhafra in the UAE. The three bases also lie just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, which the Bush administration and other nations suspect is pursuing nuclear arms.
Visits to U.S. bases in Kuwait and Qatar found signs of heavy construction of permanent housing and operations buildings.
At Al-Udeid, forward headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, construction is under way on a concrete bunker that will house a command center where American and coalition teams will direct and monitor air operations over Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. The current center is housed in a temporary building on the base.
Associated Press
May 14, 2006
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The U.S. military is preparing for the day when air power from bases along the Persian Gulf will help ensure that friendly governments in Iraq and Afghanistan survive without American ground troops, a senior general said.
“We'll be in the region for the foreseeable future,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, deputy air commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region. “Our intention would be to stay as long as the host nations will have us.”
Recent agreements have been struck with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for long-term use of their bases. Already home to U.S. and allied fighter, transport and observation planes, the bases will become more critical if plans proceed to gradually withdraw ground forces from Iraq.
A capable Iraqi air force is years away, and Iraq's infantry needs the backup and surveillance provided by U.S. warplanes, Peck said. The bases also could help rush soldiers into Iraq in a crisis. The Pentagon has been keeping thousands of soldiers in reserve in Kuwait, on Iraq's southern border.
The Bush administration has declined to say it won't seek to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. military is spending nearly $1 billion this year for base construction in Iraq alone. The base at Balad, for example, has been expanded to host F-16 fighter and C-130 transport squadrons.
Wayne White, a former Iraq intelligence chief for the State Department, said he believes one of the administration's unstated pre-invasion goals was to secure permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq after overseeing the installation of a pro-American government.
Peck, however, said he knew of no current U.S. plans to maintain permanent air bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because of the Iraqi insurgency, experts say bases in the Persian Gulf nations are a better option given the long relationships Washington has had with them.
But there are risks even in those countries, where many people harbor suspicions of U.S. policy. Osama bin Laden and other Islamic radicals agitate against the U.S. military presence in the Muslim world. A huge U.S. air base and headquarters in Saudi Arabia was closed before the invasion of Iraq because of fundamentalists' pressure on the Saudi government.
The Air Force operates refueling, cargo and surveillance flights from large bases in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, while maintaining runway access and warehoused supplies in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The plan Peck described would have the Air Force eventually consolidate most of its Iraq operations at the Persian Gulf bases.
Afghanistan's military also could be backed up from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic where U.S. officials are negotiating a long-term agreement.
The U.S. base at Incirlik, Turkey, also could enter into the equation. For now, the Turkish government, a NATO ally, allows the U.S. military to operate only cargo, refueling and passenger flights to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U.S. has based fighter jets there in the past.
Peck and others caution that the shift would take years, and President Bush has said the counterinsurgency mission in Iraq will continue at least through the end of his term in January 2009.
White and others say the United States eventually could turn over its bases to the Iraqi military and still back up the Iraqi government with small numbers of U.S. special-forces troops, along with warplanes based in nearby countries.
“If we do not support the Iraqi army with reconnaissance and airstrike capabilities, which we now rely on so heavily against the insurgents, they're not going to stand a chance,” said White, now an Iraq analyst at the Middle East Institute.
The air bases expected to host U.S. air operations after an Iraq pullout are Al-Udeid in Qatar, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait and Al-Dhafra in the UAE. The three bases also lie just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, which the Bush administration and other nations suspect is pursuing nuclear arms.
Visits to U.S. bases in Kuwait and Qatar found signs of heavy construction of permanent housing and operations buildings.
At Al-Udeid, forward headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, construction is under way on a concrete bunker that will house a command center where American and coalition teams will direct and monitor air operations over Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. The current center is housed in a temporary building on the base.
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